{There's no reason

to feel all the hard times

to lay down the hard lines

It's absolutely true}

__

Bakugou wasn't in his room when Kirishima knocked on his door the next morning.

Suppressing a disappointed sigh, Kirishima wandered downstairs into the common room. He was barely halfway when voices began reaching his ears, the excited buzzing far too alert for this early in the morning.

As he reached the bottom of the steps, he saw what the fuss was all about.

Bakugou was leant against the wall next to the TV, his eyes wary and half lidded. Although he appeared very tired, and held a disgruntled expression, Kirishima found himself ogling at how lovely the sight of the other boy was.

After a moment, Kirishima realised that no one had noticed his arrival. He followed Bakugou's glare, where his eyes were glued to someone standing beside Ashido.

Kirishima blinked, taking in the stranger.

His appearance was almost identical to Ashido's, bar his height. He was quite tall, nearing Aizawa's height if the latter wasn't slouching, with fluffy pink hair and the same black eyes and yellow iris's as his sister.
A cheeky smile was spread on his lips, and Kirishima decided that although he didn't seem as as excitable as his younger counterpart, he was likely just as mischievous.

Kirishima glanced down to where Ashido was crouched.

She was shoving fistfuls of unfolded clothes into a glittery purple duffle bag, while babbling enthusiastically to Sero. The other boy was sitting on top of a small black suitcase with a white stripe down the centre, watching Ashido with his trademark grin on his face.

"Hey there! I'm Ashido Asayo. You can call me Ash."

Kirishima jolted slightly, but before he could respond, Sero piped up.

"Wait, no! That's our nickname for Ashido!"

Ashido laughed, hitting Sero lightly with a shirt she was holding.

"It was his nickname ever since I can remember!" she argued, and Sero gave a small huff before turning back to her, the two immediately bickering again.

Kirishima turned to Ash and offered a smile.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kirishima Eijirou," he turned, looking back at the group, where Kaminari, and surprisingly Shinsou, had emerged from nowhere, "What's going on?"

Ash gave Kirishima a confused look, then smirked slightly, "I'm assuming they're getting ready to go camping. At least, I hope they are, or I came here for no reason."

Kirishima's eyes widened briefly before he laughed, shaking his head, "That was today? Wow, thanks for telling me guys!"

"Dude... we did? We talked about it on the first day of holidays remember? When we decided to go camping in the first place." Kaminari pointed out.

Kirishima glanced at the electric boy, who was staring at him with an amused grin. He was standing beside Shinsou, who was also holding a large bag, presumably for camping.

Kirishima couldn't remember anything being said about Shinsou coming with them on the trip, but he knew the purple haired boy had become friends with Kaminari, so maybe it was another part of that conversation he had missed by his preoccupation with a certain blonde.

It's not like Kirishima minded Shinsou being there anyway- a friend of Kaminari is a friend of his.

"I don't remember that," he chuckled, choosing not to ask why Shinsou was coming, and ran his fingers through his hair, "but I don't mind. It'll only take me ten minutes to get ready."

Ash clapped him on the shoulder cheerfully, before walking over to help Ashido zip her bag closed.

~~

Within an hour, the group was piling into Ash's car. He had a huge four-wheel drive, with multiple rod holders and a bulbar. The roof had multiple tents and other camping equipment expertly strapped down, leaving the trunk free for everyone's bags.

It was glaringly clear that he spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, and Kirishima watched with an amused expression as Bakugou's face predictably burnt a bright red with jealousy at the older boy's setup.

"Holy shit dude, you know your stuff!" Kirishima exclaimed, his own jealously barely contained.

Ash shot him a smug grin, placing a hand on Kirishima's shoulder and gesturing dramatically at his car, "Look, Simba. Everything the light touches will be yours someday."

It took him a second, but once the reference clicked Kirishima burst into laughter, along with Kaminari and Ashido. He glanced curiously at Bakugou, who was being unusually quiet again.

Bakugou looked like he was about to explode, his face tomato red as his glare began to burn a hole in Ash.

Passing it off as his growing impatience to get to the camp site, Kirishima glanced away from Bakugou and grinned at Ash, "That was an incorrect Lion King quote and now I'm bound by the law to hate you."

Ash, loyal to his theatrical flair, gasped and fell back a step, releasing Kirishima's shoulder as his expression turned scandalous, "No! You can have shotgun! Forgive me my dear!"

"Oh, for fucksake!"

Everyone turned, blinking at Bakugou.

The blonde's face slowly went white, before rapidly flooding red again, his expression twisting into a scowl. Instead of responding, he clenched his jaw and swung the car door open before immediately climbing over the backseats and onto the two additional seats that fold out in the very back.

As he climbed, the sleeve on his left arm came up, and Kirishima found himself staring at the flash of red from the bracelet. A shiver ran down his spine, and he unconsciously began fingering at his own bracelet again.

Ash glanced at Kirishima. "Did I do something?"

Kirishima just gave him a weak smile, shaking his head, "I think he's just impatient."

Ash nodded, walking back to the front of the car and opening the door. He then turned, waving his hand in a small gesture towards the front seat, offering it to Kirishima again.

Kirishima shrugged, giving a polite shake of his head, before climbing in the back of the car and onto the only other folded out seat beside Bakugou.

Bakugou didn't comment, but Kirishima saw the edges of his mouth twitch up, the ghost of a smile fighting through.

~~

Bakugou's apparent dislike for Ash only seemed to grow stronger when they arrived at the campsite.
The drive had taken over two hours longer than intended, due to a car accident and road construction, and apparently the extra time with Ash only made Bakugou more petulant.

It didn't help that setting up the campsite ended up being a rush-job, with everyone pairing up to try and make it faster.
When Ash had offered to assist Bakugou and Kirishima- or more accurately just Kirishima- Bakugou had sworn at the older boy, telling him to shove it.

"Hey, I'm gonna head off."

Kirishima blinked, breaking out of his train of thought and looked up at Ash, who met his gaze with a small smile.

"Oh, alright dude! Hope all the roads are clear now!" Kirishima chirped, offering back a toothy grin.

The rest of the group was hoarding around them now, trying to grab on to Ash for goodbye hugs.

Except for Bakugou of course, who stayed sitting next to the fire. Like usual, he appeared disinterested, but Kirishima could feel the way he was watching him every time he looked away.

Ashido was clinging to her brother, thanking him over and over again as he tried to pry her off. Ash was laughing though, and Kirishima found himself smiling at how close the two were.

"Anyway! I really do have to go! Come on Pinky!" Ash laughed, and finally Ashido pulled away, her face flushed at his use of her hero name.

"Alright," she huffed, folding her arms on her chest, "Stay safe!"

Ash nodded, and after giving Kirishima another soft smile, climbed into his car and drove off.
Ashido and Sero chased the car a few metres, waving frantically before he disappeared.

It was like a switch. Ashido turned back to the group, letting out an excited squeal as she began jumping up and down.

"Fire! S'mores! Now!" she exclaimed, before running full sprint back to the fire, Sero hot on her heels.

Kirishima and Kaminari laughed at the antics, and Kirishima even saw Shinsou crack a small smirk before his face smoothed again. Kaminari grabbed hold of his wrist, leading him over to the fire.

They had found multiple logs when they arrived and dragged them over to the fire to sit on. It had been Bakugou's idea, after a long doubtful stare at the half-broken chairs Sero had provided.

Kirishima walked over, sitting down next to Bakugou.
The others were all caught up in assembling their s'mores and having conversations now, giving Kirishima a chance to ask what he had been wanting to all day.

"Why do you hate Ash so much?"

Bakugou gave him a dry glare, before turning to prod one end of a long stick into the fire, ignoring the question.

Kirishima stared at him openly, still waiting for a response.
After a long moment, Bakugou sighed heavily and turned back to face Kirishima.

"He's just a dick. And what the fuck is the go with him flirting with sixteen-year old's anyway?! Can't the fucker find anyone his own age?!" Bakugou snapped, prodding more aggressively at the fire.

Kirishima's eyebrows shot up, shock momentarily stunning him, before he burst into laughter.

Bakugou's eyes were shooting daggers at him now. "What the fuck Shitty Hair! It's not funny!"

Kirishima tried to stifle his laughter enough to talk but kept breaking back out into giggles. Bakugou huffed angrily and turned back to the fire.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kirishima began, and took a deep breath, "It's just, you're literally the prettiest boy of our grade and you're jealous of hi-"

"I'm not jealous!" Bakugou exclaimed, as his face began to flush hotly again, "And I'm not a pretty boy- what the fuck, why would you even- No!"

A wide grin spread across Kirishima's face at the other boys flustered stammering, and he playfully clapped a hand on Bakugou's thigh.

Bakugou went silent, his eyes widening slightly as they locked gazes.

"Awwww!"

Kirishima's hand flung back like Bakugou had burnt him, and he blinked at Ashido, who was laughing now.
Her hands shot up innocently, before turning back to Sero.

Bakugou was staring at the fire again, and Kirishima suddenly couldn't think of a single thing to say to break the awkward air.

Dammit Ashido.

Strangely enough, his saviour was Kaminari's guest of honour.
Shinsou randomly spoke up, his rare deep voice catching everyone's attention immediately.

"What's the sleeping arrangement?"

Kirishima couldn't help himself as his eyes shot across to Bakugou, trying to gage his reaction.
The blonde's expression hadn't changed, but he did meet Kirishima's gaze with a level look.

"I'll go with Sero. Shinsou, you can go with Kaminari since he's the one you're most comfortable with." Ashido piped up, before glancing at Kirishima and Bakugou, "and obviously you two would go together."

"Obviously?" Kirishima heard Bakugou mutter to himself, but he didn't sound angry, just surprised. His eyes lifted to meet Kirishima's, and the redhead smiled softly at him.
Bakugou's face immediately flushed pink and he looked back at the fire.

Sero already appeared half asleep, and put up no resistance when Ashido grabbed his arm and pulled him towards their tent.
She honestly also looked exhausted- although all they had really done today was sit in a car, it had been a long drive.

Kirishima peered at Bakugou, searching for a sign that the other boy was tired. Like usual, Bakugou's eyes were alert, maybe even to the point of seeming anxious.

Bakugou caught him staring then and rose a questioning eyebrow.

"Are you tired?" Kirishima asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
It felt weird to ask, as it sounded like he was offering to go to bed together. Which he guessed he technically was, but since it was his crush, it felt different somehow.

Bakugou nodded, his eyes remaining locked with Kirishima's.
The redhead felt his face grow hot, and so he quickly stood up.

Kaminari and Shinsou paused their conversation to give him a smile and wave, before immediately returning to their quiet chattering.

Kirishima just rolled his eyes at their preoccupation and walked over to his tent.

Bakugou had already gone inside, not bothering to say goodnight to the others, and made himself comfortable in his sleeping bag.

Trying to ignore how small the tent suddenly felt, Kirishima crawled into his own sleeping bag.
Bakugou was barely a foot away, and all Kirishima could hear was his steady breathing in the dark.

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Bakugou suddenly asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Kirishima rolled to face the blonde and found that Bakugou had done the same.

"Not sure. I know Kaminari wants to have a games night though. Like, truth or dare, would you rather, shit like that."

He could almost hear Bakugou rolling his eyes, before he huffed out a response.

"He just wants us to dare him to kiss that shitty zombie."

Kirishima laughed, the sincere sound carrying in the night. His eyes had adjusted to the dark just enough by now to be able to see the slight smile on Bakugou's lips, before the blonde rolled onto his back.

"Sweet dreams, Bakugou." He whispered.

It was quiet for a moment before Bakugou spoke again, his soft voice barely audible.

"Sweet dreams, Kirishima."