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it was silent. so silent that bakugou was almost worried he had completely lost his hearing, finally. rationally, he knew it wasn't that. he just wasn't used to kirishima being so quiet. he liked to talk. that was okay— bakugou liked to listen. but he wasn't talking anymore. he was staring, staring into the endless black expanse of the sky, littered with countless bright lights. it wasn't a full moon, not quite, but it still shone brightly on the two boys as they lay side by side in the grass that was slightly itchy.
he could hear the water by their feet moving by lazily, at its own pace. he heard leaves rustling when another breeze went by. he heard crickets chirping, communicating about something bakugou would never understand. he could feel kirishima's hand covering his, and see his chest moving up and down. they had been like this for— fuck. he didn't know. neither of them did. the sun was setting when they arrived though, so it must've been hours. many hours of silence.
but bakugou didn't mind. he liked silence, he knew it well. but not with kirishima he didn't. kirishima was loud, full of laughter that could fill a room and a smile that made people around him feel the need to shield their eyes. they arrived at the stream, sat right next to it, and kirishima had set down the cooler full of food on the blanket he spread out. a picnic. they had a picnic and watched the sunset. bakugou didn't have a word to describe how it made him feel. kirishima was talking then, talking about whatever came to his mind. but he wasn't the same. not in a bad way, he was just... he was more serious. he was calm. bakugou didn't say much either. he liked the calm.
kirishima had taken off his socks and shoes, thrown them to the side. he had rolled up his pants legs, and then he stepped in the water. it was shallow, just past his ankles. bakugou was pulled in with only one pants leg rolled up and he was laughing then. so was the other boy. they laughed and kicked up water and looked for rocks. they spun and danced with no music. they held hands and got their pants wet, and all their clothes really. there was mud there too, because the further they travelled from their picnic spot, the more muddy and deeper it got. neither boys minded. they laughed and spun and looked for the biggest sticks to play fight with.
they had fun. a fleeting moment, bakugou knew, but god, he didn't care. he was laughing and spinning till the sun went down.
now they were staring at the stars together.
bakugou actually jumped a bit (the best he could while laying down) when kirishima's voice rang out in the silence. it was quiet.
"sometimes i wish i was a star." he brought up his hand to trace patterns in the stars— constellations, bakugou realized.
"like, famous?" he asked, also quiet.
"no, no." the red head shifted a bit, but kept one hand on bakugou's. "it wouldn't hurt, i guess. but no. i wanna be a star. burning bright in the star for hundreds of thousands of years till i burn out and someone takes my place." he laughed and bakugou recognized the constellation he was tracing as the pegasus. "sounds morbid, i know. but stars aren't mourned. they're appreciated when they're alive, glittering in the sky and making patterns with its fellow stars. i don't wanna be mourned. it's real sad, don't ya think?"
bakugou was silent for a long while. he didn't know how much time passed until he answered, but his voice was hoarse from not using it for so long, and the moon had shifted positions. "it's sad. but i get why. i'd mourn you if you die." he paused, again. kirishima didn't say anything. neither of them looked at each other. "you're my best friend. i'd be sad if we couldn't hang out again."
"yeah. i'd be sad if i was gone. but, hey, it's fine. you'd be sad, but you'd move on. you'd forget about me till someone was like 'oh, remember that guy eijirou? he sure was cool.' and you'd remember our good times together. not when you were mourning me." he was tracing patterns again. the same ones as before.
"i guess." bakugou wiggled his toes, feeling the dried mud between his toes. he didn't mind it.
"hey, who knows? maybe we'll meet in the next life." kirishima turned his head to look at him— really look at him, like he could read bakugou's mind. like he knew everything, like he could peer right into his soul. "universe couldn't keep us apart if we tried." he laughed, moving closer to the blonde.
"totally. we're meant for each other." he said quietly, moving closer too and the boys turned into a mess of tangled limbs as they stared at each other.
"we are. just stars, burnin' bright in the night sky. we'll always be right next to each other, till we burn out." kirishima held both of his hands in his own and rested his forehead on the other's.
"always."
"i pinky promise."
"me too. cross my heart and all that crap."
***
years later, when kirishima died, bakugou was there at his funeral. bakugou was sure kirishima would hate it, they were wearing black and people were crying. but he wouldn't be forgotten. he wasn't done burning yet. and neither was bakugou.
as bakugou walked away from the graveyard, he smiled. he knew they'd meet again soon.