Bakugou's PoV

We rested for a while, or rather I insisted that he lie down for a few hours. After all, he was the one who had to fly tonight. Red was reluctant to lie down and said he wasn't tired at all. After I had talked him into it a little, he had finally laid down and bedded his head in my lap.

I was unable to move in this position, but it didn't really bother me. I stroked through his long red hair and watched him sleep. A small campfire blazed beside us and projected flickering lights on his face.

It's weird. All my life, people thought I was a hot-headed, fiery dragonslayer focused only on his goals. Not that I ever cared much about people's opinions, I had always been a loner and trusted only a few people. But now I was sitting here. Relaxed, with the man in my lap for whom I would give my life.

Smiling, I looked at Red's relaxed face. Red. Eijirou Kirishima. Since our first meeting, where I only saw him as a handsome man, this nickname had become established with me and I had only called him so ever since. I wondered if that actually bothered him. For me this name was familiar and one that only I used. For me this name was more intimate than his first name. But he continued to consistently call me Bakugou or Baku. Maybe I should officially offer him my first name, because he would certainly not use it on his own.

I sighed. My eyes gradually got tired and apart from the small shining radius around our little campfire, complete darkness had settled in.

Carefully I stroked one of his strands of hair from his face. Red frowned as the strand tickled his nose. Fluttering his eyes opened.

"I think it's time, Red," I whispered.

He closed his eyes for a moment before he sighed and straightened up. Tired, he scrubbed his face. "Okay, I guess we should get going then."

I nodded and got up to get our stuff together. "Say Red, I have a question," I started to formulate my thoughts from the last hour. He looked up attentively as he folded the blankets. "Does it bother you that I still call you Red? I mean, that name only came about because you were persecuted and couldn't tell me your real name," I asked him and expressed my concerns.

Surprised, he pulled his eyebrows together. "No, on the contrary. I liked it from the first time you used it. It's your own personal name for me. That's why I like it so much". He smiled at me in embarrassment.

"That's what I was hoping." I said with a smile. Somewhat embarrassed I looked to the side. "Please call me Katsuki." I hoped he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks in the dark.

But no matter how dark it was at the moment, I saw the broad grin that had settled on the face of my red-haired mate. Red jumped up, ran into my arms and hugged me. Out of balance I staggered one step back before taking his arms laughing. For a moment I squeezed him tight before he detached himself a little from me to look me in the eyes. "Really?" he asked quietly.

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Red. I have your mark on my neck, of course you should call me by my first name," I snorted.

Red looked me another moment deep in the eyes, put his hands on my cheeks and leaned forward a bit until his lips hovered a few centimeters in front of mine. "Katsuki," he breathed almost solemnly, and I got goose bumps. Hearing the name from his lips was as if Red had given it a new meaning. "Katsuki," he repeated gently before covering the last few centimeters, carefully laying his lips on mine.

This kiss had nothing of the heated passion into which we so quickly fell. It was gentle and earnest, as if with every movement of his lips he wanted to show me the depth of his love. I buried a hand in his hair, but I returned the kiss just as gently. It felt like a whole new level of our relationship. And only because of a first name.

Red detached himself from me and leaned his forehead against mine. "I love you, Katsuki," he whispered, his hands still on my cheeks.

"I love you too, Red." I replied quietly.

Kirishima's PoV

Bakugou packed the last of our things together and I went ahead to get out of the little grove. The trees weren't really dense, but I wouldn't be able to spread my wings here. As soon as I came out between the last rows of trees, I shifted into my dragon shape.

I stretched my wings. For seventeen years of my life I had denied my dragon shape, but this body now felt so natural. That was just me. A person with two bodies.

Katsuki came out between the trees and as always he let his eyes wander briefly over my dragon figure before he grabbed one of my neck spikes and pulled himself up. As soon as he sat down I flew off.

The dragonslayer snuggled up close to my body and put his arms around my neck. He seemed very tired and certainly wanted to rest.

As I flew further north and the dark countryside below us moved along, I thought about Katsuki. We hadn't known each other very long, but I had never felt so close to a person. The very idea that something could happen to him made me sick. Yet I knew so little about his past, so little about the person he was before I met him. Maybe that was the reason why I had always held on to the name Bakugou. Dragonslayer Bakugou.

Did I really want to know what kind of person he used to be? What had happened that he had such a hatred for dragons? How many of my kind had he already killed?

I was thinking back about our escape from Ariko. Remember what the dragons did to you. Hadn't the guard said something like that to Bakugou? Apparently everyone knew more about Bakugou's past than I did.

I was racking my brains all the way over it. Then I saw in the darkness that the river divided and shortly afterwards merged into a lake. That had to be the Niwa Lake. Slowly I descended and enjoyed the last distance I could cover in the air.

It was still dark when I landed. Even though I tried to come down as gently as possible, I felt Bakugou wake up and straighten up on my back. He yawned heartily, but immediately slipped off my back.

One last time I took a deep breath before I shift back into a human being.