A/N: season 4 spoilers

The lights blinded Kirishima as he tried to wake up. He looked to his left, expecting to see his nightstand, but was instead greeted with a machine that was hooked into his wrist. He panicked, trying to get out of the bed but was caught in the sheets.

"You're okay, you're just in the hospital." A familiar voice made Kirishima turn to his right.

He sighed in relief. "Oh thank god," he smiled slightly at Bakugou. It took a second for him to remember, but he suddenly got a very worried look on his face. "Wait, what happened to the civilians? And Kami? And the villains-"

Bakugou chuckled slightly, looking down at his hands. "Of course your first thought is about the others. Nobody was hurt, you're the worst of them because you're so damn selfless and perfect. Pikachu is fine, he was here earlier but I made him leave. Villains were arrested."

Kirishima stared at his roommate. "Bakugou I am so, so sorry-"

"That's enough, hair for brains. I'm not sitting here while you talk about how bad of a hero you are. You inspire me, got it? You knew you didn't have a quirk and you still got up and you fought. You jumped in front of me to save me, which I'm never forgiving you for by the way. You're such a perfect hero. And you're strong. So stop it before I blow you up."

Kirishima sighed and laid back down in his bed. "I don't want to fail them."

Bakugou grabbed the remote and silently clicked on the TV, which was covering the attack of the previous day. The news reporter was declaring Red Riot, Ground Zero, and Chargebolt heroes while footage played. The camera zoomed in on a bloodied Kirishima, who's face was so pale. They showed Bakugou, and Kirishima noticed that he had never seen his friend look as scared as he did in that moment.

"There you go, sh*t head. You're a hero."

"I'm sorry-"

"WERE YOU NOT F*CKING LISTENING TO ME?" Bakugou yelled, staring at the redhead.

"You looked so scared," Kirishima whispered. It was unthinkable to see the blonde scared, let alone that terrified.

"Well, duh, I thought you were gonna die."

Kirishima tried to readjust himself but flinched. He touched his sighed and saw the stitches. A reminder that he failed. A reminder that a quirk can't always be relied on. He decided he needed to up his training and make sure he was stronger than he could ever be.

A happy man dressed in yellow knocked on the door twice before entering. He held a dish of food in his hand and smiled.

"Fat Gum!" Kirishima smiled at his mentor.

"Hey kid! I came as soon as I had a break at the agency!" He took a seat on Kirishima's left side, just now noticing the blonde in the room. "Oh, you must be Bakugou! Kirishima talks about you a lot!" Fat Gum smirked at Kirishima, earning a glare back.

Bakugou nodded curtly.

"What's going on at the agency? Do I need to come back?"

Fat Gum placed the container on Kirishima's food tray. "I brought you soba. Also, you've been stabbed. I'm giving you a week off at least. Youre not allowed to over exert yourself in anyway, got it?"

"I'll beat his ass if he does," Bakugou added.

"You'll be at work," Kirishima smirked, thinking he had outsmarted the blonde.

"Good thing I saved my sick days and am taking off all of next week."

Kirishima huffed and looked back at his mentor.

"So, this bullet you were shot with, we did some testing and we found out it's a very cheap and rushed version of what Lamillion and Suneater were shot with."

Bakugou raised his eyebrow. "But didn't Lamillion lose his quirk?"

Fat Gum nodded. "Yes, but the bullet they shot Riot with lasted less than the one they shot Suneater with. This leads us to believe somebody is trying to make copies and steal people's quirks. We've linked them to the same group giving quirks to those without them. It's a bigger scheme than we thought."

Kirishima concentrated his quirk, hardening just one finger. "Oh thank god."

"The knife you were stabbed with was laced with poison, that's why you passed out and lost so much blood." Fat Gum added. "I'm gonna be honest, kid, I'm not sure how dangerous this group is. We're working with a few other heroes from your class too, like Deku and Froppy, people that were there at the first attack. We wanna see what kind of operation this is, and we wanna shut it down."

"Add me to that list," Bakugou commanded.

Fat Gum nodded. "Just gotta warn you upfront, Ground Zero, you can't lose your head in this mission just because of what they did to Kirishima."

The blonde huffed and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Some good news is that I expect both of your ratings to go up after this. Especially Kirishima's, since you showed the world that even without a quirk, you are strong."

Kirishima felt a warm pride as his mentor praised him. He smiled brightly and nodded. While it did help him feel better, he knew that he still had to get even stronger in order to truly protect citizens and other heroes when it was needed.

Fat Gum's phone dinged. He glanced down at it before turning to look back at Kirishima. "I'm sorry, I've gotta go. Just know that I am insanely proud of you, okay?" He gently ruffled Kirishima's hair before leaving the room.

Kirishima watched and kept his bright smile on. "I just realized you've only met him today."

Bakugou nodded. "Apparently you talk about me a lot," he smirked.

Kirishima bid his slight blush. "Duh! You're my best friend and the manliest hero I know!"

Bakugou scoffed and hid his pain at the words 'best friend'. He longed for more, but he knew Kirishima didn't feel the same way.

"Hey Baku, how long was I out for?"

"A day," Bakugou huffed.

"Did you go home?" Kirishima looked at the blonde, who shook his head. "Why not?!"

"I thought you might not wake up," Bakugou whispered.

Kirishima started to eat his food and scrolled through his twitter to see what he missed. He almost choked on his soba when he saw a picture of him on Kaminari's back, with a caption stating the two must be dating. There were comments arguing that he and Ground Zero were a thing, but he didn't need to mention that to Bakugou.

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, allowing Kirishima to answer his unspoken question.

"Somebody got a picture of when we met up with Kami yesterday so they think we're dating now," Kirishima sighed. "I sometimes wish I never told the world I was bi, then maybe I could just have friends. Not everybody's a love interest."

"You're just too nice to the media, sh*tty hair," Bakugou scrolled through his own twitter. "They're not entitled to your life."

Kirishima sighed and continued to eat, letting his mind wander. Was it wrong to be open about his life with the media? Bakugou was usually right about most things, so maybe the redhead should keep to himself more in the future. He wondered how Bakugou felt about his fake dating Kaminari. He shook his head at the thought, knowing the blonde wouldn't care.

"Thank you," Kirishima said after a moment.

Bakugou raised an eyebrow.

"For saving me. I was being dumb and you rescued me, like always."

"You'd do the same if it was me, idiot," Bakugou responded.

Kirishima nodded and got lost in thought, staring at himself and Bakugou on the TV screen.