Work Text:
Kirishima is not at all what you expected, in more ways than one. The first time he approaches you, you actually think he might be coming to yell at you. You don’t know why, maybe he’s deemed it your fault that Mirio beat up his entire class. Maybe he’s decided you are not worthy of being one of the Big Three. Maybe he’s here to tell you that an omega doesn’t deserve to be in such a position. None of that happens.
Well he does yell at you, but not because he’s upset.
On the contrary, he’s aggressively begging you to introduce him to Fat Gum so he may join in your work study. You don’t know if you want that. An energetic alpha like him would make you look even more pathetic in comparison. You start to bring up that there must be plenty of other work studies that would be happy to take him, but he shuts you down by claiming this is his best shot at an internship.
“I don’t wanna waste time on agencies that will just reject me because I’m an omega.”
That catches you off guard. Kirishima is unlike any omega you have ever seen, and a part of you is kind of glad for that. It’s always nice to see diversity, someone who breaks the mold. Still, it brings up a litany of new problems.
“It’s not easy to get a work study as an omega, especially as a first-year.” You try to let him down gently, but it only seems to further agitate him.
“I can handle it! I’m not gonna let something like that get in my way!”
You’re almost kind of touched by that statement.
You probably would have given up becoming a hero if it weren’t for Mirio. Being the only omega in your class, you felt absolutely isolated, like the world was against you. Between the command exercises, the classroom discrimination, and later on the harassment from idiots online after you made your first debut, it’s enough to make any teenager consider backing down.
Kirishima is an omega that refuses to back down, he’s undoubtedly well aware of the hardships he will face and is adamant on succeeding despite that. That kind of confidence, the kind you envy, is so familiar. For a moment, you think of a particular alpha’s beaming smile.
“Okay.” You say it before you realize what you’re doing, and the second you do, Kirishima smiles so bright you need to look away.
“Thank you very much!”
----
You feel awful about it later. The whole train ride to Fat Gum’s Agency you keep wanting to bring it up, but Kirishima is so happy, so confident that you can’t bear to take that away from him. You almost get it out a few times, but the minute he looks at you with those big red eyes, you stutter over yourself into oblivion before going quiet again.
The longer you wait, the more he will get his hopes up, the worse it will be.
Still, you don’t tell him, and Fat Gum must be the one to break the news.
“It’s just the rules, you know? We can keep you around the agency no problem, but patrols are a different story. I’m guessing that’s not the kind of experience you’re hoping for, though, right?”
You wait for the disappointment, the anger, the resignation, but instead Kirishima goes quiet for a minute, his eyes seemingly glaze over. He has a smile on his face, though it’s strained.
He sighs and says, “That won’t be a problem for me.” And Kirishima surprises you yet again. “I’m a claimed omega too.”
“You? You are?” Fat Gum asks incredulously.
You remember when you first told Fat that you had Mirio claim you for the internship. He was upset, gave you a whole lecture about how these things should be saved for the right moment, not used as a pass to get a job, but you could tell he understood. In the end it only proved how passionate you were about furthering your career, if he had any doubts that your personality would influence your efficiency as a hero, they were thrown away then and there.
You’re impressed by Kirishima’s resolve, and a little happy to know he has a mate. He may be young, but you knew you would be with Mirio since middle school so it’s not unheard of.
Fat Gum isn’t happy though. “You didn’t go and do that just to come here, didja?”
“No! Nothing like that. I’ve…had it for a while.”
It takes a moment for you to understand. The scar tissue of his bite tells you it’s old, much older than your own. Realization falls over you and a chill runs up your spine. Oh.
Fat Gum seems to be putting it together too. “A while… How old are you anyway?”
“...Fifteen. Sixteen next month.”
Your stomach twists with the image of a far too young Kirishima being…
A rush of protectiveness falls over you. You barely know this first year, and yet all of your instincts are telling you to grab him, hug him, keep him safe. You almost cry with how intense the urge is.
“Yeah it’s…complicated. On the bright side, I can get started early, right?” He cuts through the dark mood with a suddenly chipper attitude. “I’m not gonna let anything get in my way! So, please accept me as a work study student!”
And with that, he gives a low bow. Over the bow, Fat Gum shoots you a panicked look as if to say “Did you know about this?!” You quickly shake your head.
Fat Gum sits back and seems to take a moment to contemplate all of this. After not long, his grim expression melts into a smile, and he breathes out a short laugh.
“Well, I’ll say this, Red, you make a helluva impression! I can’t say no after all that now, can I?”
—
Everything moves pretty fast after that. You watch as Fat Gum stamps his papers, makes small talk about Kirishima’s teacher, and you both leave shortly thereafter. It all happens in a blur, you feel outside of your body as your mind keeps going over the information you’ve learned today.
Kirishima Eijirou is an Omega.
Kirishima Eijirou is claimed.
Kirishima Eijirou was raped as a child.
Everytime you think about it you’re sent into another spiral of horror.
You always knew things like this happened, you’re going to be a hero so it’s impossible to avoid it, but this is the first time you’ve seen it this close.
Kirishima Eijirou is a person. He’s a person that was hurt in the worst way possible. Something precious was taken from him and now he’s smiling as if he just won the world. It doesn’t make sense.
Your dark thoughts must be palpable because at some point Kirishima asks if you’re okay.
“I’m fine!”
It must seem to him that you’re upset he’s just been welcomed to the agency. You sure didn’t seem excited to introduce him to Fat Gum. He probably thinks you were rooting for him to fail.
“I’m happy for you! Sorry if it doesn’t seem that way. It’s just…” Your eyes fall to his collar, and what you know lies under it. You don’t really know what you were going to say, but it doesn’t matter because Kirishima speaks for you.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s old news.”
Well that just makes you worry about it more. That urge to protect is back. You know deep down it’s mostly your omegan instincts, but a part of it must also be attributed to the fact that, even if you don’t know Kirishima all that well, you understand his personality. He’s bright and energetic and supportive, he’s everything you’re not, and you need to protect that. You can’t let anyone try to snuff out that light.
“It’s…Is it bad?”
His expression sours and oh god. It’s you. You’re the one that snuffed out his light.
“I’m going to be honest with you, dude—I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m trying to keep the good mood going, Yknow?”
He smiles at you and thank the gods he does because it means he’s back. You didn’t ruin him, he’s fine. His light is safe, for now.
To ease the mood, he asks about your own bond, which does make the uncomfortable atmosphere you’ve undoubtedly cultivated a bit more breathable. Mirio has that effect. Even when he’s not here, you know that just talking about him clears the dark fog in your head and fills you with a feeling of warmth and safety.
You let Kirishima ask more questions about him, even if it does get you embarrassed talking so deeply about your relationship. You’re happy to pull the conversation away from whatever ‘Old News’ he rather not talk about.
The more you talk the more you like Kirishima. He encourages you seemingly for no reason, like the simple accomplishment of having Mirio as a mate is worthy of his cheering. It’s embarrassing but you can’t help but feel prideful. He’s right. Mirio is amazing and you know you’ll be great together.
After you gush about Mirio some more, he becomes quiet and thoughtful, before suddenly asking, “Is it…nice? I mean…your bond—does it feel nice? Do you like it?”
Your first instinct is to say “Yes, of course. All bonds do.” Before you catch yourself because that’s not true, is it? A bond you didn’t want, a bond that was forced onto you when you were too young to understand can’t feel nice. You can’t even imagine what something like that may feel like. Hell, maybe.
“Yes, I like it.”
He seems satisfied with that answer, and you really don’t want to make him talk about something he was clear he wanted to avoid, but… You need to know. Is his suffering constant? You feel Mirio’s bond always so…If your bond was forced—if you were bonded to someone you hated, would you feel that always?
“Um, your bond, that is…do you have one?”
He tells you he doesn’t know.
“I…feel it sometimes, like…when I hear commands, or during my heat…”
That’s good, so it’s not a constant pain. You breathe a sigh of relief.
After that he asks some more questions about your bond, questions that unintentionally end with the two of you blushing.
There’s a lull in the conversation before Kirishima says,
“I have a guy I like. I’m not ready for him to claim me, but I think I want to have a real bond someday. Like yours.”
You hadn’t even considered that. Mentally, you scold yourself for only seeing Kirishima as a victim. Of course he’s still a person, he can still love and form bonds, though it may be harder for him? You actually don’t know all of the logistics of it. But… if he seems confident. Your heart hopes for him.
You smile. “It’s nice, when you find the right mate.”
He smiles back at you. “Yeah, it sounds like it is. Sorry for asking weird questions.”
“That’s okay, um.” You don’t want him to stop. You want to help Kirishima, though you don’t really know how. You can’t exactly undo what happened to him, as much as you may want to, and you can’t be with him 24/7 in an attempt to protect him from the world, so you offer to him what you can.
“If you have anything else you want to ask about this sort of thing…you can ask me.”
At the very least, you can do this for him.
His smile brightens, eyes lighting up.
“Thanks, sempai. And, um, sempai…it’s kind of a secret still that I’m claimed, so…can we keep it between us?”
You expected as much. It must be a heavy burden to bear. You hope you can take some of the weight off.
“I can keep a secret.”
—
Back on campus, you wave Kirishima goodbye as he walks away to the underclassmen’s dorm complex. The minute his back is turned the smile you had on starts to waver. The stress of today starts to catch up with you and you start to speed walk to 3-A’s dorms. You don’t want anyone out here to see you break down so it’s best to get back to your room as soon as possible. It’s nearly 5:30 which could mean Mirio is back from his own internship. That all depends on if he was humorous enough to satisfy his sensei’s quota. If not, he’ll likely be working late.
That’s a rare occurrence but it’s enough to make you dread opening the front door to the dorm building. You need your mate right now, and if he’s not there then you fear you may drop.
You finally do break through your own paralysis and open the front door, there are the voices of your classmates in the common room. You walk past them briskly, hoping that your distressed scent isn’t potent enough to bother them. There is a pause in conversation when you walk past, but it quickly picks up again once you’re down the hall.
Finally, finally you’re approaching your dorm. You say a silent prayer as the door gets closer to you, needing Mirio to be behind it.
You squeeze your eyes shut as you pull the door open,
“Hey Tamaki!”
And sob in relief when you hear that voice.
“Woah! Woah, what’s goin on?” He asks as he gets up from the bed, and you fall to your knees.
He shuts the door behind you to give you both privacy as you cover your face in your hands.
“Hey, it’s okay!” Mirio starts releasing a calming scent as he gently nudges your hands away from your face.
“I’m here, it’s gonna be okay.” He says with the smile you’ve had etched into your memory since you were a kid. The one Kirishima reminded you of today.
You haven’t even said anything yet, just sobbed pathetically on the floor as you try and fail to get a hold of yourself. Mirio wraps his big arms around you and kisses your hairline. He lifts you up and carries you back to bed. Before putting you down he quickly shoves the manga he must have been reading out of the way to make room for you both.
For a while, he just holds you as you cry. He’s been in this position countless times before and knows exactly what to do.
Right now, he just comforts you, gives you kisses and continues pumping out that calming scent as he tells you he loves you, that he’s here, that you’re safe. He does that until you finally stop sobbing.
Then Mirio asks,
“Do you want to talk about it?”
You sniff and start to nod before stopping yourself and going stiff.
You probably…can’t tell him this. It wouldn’t be fair to Kirishima. You’re certain he didn’t even want you to know, he definitely wouldn’t appreciate you telling someone else.
“Um, I don’t know if I can.”
Before Mirio tries to encourage you, you add “It’s not about me. It’s about someone else.”
He frowns. “Did something happen on patrol?”
Oh, that could work. This way you could open up to Mirio without putting Kirishima’s privacy at risk. You wouldn’t technically be lying either.
“Yeah. On patrol. There was a kid…”
Mirio shifts uncomfortably at the mention. You know he still harbors a lot of regret and anguish ever since leaving that little girl alone with her father. You remember the way he looked when he got back from his internship that day. You had never seen him like that, you almost didn’t recognize him. Mirio has his bad days, he’s human after all, but this was something different all together.
When you’re a child, being a hero is just helping people. It’s saving the day and getting praise and recognition for it. As an adult you have to deal with the realization that you can’t save everyone, and more than that, you’re exposed to horrors that you would not see otherwise. Murderers, terrorists, people being hurt, being killed. There can’t be heroes without villains, without conflict, and it’s rare that you get through a patrol where no one is hurt.
Mirio isn’t a child, he knows these things of course, but you think that was the first time he saw it up close. Watching that little girl walk away changed something in Mirio.
“They’re safe now!” You quickly assure him. “It’s just. They were um.” Your mouth feels dry.
“They were claimed.”
The atmosphere changes, you can taste it in his scent. Mirio was anxious hearing about a child in danger, but learning this, the emotion he’s experiencing is almost suffocating. Dark.
He seems to catch on and quickly gets his scent under control.
“Sorry, sorry about that. I just. Didn’t expect that.”
You almost want to laugh. “Yeah. Me either. It was a shock to all of us.” An extremely unpleasant surprise.
“We couldn’t have done anything,” You continue. “It didn’t exactly happen on patrol.”
‘Don’t worry about it, it’s old news.’
“It was an old scar but just knowing it happened was…a lot. That’s why I’m upset.”
Mirio nods in understanding.
“The kid, you said they’re okay now though?”
“Yeah.” A smile pulls at your lips, remembering how elated Kirishima was on the train ride home. He was shining. Like nothing bad could ever touch him.
“Actually, they’re doing great now.” Thriving.
Mirio hugs you tight. “That’s good then! Must be one strong kid.”
You agree. He is strong. A sense of calmness finally washes over you and all at once you feel exhausted.
“Thank you, Alpha.” You purr. Mirio’s face turns pink in the way you always thought was cute.
“Hey! No problem! You know I’ll always be here for you.”
Yeah, you know.
--
But you couldn’t be there for him.
The mission was technically a success, but not without losses. Too many losses. The main one of course is Nighteye, Mirio’s mentor. You never knew him personally, but from the way Mirio spoke of him, you knew he was a very honorable, if a bit eccentric, man. Then there’s Mirio’s quirk… You want to be angry. You want to blame the pros for letting Mirio go off on his own and letting him put himself in that situation, but it’s hypocritical to even think that. Aren’t you the one that said to go on ahead so you could take on three villains by yourself? There’s no reason to that anger, so instead of being angry you mourn. Mourn for Nighteye, for Mirio’s quirk, for his future. You know UA would never be as cruel as to kick him out immediately, you know they must be coming up with some kind of accommodations for him, but it doesn’t change the fact that, unless some miracle happens, he will never be the same.
Finally, there’s Kirishima, your kouhai. You peer over at him from your hospital bed. His bed is between you and Fat. His entire body has been wrapped in bandages from head to toe. When he first came in, he was still a little delirious. Muttering about protecting Fat. It would’ve been sweet if he wasn’t also covered in horrible lacerations and bruises.
Since then, they had patched him up, he seems mostly content, if a little quieter than usual. He still tries to talk to you but it’s hard to maintain conversations. You have trouble concentrating and just end up feeling dizzy and tired by the end.
You spend most of your time in the hospital sleeping, only really ever waking up to eat, drink, or use the restroom.
There was a moment though, you had just drifted out of sleep, somewhat aware of voices drifting over your head.
“-Shouldn’t have let that bastard anywhere near you.”
That’s Fat’s voice. Who is he talking about?
“-Not very heroic.” That’s Kirishima.
You’re starting to come to, little by little. You’re just aware enough to retain the next words coming out of Fat’s mouth.
“I called Eraserhead after you came to the agency that first day, just to hear the background there. He told me about the restraining order and the whole business of the bite, but…I didn’t know about the details.”
Are they talking about Kirishima’s bond? No. Not bond. His claim.
“I didn’t know that…you were supposed to be an alpha.”
Your eyes open.
You quickly shut them before Fat or Kirishima notice you’re awake. You don’t want to interrupt this or make it seem like you were eavesdropping or invading their privacy…which you were.
You’re not supposed to know this. You shouldn’t know these intimate, awful awful details.
Kirishima was…altered? You can’t bear to even think about the Word.
Every time you think it can’t get worse, it does.
“We won, Red. You don’t gotta worry about what that bastard said. He’s gonna get locked up for good this time.”
Wait, he was there?! Kirishima’s abuser was there? Was he the one that broke him?
The emotions you start feeling are seemingly too much for your damaged body to handle. Almost instantly overwhelmed with exhaustion, you begin to drift off again. Before your fall asleep, you hope that, when you wake up, you’ll remember what you heard… or maybe you hope you’ll forget? It’s hard to tell.
—
As it turns out, both outcomes happen. You wake up with the strange feeling something’s been forgotten, but you don’t know what. You ultimately decide it’s probably not important and let the thought fall to the back of your mind.
Prior to discharge, you’ve been feeling a little more aware. Still sleeping a lot, but at the very least you can maintain a conversation. Mirio came to visit once or twice, but always with a nurse chasing after him to bring him back to bed, so your meetings were brief. It’s enough to keep you sane, though. If you can see that Mirio is alive and acting like himself, everything should be okay.
You and Fat are set to discharge a few days before Kirishima, who needs a little more time to heal. At least he doesn't look like a mummy anymore, just a few scattered bandages around his arms and chest. You change into some clean clothes and then pack up the last of your things. You stop by Kirishima’s bed to tell him goodbye when you’re hit with another overwhelming instinct to protect. It catches you off guard, you haven’t felt it that strongly since first learning of Kirishima’s situation. Then you remember.
“Amajiki-senpai? Are you okay?”
It’s like déjà vu, you’re reliving the conversation you both had on the train ride back from Fat’s agency. Dammit, you really don’t want to worry Kirishima anymore than you already have. He has enough on his plate.
“Y-yeah. Fine… Sorry.”
Kirishima frowns. “Are you sure? You’re not feelin’ dizzy or something?”
You shake your head.
…But then you don’t move. Why can’t you move?
Don’t leave him alone. Protect. Can’t let him get hurt. Not again.
You try to reason with your omega that Kirishima is in a hospital. He is the safest he can be. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.
“Senpai? You’re crying.”
Oh, so you are.
“I’m really sorry. God, I can’t do anything. This is so humiliating. I’m sorry. I’m really really sorry.”
Kirishima guides you to sit on the edge of his hospital bed. “Hey, it’s alright! Are you worried about Togata-senpai?”
Sniffling, you nod. That’s easier than saying the truth, that you know more than you should.
“He’s okay! Didn’t ya see him? I mean, he’s been through a lot but if anyone can get through this it’s him! I don’t know him all that much, but I know that at least! I also know he really cares about you. Y’know he stopped by a few times when you were sleeping to bring you snacks from the vending machine?”
So that’s where those came from.
“I know. I know all that. I think I’m just scared.”
“Scared of what?” Kirishima rubs your back, as if you’re the one that needs comforting.
“I don’t want him to get hurt again.”
“Well… That’s just a part of hero work. Plus, Togata-senpai is still like one of the strongest guys I know. With or without his quirk.”
You look at Kirishima, at his smile.
Must be one strong kid.
“He is strong, isn’t he?”
“Yeah! Super strong!”
Wiping your eyes, you think of all that Kirishima has been through, not just his past but his present. How he can manage despite everything he’s been through. He’s been forced to endure so much and yet here he is, smiling at you. Again. Like nothing is wrong. Kirishima is something precious. You have feelings for him that you really didn’t expect to ever have. Nothing romantic, of course, but a sort of… maternal instinct? Maybe closer to that of an older brother. You want to protect him from all there is to hurt him, but also you want to see him overcome adversity and thrive. He keeps surprising you, again and again. You don’t really want that to stop.
“Kirishima, thank you.”
He pats you on the back, maybe a little too hard. “Of course, senpai! Now go and see Togata-senpai, okay? I bet he really wants to see you.”
You stand, giving your kouhai one last look before walking out of the room.
You know he must be hurting, despite the smile on his face. You’re not naive enough to assume he’s not at all affected by what’s happened. You hope that whoever he spoke of on the train has his best interests at heart, and is ready to cherish him in the way he deserves.
Beyond that, you’ll be keeping an eye on him from afar. You want to be there for him if he ever needs it. That isn’t usually your role… but you think you could manage.
For Kirishima.