[Art cr: kito0004 on Twitter]

As the weeks passed by, it became a daily routine for Kirishima to visit the wolf in the forest, giving him a variety of food that ranged from meat to even baked foods. Along the way, the redhead found out that Bakugou's particular favourite was his mother's spicy chicken curry. In fact, the wolf really liked spice.

At one point, Kirishima even found himself bringing his own lunch so that he could eat alongside the wolf and ramble on about different topics and issues he felt like discussing during that day. Although Bakugou preferred to act like he did not involve himself much in human affairs, he still was able to make more than a few good points through his wise opinions. It was fascinating to the human to say the least.

His updates about the wolf to his grandma were always filled with excitement, with his grandma lending an ear to her animated grandson's gushing about his new friend. "Yeah, he even lets me call him my best friend! Can you believe that? And, and sometimes, I see his tail wag. Just a little, but y'know, it's still amazing! He's amazing!"

"Is he well? Be sure that you are not just feeding him junk food now." She'd softly advise him whenever there was a break between his speeches, feeling her heart soar at the notion that the little wolf would not be lonely anymore. Kirishima's grandma also adored the way his eyes seemed to light up when he would babble on about Bakugou. His red eyes seemed to gleam brighter with each visit, and at the same time – amidst his gushing – his grandma began to suspect that there was a new kind of feeling introducing itself as it began to bloom inside her grandson's heart.

"Hey Katsuki! I've got sushi for you to try today!" Bakugou blinked in the usual direction of the voice, his ears twitching as he cocked his head at the sight of Kirishima. It was inevitable that the human would visit him, by now he simply told himself that it would be too difficult at this point to tell him to go away, and that he is the reason why he can get consistent meals. That was the only reason he kept him around. It wasn't as if... he genuinely enjoyed his company and dumb rambling, right?

However, as always, his tail seemed to betray him. He didn't have much control over the way it would instinctively begin to wag when he heard Kirishima's familiar shout or would sway even harder once the particular human was in view. What was even more troublesome was when the stupid redhead would notice it, "Hey! You seem happy to see me." He would grin, which was a dead giveaway that he was happy to see him too.

"Don't become full of yourself! It's an instinct thing! It only happens because I'm excited for the food. The food! Not you." He crossed his arms, brows deeply furrowed all while his tail was still wagging side to side as Kirishima began passing him his food. "Sushi... I've heard of it. Sounds disgusting."

"Don't knock it 'till you try it! Try it with the soy sauce."

"You even brought soy sauce? A bit over excessive don't you think?"

"It completes it!" The human insisted, using a pair of chopsticks to pick up a piece, dip it in soy sauce before reaching towards the wolf. Bakugou stared at it for a moment as the rolled-up rice and duck approached him before he parted his lips and gently took it from the pair of chopsticks. His eyes closed for a moment, savouring the flavour as he tried to understand the salty flavour of the nori, before opening his eyes and dropping his expression when he realised what he had done.

"What're you staring at?"

"Nothing! Really, nothing. It's just... nice to see you enjoy the food, y'know?" This time, Bakugou's cheeks began to turn rosy, shaking his head as he continued muttering.

"Just shut up."

"You want me to stop feeding you then?"

"You started it! I'll kill you-"

"There there, it was a simple question. Here, say 'ahh'!" It seemed that the boy had grown used to his coarse way of speaking, being able to calm him down by putting his hand on his head. Bakugou was quick to comply, enjoying the new taste he had discovered as he chewed the sushi with a habitual slowness.

Meanwhile, Kirishima was slowly going crazy over how 'lovey-dovey' the scene was, especially with the boy's relaxed and happy expressions just from food. He noticed the way Bakugou's eyes softened when he tasted something he liked, along with the way his cheeks looked cute and round. The redhead was astonished at the fact that he looked completely at peace as long as he had delicious food in his mouth. 'He ate it... he really ate it.' It was possible to say that our protagonist had gained a little crush on the wolf, while the other boy was a bit oblivious to his own feelings about him (or as one may say, stubborn), being more focused on the food delivered to him.

With Kirishima's next visit, everything was the same besides one extra bold move he had decided to make. That morning, he left his usual attire in the closet and instead settled on a red dress with a white, frilly apron on the front. It had a skirt that had a length ending just above his knees, which was not the most conventional for young males. Kirishima only wore this particular outfit at home, and his mother did not mind. In fact, she was one of his avid supporters so that he could be more confident in himself. She was happy to see her son confident enough to walk outside with it on for once even if it was just to his grandmother's house. If anyone had anything negative to say to him, they would definitely have to meet her more serious side.

"Have a nice day, Eiji."

"Thanks Ma! See you later!" He replied with a grin, waving before running towards the woodland path. He had started the day with such valour, but he found that the closer he got to their usual hangout spot, the smaller and slower his strides became. Different thoughts began clouding his mind. Things like, 'What if he judges me? What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore because I'm weird? This isn't normal...' His legs carried him to the familiar spot, his knuckles beginning to pale with the tight grip he had on the basket's handles.

The wolf perked up once Kirishima arrived, looking down at the basket and then at his skirt. He noticed the way the human stiffened slightly when his gaze lasted on the material for more than a second, so he simply looked away as normal and patted the spot next to him.

"What's there to eat today?"

"Rice balls!"

"Eh? Sounds boring."

"Since when did you get so spoiled?" Kirishima teased the other as he took his spot next to him. He began to relax a little more as Bakugou had returned to normal. "They're not boring. My Ma is very good at seasoning them! And they have fillings so don't judge a book by its cover. There's beef, tuna, teriyaki chicken..." The boy didn't have to say much more before Bakugou began to search through the basket and gorge on the contents inside. Kirishima crossed his legs as he watched him, a small smile spreading on his face.

"How does your mom cook so much?" The wolf asked, but he looked far from disgruntled by it with his stuffed cheeks. In fact, one may say he looked almost grateful that Kirishima's mother cooked so much.

"Well, she does love cooking," The human replied, picking up his own share of the bounty, "I've always loved meat especially as a teen, so a lot of her dishes contain meat for me. She's a very headstrong woman who definitely doesn't want me to starve. Also, because she's a family-type of person... she naturally makes enough to serve a family. We at least have plenty to give to you and my grandma."

Bakugou looked down as Kirishima brought up his grandma. He remembered the gentle wave of her hand towards him before he would scurry away. The wolf noticed that the pair seemed to have similarly warm eyes. He wasn't too sure, however, why he found himself trusting this human much quicker.

They continued to eat with only a comfortable silence between them. By now, they had slumped against each other while their conversation subjects would lazily drift from one topic to another. Neither of the two seemed to mind where the conversation went.

"I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"What's with the skirt?" And just like that, the comfortable silence was drowned out by the tension in the air. Kirishima scratched the back of his head, refusing to meet the eyes of the other, while his mind raced at all the possible answers. A part of him was even tempted to say that he had accidentally worn it out but didn't realise until it was too late. "Oi. You're beginning to sweat."

"I... well, I..." Amidst the boy's panic, he blinked when he felt something warm against his cheek. He looked over to notice the wolf's fingers poking against his cheek. Bakugou tilted his head, his eyes looking more curious now rather than annoyed.

"Look, you were a weirdo to me already."

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying," Bakugou propped his knees, "after everything, it's not like something like this would change the way I think about you..."

After that, the silent realisation was so poignant that even the gentle breeze making the grass sway could be noticed. Kirishima let those words sink in, a small smile spreading as he finally opened his mouth with a calmer heartbeat.

"I don't normally wear this out, but... I just felt like it, honestly." Kirishima spoke, massaging the hem of his skirt between his index finger and thumb, "But it doesn't make me any less of a man... I think. A long time ago I learned that a lot of people disagree with me, but my Ma doesn't care, thankfully. It might be why she is quite protective... I'm one of the only ones of her family left. I... decided to wear this when visiting you because we're close and I feel comfortable around you, y'know? But then last minute I just started getting nervous because I wasn't sure what you would think." Bakugou had become quiet, making Kirishima turn to him to get a good look at any sign of discomfort. "Well, do you think any differently of me now?"

Bakugou crossed his legs and threw his hands up, feigning exasperation, "Fuck if I care about what you wear. It won't change the fact that we're close, you hear. So, don't go chickening out on me before I punch you. I don't care if you're in a skirt, a dress, a shitty corset, I'll fight you." Kirishima found himself tearing up slightly, gripping the fabric beneath his fingers before pulling his friend into a firm hug. The wolf let out a small yelp at first as he was caught off guard, but quickly settled when he felt the arms embracing him so tightly. It felt like being wrapped in a ball of warmth, strength, and... relief. Once the initial shock was over, Bakugou awkwardly placed his arms around Kirishima's torso, trying to find a comfortable way to hold him but soon enough noticing that any response would make the human happy.

Kirishima finally felt like he had found a friend to accept him fully for who he was. Even though the wolf had an abrasive character, the other boy had never felt more grateful that there was at least one person who he could tell pretty much everything, other than family.

"Thank you."