Red Ink

Part 7 - Snowed In

Time passed quickly. Actually, the sun was beginning to shine golden light onto the table with its' sunset, indicative of just how long they'd been talking.

The meeting definitely didn't feel like one. Was Kirishima like this with everybody he met? At every turn he made sure Red was well taken care of, topping off her drink and feeding her different snacks all while showering her in different praises for her work. This must've been normal for him, but it definitely wasn't for Y/N.

At one point, her mind wandered a little too far and she wondered how frequently he had women over if he knew how to pamper her this well– but Red quickly dashed the thought after it made her stomach turn. He was her client. This wasn't a date, no matter how much he flirted.

The two of them sat hunched over his dining table. Most of the day was spent there, pouring over the dozens of concept drawings Red had made, trying to translate Kirishima's ideas onto paper as best they could.

For how much he loved talking, he was surprisingly bad at describing what he wanted. It was getting to be quite funny, actually.

"More... left. More left," He said decidedly.

"The whole design?"

"This part," He said, pointing to an arbitrary spot on the intricate design Red had drawn up. "Like, stretch it to the left maybe?"

"So you want this part stretched horizontally?"

"Hmm..." Kirishima rubbed his cheek. He didn't seem to know what he wanted, either, but thank god Red was as patient as ever. "No, I was wrong. I think I like it like this."

Red bit her lip to stifle a laugh. "Alright, that part's good then. How about the top? Do you like the design for the sun?" They had to be getting close. His changes were getting smaller and smaller the longer they worked, which had to be a good sign.

It never bothered her. Patience came easy, and with how often he was accommodating her, it wasn't difficult to remain empathetic. It was a piece of art that would stay on his body forever. She wanted him to be completely happy with it.

Both of their chairs were pulled in as tightly as possible to the table. No other meeting with a client had been like this. No, this was too casual, and Kirishima conversed with her so easily that Y/N often forgot this wasn't just for fun. This was supposed to be work, and she was supposed to be professional, but then he'd say something sweet about her drawing skills or the two of them would get sucked into an unrelated conversation and the cycle would repeat.

Kirishima's arm was draped over the back of her chair, but based on his laser focus on her work, he probably didn't even notice. He didn't notice when his leg bumped into hers and stayed there, either.

"Can we have some of these squiglies come out longer?" He leaned down, his chest now pressing against her shoulder as he pointed to the paper. "To make it kind of different, you know? I think that'd look nice."

Red was going to turn and nod, but he was pressed against her upper arm now and for some reason that made it difficult to think straight. For just a moment she was able to smell his cologne and Y/N could've sworn it made her head fuzzy with how nice it was. Stop it. Focus. "Uh huh," She finally sputtered.

Kirishima leaned back and Red was able to breathe again.

"You're sure you don't mind changing everything so many times?" He questioned. "This has got to be annoying for you."

"I don't mind. We're making good progress. At this rate I'll be able to go home in... 4 days," She teased, looking at her imaginary watch.

"Rude. Very rude."