Kirishima x Reader // "Sometimes I'm Alone in a Crowd"

Chapter 13

NOTE: this chapter is explicit. all characters depicted are mid 20′s.

The next morning Kirishima stood in front of the cash register like he did most mornings, waiting for his girlfriend to come in for her routine coffee. Right on time she walked through the door. It always set a good mood for the day when he could see her, even if it was just for a few minutes.

"Good morning, stranger!" He greeted with that bright smile that she did her best to return despite the early morning hour.

"Morning, sir. The usual if you don't mind." If he had an employee discount he'd give it to her everyday. She'd been coming into the shop for almost a month now and they'd been dating almost three weeks; Kirishima kept track. "You ready for dinner, tomorrow? And you get that bandage off your nose, right"

He gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Yeah! Steak sounds so good right now I can't wait. And yeah, the bruising is pretty much gone now so it should be fine." He looked like he was honestly daydreaming about steak. "Do you wanna meet at closest train station and walk?"

"Yeah I'll check to make sure it's not supposed to rain or anything. If it does we're taking a taxi, I'm not walking in the rain." Ryuko walked over to the other side of the cafe to wait for her order. She and Bakugou hadn't directly spoken since he'd confronted her after work the previous week. Kirishima bugged him to properly apologize, but Bakugou was as stubborn as ever. Admitting that he'd messed up, that he'd been shitty to the person Kirishima cared about made him pissed at himself more than anything now that the storm had passed. He was actively working towards moving forward and if he was going to try and stay friends with Kirishima – even if it was at a distance for a while – then he'd have to fix it. Didn't change the fact that he hated it.

He put her order on the counter without looking up, and she took it without a word. She had a quick goodbye with the red-head before heading out the door to work.

"Did you figure out some shitty gift yet?" Bakugou turned around, Kirishima still looking towards the front door. For once he looked...confident? Like he knew exactly what he wanted, like he wasn't embarrassed of his feelings anymore.

"Yeah, I did. I'm going to get it after work. And dude, I know I keep bugging you about it but-"

"Yeah yeah I know. Working on it."

It was Friday night and Kirishima stood in front of his mirror to give himself a once-over before meeting his date for dinner. He wore something similar to what he wore to the office party with the addition of a brightly colored patterned tie. The bandage was finally off his nose so actually felt presentable. Pumping himself with an internal pep talk, he grabbed a small gift bag from his bed before heading over to his nightstand and sticking the unused condoms from the previous couple of weeks into his pocket.

"Bakugou, I'm leaving! Won't be back until tomorrow sometime." Bakugou came out into the hallway from his room. He gave Kirishima a once-over and rolled his eyes at the tie but didn't say anything.

"Don't fucking worry about it, it'll be fine." Kirishima nodded in response.

"I'm not worried, I know it'll go well. But thanks, bro. I mean it." With that he left the apartment, leaving Bakugou alone.

"What an idiot..." Bakugou shook his head, a small smile on his face as he walked back to his room.

"Ok ok, I look fine right? Took a shower, perfume, cleaned my room, halfway matching underwear, I shaved...wish me luck, Ghost?" He gave a tired meow from her bed as a response, Ryuko for once feeling like the nervous one in this situation.

Ever since almost telling Kirishima that she loved him at the hospital, it'd been on the tip of her tongue but she just...couldn't bring herself to say it. That's why she planned a nice dinner – that was romantic, right? Perfect opportunity to be cliché and tell him how she really felt. He'd honestly been amazing to her. He was a good listener, was kind, didn't hesitate if she needed help or just wanted to talk, they had a lot in common, just had fun together...it's what she wanted. Not just a boyfriend or girlfriend but a real partner, someone to share experiences with. She could feel her heart beating in her throat. It was like Ochako said, she had to trust him, right? If you're going to fall in love, someone should be there to catch you. And Kirishima already proved he could carry her just fine.