A Hero Worth Fighting For (KiriBaku)

Chapter 2

We finished eating, Bakugo insisted on paying the bill. Deku, Kaminari, and Todoroki already left a few minutes ago. Bakugo sits on the bench by the door, awaiting his ride. I now sit next to him, even though I should probably start walking home.

"It was nice seeing you today! We'll have to hang out more like we used to," He says, happily.

"Agreed!" I smile at him. I look at his hand, wanting to hold it but deciding not to.

A motorcycle with no rider parks in front of us. Through the speaker, Justin yells "Get in losers we're going shopping!" Bakugo laughs.

"I better go, see you later." I turn around and start to walk away.

"Want a ride?"

I turn around. "Um, I don't know."

"What, scared?" Bakugo laughs. Very, actually. I've never ridden one before.

"Yeah, I don't bite. Although it feels kind of weird with you sitting on my di-"

"Ignore him!" Bakugo yells, glaring at the speaker. "Come on, don't trust me?"

"I only live like," I check my Google Maps. An hour away. "Fine." That's only twenty minutes by bike.

"Would a helmet make you feel better?" He teases.

"No." I grumble. I try to get on, and eventually succeed but it looks hilariously stupid.

"I assumed you've ridden one before. It's manly, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I just haven't had the opportunity to or anything."

"Well, now you get to. Congrats." He laughs, then starts the machine. Human? Machine? What do I call this?

He slowly starts it, driving it- him?- into the road then picks up speed as he lifts his feet up. I hold onto the sides of the motorcycle, hoping I can stay on by doing that.

I can't.

He picks up his speed, causing me to yelp and grab his waist quickly. He jumps slightly at the sudden touch but doesn't get angry. I look up at his face, my own heating up from embarrassment. He holds a light blush, but stays focused on the road, his eyes keen and beautiful. His hair blows in the wind. Hot. Ah! Stop calling him hot, Kirishima! Get your head in the game!

We hit a speed bump, causing me to grab on even tighter. Tight enough to make me press my cheek to his back. He laughs at my sudden jumpiness.

"What's wrong? Not feeling manly today?" He yells through the wind.

"What? I'm always manly! Turn a left here!"

He nods, doing as I say but doesn't add anything else. His mouth perks up into a smile I've never seen on him before. I admire our surroundings, beautiful buildings that reach high and low. Trees, benches, potted plants, and more sit outside the doors. Bystanders walk out of shops like the famous pastry store or the local Kmart. One girl walks her small Yorkshire, holding hands with a slightly taller man I can only assume is her boyfriend.

"What way?" He asks me. We approach a red light, cars start to slow.

"Straight!" I yell at him. He nods.

He stops the bike, bringing his feet to the ground. "Are we almost there!" Justin whines.

"Don't complain!" Bakugo growls, jokingly.

"Is that Red Riot? And he looks like the new superhero, what was it? Dynamite!"

"OMG! Take a picture Suzy! Are they dating? How romantic!"

Dammit! I knew I should've brushed my hair down before going out to eat but I stupidly decided to leave it up in my crazy notorious way! This is so embarrassing! I still lean on his back, but instead my forehead touches him instead of my cheek. I make an attempt to hide my face but it's still pretty obvious. I subconsciously squeeze him tight, embarrassment filling my entire being.

I assume the light turns green because he drives off. "Sorry, probably should've found some more private roads," Bakugo says. I recognize this street. Almost home. This is so embarrassing.

"This road is usually way more private. It's not your fault."

We turn onto my street, coming close to my small two story house. "Right here." I let go with my left hand, pointing towards my house. I put my hand back around his waist gently, rubbing my cheek into his back as I look at my lovely house on the left side of the street. The green grass shining in the almost-pitch black sky. The moon beams brightly, stars every which way. It's gorgeous. Romantic. Bakugo clears his throat and I snap back to reality.

Wait.

Wait a second.

We're parked in my driveway. Completely stopped. At my house. My hands are still wrapped around his waist. My cheek is still on his back. I just called this romantic. Oh my God, save me from this embarrassment. I shoot back, but for some reason I still want to hold him close. "S- Sorry," I stutter. Hey! You're a manly man! You're not supposed to stutter!

He stares down at the screen of the motorcycle, blushing deeply. His eyes are wide and he fidgets. His shoes bounce on the pavement of my driveway. "Yeah, sorry. Um, I better get going. See you sometime soon?"

"Yeah. Did you change your number? I still have it from UA."

"Nope, didn't change it. You?"

"Nope. I'll text you sometime then!"

He nods excitedly as I open the door, Pop Rocks running out to see him. "Rocksy, don't bother them!"

Bakugo gets up hastily with a childish smile, his arms outstretched like he is awaiting her love. Instead, she runs to Justin happily. She jumps, standing on her hind legs as she leans on Justin. Which knocks him down. He quickly transforms into his human form, yelling an "ow" in the process.

She licks him all over and Justin laughs happily. "What a cute dog!" Her brown and black coloring can barely be seen in the night but her blue eye can be seen vividly. Rocksy- pronounced "Roxy"- has one brown eye and one blue, one of the many things that makes her cute. Don't let this cuteness fool you though, she is very masculine. Strong and muscular despite being female, she's tall too. Seven years old and as energetic as a puppy, she loves hiking and playing with a disk. In high school Bakugo would allow me to attend some of his hikes, it was so much fun. He got me into the long walks.

"What? Do I not get any love?" Bakugo asks, genuine sadness in his voice.

"Sorry about her. She probably knows he's a vehicle and that usually means it's time for a hike."

"You hike?" Rocksy finally decides to give Bakugo attention, running over and wagging her tail rapidly. He sits on the dirty cement, allowing her to sit in his laps as he rubs her thick fur.

"Now I do, yeah! You got me into it so I try to take her to some trails at least twice a week," I reply.

"We should go sometime, I know this great trail that I take Boomy to!"

"Yes we should!"

"Can we go now? I'm tired," Justin buds in.

"Yeah, we should get going. I'll text you sometime to hang out, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Good night!"

" 'Night!"

My mouth moves to say love you, but I stop myself. That was just because I'm used to saying it to my mom or something, right?

Before driving off, he turns to me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. Oh my God I'm in love. I wave to him slowly, holding Rocksy's color so she doesn't take off. Well, he got his angered issues sorted out and he's even hotter than before.

That smile keeps me up all night, it's the most genuine smile I've seen and he gave a lot of good examples today of one. He's become so happy and kind, what happened these past few years? Looks like my crush on him is back. I thought I was over him, that I moved on from him, guess not.