𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏᶦ

XLVIII

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Aeri was filled with unbridled joy as they roamed the streets of Myeongdong. She and Jungwon had purposefully chosen to take the boys to that area of Seoul since the street food there was famous, with carts and stands offering all different options for the boys to try.

She made Bakugou try tteokbokki, knowing of his love for spicy foods and to no one's surprise, he loved it. Aeri bought him more after that, wanting him to be well-fed and happy.

Kirishima particularly liked the Korean corn dogs with potato, even going as far as to say that he would learn the recipe to cook them for the rest of the class when they returned.

Hyunjin and Amajiki had disappeared into one of the many restaurants lining the streets, claiming they'd prefer to eat a meal than street food but the twins knew Hyunjin just didn't want to make Amajiki uncomfortable with the number of people bustling through the streets at this time of day—Hyunjin loved street food—so Aeri made sure to get some for him, even though it'd be cold by the time they rejoined each other.

"I'm so full!" Jungwon exclaimed, patting his stomach with his free hand. The other hand carried a plastic bag full of food to bring home to their dad who was likely enjoying the peace.

"I think I'll die if I eat another bite," Kirishima agreed. Bakugou said nothing but he seemed more sluggish than usual. All three of them had gone overboard, getting too excited at all the food the vendors offered.

Aeri smiled at them all, adjusting the bag of groceries she held so it wasn't cutting into her palm uncomfortably. She figured she should pick some up so they could make dinner tonight. She held the box of street food in her other arm. Bakugou mistook her shifting as a struggle and reached out to take the bag from her.

"Give it to me. You're already holding the box, I'll hold the bag." He commanded. Aeri clicked her tongue.

"You've got the snacks. I'm fine with these." She nodded to the convenience store bag in his hand.

"It weighs nothing, gimme the fucking groceries," Bakugou frowned. He reached out and attempted to take the bag once more but Aeri moved it away. "Aeri." He glared.

"Swap then. I'll take that bag, you take this one." She compromised since it didn't look like he was letting up anytime soon. He grumbled but reluctantly agreed, swapping the bags over.

"You fight like an old married couple." Kirishima laughed, swiftly shutting up when Bakugou glared at him.

Aeri almost yelped when a hand grasped her shoulder. Her head whipped around to see who it was but her troubled expression turned to a smile when she spotted Jinyoung staring down at her with a small smile of his own, in his hero suit. He was likely on patrol.

"Why are you wasting all your money on food? You should've called me and I'd have bought it for you." He scolded her lightly, eyes flicking to the bags the four of them held.

"Food is cheap. It's not like I'm buying bags full of diamonds...plus Jungwon paid for half," She told him. "Shouldn't you be patrolling?"

"I just got off. Is it just you four?"

Aeri shook her head. "Hyunjin and Tamaki are here, they went to a restaurant instead." Jinyoung nodded. He bent down and placed a light kiss the the top of her head.

"I'll see you back at the estate later, I'm going to pick up Hyoseop."

Aeri nodded and waved him away. He gave Jungwon a curt nod and then disappeared back into the crowd.

Jungwon huffed. "Hey Jinyoung, nice to see you Jinyoung." He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"He's still mad at you," Aeri chuckled.

"Mad at me? He's the one who stabbed you, I should be mad at him!"

"You shouldn't be mad at each other. You should get along." Aeri said, sighing. Though she knew there was a rift between them and a damn hard one to fix.

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"Dad? we're back! we have your food!" Jungwon yelled, his voice echoing through the house. There was a grunt and then a door opened upstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps and the padding of three sets of paws coming down the stairs.

Aeri dropped the bags on the kitchen counter and then bent down to scoop Nari into her arms, pressing kisses to her head as she purred.

"Thank you," Aizawa took the bag and started to take out the boxes of food and side dishes to heat them. Hyunjin began unbagging the groceries, slotting them in the pantry and fridge. "You bought groceries? I was planning on getting them later..." Aizawa frowned, feeling guilty that his children felt the need to buy food when it was his responsibility to provide for them.

"We bought them just in case. It's only the basic stuff." Aeri said, letting out a quiet 'oomph' when Yami decided to jump from the counter onto her back, using her as a perch. Nari swatted a paw at the black cat who was stealing Aeri's attention. Amajiki decided to help her out and carefully took Yami off her shoulder, cradling the black cat in his arms and scratching his belly.

"Jinyoung said he's gonna come over with Hyoseop later," Jungwon warned, opening a bag of shrimp chips. Hyunjin and Kirishima immediately came over to steal some from the bag.

Aizawa simply nodded, sticking a spoon in his soft tofu stew to test if it was warm enough yet. Jinyoung and Hyoseop came over a lot, whether they were in Japan or Korea, so it wasn't a surprise.

Bakugou stood by Aeri's side, reaching over to pet Nari's fur to which the cat purred in delight, revelling in the attention she was receiving. The couple made eye contact and moved to the stairs with a silent agreement. Aeri handed Nari over to Bakugou and grasped both of their suitcases, teleporting to the top of the stairs so they didn't have to deal with dragging them up the stairs. Bakugou walked up after, Nari still curled up happily in his arms.

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