One Dance

29| Love Like You

"F-Father!" Eijirou looked to his mother, who stood beside him. "And mom!" Stammering, he bowed, eyes squeezed shut. "I-I didn't expect to see you here. You've come all the way from Chiba?"

"Stop bowing." His father waved him off. "You're embarrassing yourself."

"Ah, r-right." Eijirou straightened his back and clenched his clammy hands at his sides. Katsuki abandoned their cart to take a protective step besides Ei, hands tucked away in his pants pocket, but shoulder kissing the other's. Mr. Kirishima peered down at him. "Bakugou, isn't it? I've heard so much about you. It's... nice to finally meet you after all these years."

"Likewise, Mr. Kirishima sir," Katsuki all but growled, intimidating intent clear in his tone despite the otherwise polite greeting. Eijirou cleared his throat as his father turned to pick at the strawberries, scrutinizing them.

"So, strawberries, eh?" Eijirou lacked the usually bass in his voice. Katsuki ground his teeth. "They're pretty sweet around this time of the year. Is this why you've come all the way to Musutafu? The fruits always seem to be the sweetest here." He laughed awkwardly, picking up a plump berry in a shaky hold. Mr. Kirishima ignored him and continued to pick out berries he deemed the ripest. Eijirou swallowed the lump in his throat, mirrored him. Katsuki watched his mother watching him intently, her almond-shaped eyes flickering between the two bodies. There would've been complete undisturbed silence between the four if it wasn't for the group of teenagers chatting loudly nearby. Ei stopped at six berries, his father at four.

"So I've read in the paper that you've publicized your relationship with Bakugou here," Mr. Kirishima looked away from the plump berry he currently held in his hand. "Is that true?"

"Well, yes."

A sigh. "Tell me something: was all this worth it? Going to U.A. to become a hero, publicizing such a controversial relationship, and—are you still prancing around? I hope you dropped that poor habit." The elder male swapped out one of his strawberries for another plump berry, it's color as deep and vivid as his own eyes. His small pupils locked onto the ashen blond standing right beside the son he poorly acknowledged. "Bakugou, do you believe all this was worth it in the end? You don't have to continue to be roped up in our son's antics if you wish not to."

The blond furrowed his brows in response, nose scrunching and lips curling while his palms sweated out nitroglycerin threateningly. He dated to glimpse at Eijirou from the corner of his eye and caught the blurred edge of his bottom lip poking out, quivering. Katsuki felt his eyes roll closed and his teeth clench together painfully. "It's been four months..."

A pop sounded. The blond opened and closed his hand into a tighter fist, voice dangerously low  "Four of the best goddamn months of my life. If I didn't believe it was worth it—that he's worth it—I wouldn't be standing here facing you today, and evidently, this whole old age homophobic attitude of yours towards our 'controversial relationship' is outdated as shit." Mrs. Kirishima shifted closer towards her husband and Katsuki quickly locked eyes with her too. "And you. You should be ashamed of yourself. Both of you. I'm so fucking glad my parents are nothing like you two."

The blond chewed his tongue to keep from saying anything more than that, turning back to their cart and beckoning for Eijirou to follow with a sharp cock of his head. "Come, Eiji, let's get out of here."

They moved quickly towards checkout, not exactly making haste, but fast enough to get the fuming blond far away from the Kirishimas to extinguish his rage with a deep sigh. He wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his joggers, took out cash to pay for their things, and as they left the market, he bumped the sullen redhead's shoulder with his own. "Don't worry about them. They can't go on actin' like that towards you forever..." Eijirou let out an exhausted breath. Kat chewed his lip. "But in the meantime, at least we..." He trailed off, frowning at himself for doing so. He was determined to work on conveying his emotions freely without hesitation, so, he dropped the bag beside the rear wheel of his bike, scratching the back of his neck as he pouted at the redhead gazing at him curiously, expectantly. "At least we have each other. And those other extras too, I guess."