Goodbye Solitude

Chapter 6

Bakugo clutched the growling cat tightly in his arms as he retraced his steps back to the girl's house. His mind was filled with a dull buzz the entire way, making him feel like his body was moving on autopilot. Processing what just happed was impossible. Thinking at all while he walked down the cement sidewalk was impossible. All he knew was the sound of their footsteps and the feel of fur in his hands.

About a half an hour later, he walked up the steps to the girl's house. Curtains covering one of the front windows twitched and a little face peeked outside. The girl's face lit up and then disappeared. A moment later the front door flew open and she came running outside.

"Ollie! You found Ollie!" she cried out joyfully and took the cat away from Bakugo. "Thank you so much!" She beamed up at him and Bakugo's brain fog started to clear up a bit.

He attempted to smile, but even though it was a pretty lame smile she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy hugging and cooing over the cat.

Kirishima smiled down at her, his face warm with affection. "Be more careful about keeping him inside, there are some not very nice people around that are mean to cats."

She nodded emphatically. "Oh, I will! Thanks, Mister!" She started to turn around and head back into her house.

"Red Riot!" Kirishima called after her and then pointed at Bakugo. "And he's Ground Zero!"

Bakugo snorted as she went inside and shut the front door. "She doesn't give two craps who we are."

Kirishima shrugged. "Oh well, not everything can be all about the fame, I guess."

"Says one of the most popular heroes ever."

"You're more popular than you realize. You're not exactly easy to approach but people think your quirk and villain battles are cool." He looked at his cellphone. "Our shift is about up, let's start heading back to the shuttle stop."

Kind of wishing he still had the cat in his arms, Bakugo walked with Kirishima back to where they were dropped off that morning. His body was strung tight as he waited for Kirishima to say or do something about their kiss earlier. Now that his head felt clear again, the shock swept away, he kept going over everything he'd done and felt in that moment. He analyzed everything to the smallest movement.

Why?

Why was Kirishima so hard to resist? Why did Bakugo make the first move? Why did Kirishima kiss him back? Why did it feel so damn good? The questions kept recirculating in his head over and over again.

But, for some reason, Kirishima was suspiciously quiet. At one point, as they rode back on the shuttle to Home Office, Bakugo snuck a peek at Kirishima. The redhead looked down at his lap, obviously deep in thought. Sensing his gaze, Kirishima suddenly locked eyes with him. His red eyes widened for a second and then a faint smirk tugged at his lips, making him look far too fucking handsome again.

Bakugo looked away, his face feeling warm. He didn't need this. He didn't want this! This weird attraction that kept rearing its head and catching him off guard.

Finally, he folded his arms over his chest and glared at Kirishima. "Well?" he demanded.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to say something, Mr. 'I'm not going to pretend it never happened'?"

"Oh, I am. We're still on the clock, though. You said you didn't want to be distracted on the job." His eyes twinkled and Bakugo scowled, feeling like he was being teased.

"Right. Good point," he grumbled and looked away.

"Are you looking forward to me talking to you about it?" He was definitely teasing him now, the bastard.