Granny B will be there.
Lead with that next time.
*
"I knew it, I freaking knew it! Didn't I know it, Toru?"
"You knew it, Mina."
"I knew Katsuki Bakugo liked you!" Ashido pointed at Ren triumphantly as she practically stood on the coffee table by how far she was leaning over it. "And I told you and you played it off like it was nothing but you totally liked him too and you knew he liked you!" She continued her deductions, eyeing Ren suspiciously for any twitches in her face that could be a dead giveaway.
Ren took a sip of her coffee and simply quirked a brow at her pink friend. "What makes you think that?"
"You guys totally danced together last night!" Ashido exclaimed. "And that's why you were so moody, cause you were waiting for him to ask you! And I bet the last few weeks of you guys hatin' on each other has just been misdirected passion! Damn you look so freaking cute together!" She clenched her fists together and banged them on the table a few times.
Ren glanced around at her group of friends from behind her coffee cup as she took another sip. They'd gathered late that morning for one last catch up and quick debrief before their short winter break that would see them all jetting off to their respective homes.
"By that logic, does that mean we can assume you're into Kirishima?" Ren asked slyly as she gently placed her cup back on the table. "He's the only person you said yes to for a dance, right?"
Ashido's already pink cheeks glowed a deeper shade and she stammered as she tried to form sensical words. "Well, I, you see- That's neither here nor there!"
"Gotta take it if you dish it out, Mina!" Hagakure chimed as they assumed she poked Ashido's cheek. Her pink skin dimpled near Hagakure's floating sleeve and her irritated expression seemed to confirm the assumption.
"Like you can talk! You were practically falling over Ojiro last night!" Ashido snapped at her and Hagakure's invisible hand retracted immediately. The two of them instantly fell into a petty bickering match, drawing the attention of their whole group as Yaoyorozu and Uraraka tried to break it up.
"Now, now, girls, there's no need to fight." Yaoyorozu tugged at Ashido's shoulder gently while Jiro chuckled at the ridiculous display.
"What about you, Tsu?" Ren asked her as they watched on from their sofa. "You dance with a cute boy that you like?" She asked sarcastically.
"Nah." Tsu replied plainly as she looked at Ren. "I don't really like boys."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Cool."
"Thanks."
"Whatever!" Ashido finally exclaimed, folding her arms and turning her nose away from Hagakure, making Ren and Tsu turn their attention back to their group of friends.
"Whatever yourself." Hagakure mirrored her position.
"This is so stupid." Jiro mumbled as she rubbed her temples.
"Damn. I gotta get moving." Uraraka muttered as she checked the time on her phone. "Ren, I think I left my blue fluffy socks in your room." She turned to her and gave her a hinting nod.
"Uh, yeah. I think you did." She grabbed her coffee cup as the two of them left the living area. They passed the kitchen, washing up their two mugs before they made for the elevators up to their floor. They hadn't had a second to be alone and talk since the incident that morning. By the time Bakugo was able to sneak away, Ashido had dragged the both of them downstairs.
"Y'know, when Deku told me what happened to the three of you before you got there last night, part of me assumed you'd maybe just gone to bed early cause you were tired." Uraraka began as soon as the elevator doors shut. "But you totally didn't get much sleep last night, did ya?" She wiggled her eyebrows and smirked at her friend seedily.
Ren pursed her lips and nodded slowly as she tried to piece a sentence together. "I actually slept pretty good now that you mention it." She glanced at Uraraka, trying to keep her face straight before the two of them burst into an obnoxious fit of laughter.
The elevator bell chimed when they reached their floor and steel doors slid open smoothly. Ren wiped her eyes of the little laughter tears as they journeyed down their hall to her room.
"So what does this mean?" Uraraka asked excitedly. "Are you guys back together?"
"I think so." Ren said with a nod as she unlocked her door. She couldn't help but beam like an absolute idiot. "All jokes aside we actually came back here last night to talk."
Uraraka stepped past her into her room and gave her a seedy side glance. "Oh really?"
"Yes!" Ren rolled her eyes as she shut her door. "Find ya damn socks!" She generally gestured around her room before she folded her arms and flopped against the door. "We did talk. He apologised, I apologised." Ren explained as Uraraka got to work looking for her socks. "We established that we still like each other and we wanna be together so..."
"I'm shocked he had the balls to apologise to you." Uraraka grumbled while folded over on the floor, reaching under Ren's bed and feeling around for her socks. She retracted her hand clasped around a pair of tied together fluffy blue socks. She held them up triumphantly and Ren clapped.
"We still have a lot to talk about but it's a start." Ren said with a little shrug before she folded her arms again. Uraraka stepped over to Ren and her door but she wouldn't let her pass. Ren closed her eyes and smirked smugly. "I know you're just distracting me with questions about Bakugo so you don't have to talk about your date last night." She popped an eye open to see her sweet friend blushing profusely. "Wasn't that your reason for coming to see me this morning?"
"Uh, well..." Uraraka scratched at her deeply reddened cheek. "Maybe..."
"Come on!" Ren slapped her hands onto Uraraka's shoulders and shook her back and forth. "Tell me!"
"Okay! I will, just stop shaking me!" Uraraka cried out as her head bobbled about from the force of Ren's movement. She immediately dropped her grip from her shoulders and beamed at her eagerly. "We danced, a few times together and a few times with our friends. We walked back to the dorm together, he gave me his jacket cause it was cold." Uraraka rubbed her hands over her shoulders and smiled softly to herself. "It was really sweet, he was shaking even more than when he asked me to the dance. And when we said goodnight he-"
"He what?!" Ren bounced forward, hanging on every word of her story.
"He kissed my cheek." Uraraka held a hand up to the spot Midoriya had kissed her goodnight. "I almost fell over and I'm surprised he didn't."
"AAAAAAH!" Ren slapped her hands back onto her friend's shoulders and begun rocking her back and forth again. "THAT'S SO DAMN CUTE!"
"Reeeeen!" Uraraka grabbed her hands to make her stop.
"Sorry! I just get really excited thinking about you guys being a couple." She retracted her hands and placed them over her heart before she sighed. "Does this mean you are a couple?"
Uraraka shrugged. She seemed to be trying to play it off cooly but she hadn't stopped blushing since the topic came up. "I'm not in a rush for anything. I like him and he likes me but we're both very motivated people. We've got a lot on our plates. I just want to take it one step at a time, ya know?"
'Mhm.' Ren nodded.
They continued to chat about their evenings and their respective results as they ventured into Uraraka's room to gather the last of her things. Ren accompanied her downstairs and waved her goodbye as she left to see her family over the short winter break. After Uraraka was out of sight, Ren returned to her room to hide from any other goodbyes of her homebound classmates. As depressing as the holiday season had been for her since the whole debacle with her father started, seeing everyone go home still made her jealous.
An hour or two had past and Ren was laying on her bed, flicking through TV shows on her laptop, trying to decided what to fill her winter break with when a knock came at her door. She sighed before she swung her feet over the edge of her bed and hoped up. She pulled the door open, expecting to see Ashido ready to bombard her with more questions about Bakugo but was instead greeted by Bakugo himself. He had a thick coat on with one hand tucked lazily into his pocket, the other holding onto his duffle bag that was casually swung over his shoulder.
"Hey!" She smiled widely. "What's up?"
"I'm just about to head home and... I thought I should come say bye." He stared off to the side as he tried to act casually but the light dusting of pink spreading across his cheeks gave him away.
Ren smirked as she glanced him up and down. "You're cute."
"Shut up." Bakugo glanced back at her and pouted. "What're you gonna do?"
"Well, it's either stay here and watch TV for a week straight while gorging on instant ramen or I can go to my family home and do the same thing but also be reminded of how they're all either dead or evil." She shrugged. "They both sound pretty appealing huh?"
"That really what you're gonna do?" Bakugo furrowed his brow and she shrugged again while nodding. "Okay." He pushed past her into her room and dropped his bag next to her desk before he opened her closet and began rifling through her clothing.
"Uh... What're you doing?" She asked as she shut her door behind him.
"You're coming with me." He said blankly as he began pulling clothing from hangers.
"Like, to your house?" She asked as she took a short step forward.
"Yeah."
"Where you live?"
"Yeah?"
"With... Your parents..? Over the-" Ren drew her hands out from side to side. "Over the Christmas period, holiday season, winter break, thing?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Bakugo grumbled while searching for her travel bag.
"Do I get a say in this?! I'm not exactly used to family stuff. Nor do I think I'm prepared to meet your parents! We've been a, a thing, for like 14 hours." She watched as Bakugo began shoving her clothing into her bag.
"Your plans sound too depressing." He muttered back. "Besides, they're having a Christmas party tonight so the heat'll be off of you."
"At least it's my plan! That I decided on with me, myself and I's input. So, what I just gotta go meet a bunch of new people, including your parents?! And what would I even say, like, hey I'm that girl that beat up your son but now I bang him also yes my dad's a psychopath nice to meet ya-"
"Ren! Don't you get it?!" Bakugo zipped her bag up aggressively. "I don't want you to be alone when instead you could be hanging out with me!"
"Oh." Ren took a step back. "I'm sorry. The whole idea just- It really stresses me out." She folded her arms and lent against her desk.
"Granny B will be there."
Ren glanced at Bakugo as he smirked triumphantly, knowing that piece of information would sway her completely. "Lead with that next time." She mumbled as she pushed him aside to reach her bag. "And just, let me repack cause you packed like, eight pairs of pants and two shirts."
*
"Dammit, I really wish I hadn't totalled my car." Ren grumbled as she tucked deeper into her coat and scarf. "I fucking hate winter." She shook her arms about a few times before she channeled energy into her body, allowing heat to build up just enough to warm herself. She still hadn't mastered her control of the build up and could only do it a couple of times every now and then, otherwise she'd risk incinerating the very clothing keeping her warm.
"Yeah, yeah. Quit your complaining, we're almost there." Bakugo muttered back as he too readjusted his scarf. "You didn't have to do this in primary school."
"No, instead I got experimented on." She poked her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes. She recognised his street from the time she'd met him at his house all those months ago when they went to Granny B's and she could just make out his house through the haze of the falling snow.
They approached his front door, Ren slowly lagging behind the closer they got. Bakugo fiddled about in his large coat's pocket for his keys, noticing that Ren was still a few steps back on the path.
"I guess it's not cold enough to make you wanna come inside, huh?" Bakugo asked her as he glanced behind him. "C'mon, Ren." He unlocked the front door and she took a few steps forward. "Don't be a baby."
"I'm not a baby." She muttered back as she folded her arms and used the opportunity to shove her hands under her sleeves.
"I'm home!" Bakugo called into the house before he turned back to Ren. "Don't make me drag you in, dammit."
"Fine, fine." Ren groaned as she mustered up the courage to march through the front door. Being greeted by the warmth within Bakugo's large house was totally worth it and she sighed as soon as she felt her nose begin to defrost. "I fucking hate winter." She mumbled as they began to peel off their warming layers.
"Hello?" Bakugo called into the house again. "I guess they must still be out." He said with a little shrug. Bakugo dumped his bag at the front door and rolled his shoulder that was bearing the weight a few times. He carelessly cast his coat onto the coat hanger while Ren hung hers neatly along with her scarf. Bakugo slipped his shoes off and let them lay where they fell while Ren stacked her boots together, and he kicked his bag to the side while she laid hers next to her shoes.
Ren followed Bakugo deeper into the grand house, eyes widening and jaw dropping more and more the further they stepped in until they reached the sitting room.
"Dayum, what do your parents do for a living?" Ren gawked as she slowly turned about, absorbing the architecture of the space, the perfectly placed art and complimentary tones.
"They're both in the design industry." Bakugo mumbled, he couldn't understand why she was so impressed, it was just his house.
"That makes sense." She bent down and gazed at the strange sculptural object that sat on the coffee table. "It also explains the immaculate feng shui in your dorm room."
"Really?" Bakugo arched a brow.
"No. That was a joke." Ren stood up straight and gave him a devious smirk. "Can I see your room room?"
Bakugo's voice caught in his throat. "U-uh well... Thing about that is..." He took of, bolting out of the sitting room to a set of stairs. Ren was close behind him, she absolutely had to see whatever it was in his room he so desperately had to hide right away. Bakugo tried to stop Ren as she chased him down the hallway to his room by shoving her into the first open doorway he could but she was too quick, and grabbed onto his long shirt sleeve as soon as she felt herself being swooped to the side.
They finally arrived at his bedroom door but Bakugo slammed his body across the door. "N-no!" He stammered, his whole body shaking against the painted wood.
"Let. Me. See!" Ren shoved against Bakugo as she struggled to get to the door handle.
"Fuck! NO!" Bakugo yelled out as Ren managed to pry her way under his muscular frame and throw the door open.
"Oh. My. GOD!"
Bakugo's room was simple; a neutral wood flooring matched to a soothing light grey wall. He had clean, pale wooden blinds over the large window across from his bedroom door, to the right sat a desk and a bookshelf; both in a dark neutral wood tone and decorated with school trophies, books and stationary. In the corner a TV on a media stand with spaces where his consoles would have been, and to the left his double bed was centred to the wall, donned with expensive looking, high-quality dark grey sheets. And hanging over his bed was an almost wall-sized, highly colourful poster of All Might.
"I- I think this is the greatest day of my life." Ren mumbled as she stepped into Bakugo's room.
"And I think this my worst..." Bakugo muttered as he held a hand over his beet red cheeks.
The large poster had instantly drawn her attention but the longer she stared, she noticed that it wasn't the only piece of hardcore All Might fanboy merch in his room. Ren's eyes trailed down to the pillows on his bed, and sitting on the left side was a very chunky and plush looking All Might.
"Is that an All Might PLUSHY?!" Ren's eyes widened at the beaming, slightly distorted face of All Might as she made a leap for Bakugo's bed.
"No!" Bakugo leapt after her and crash tackled Ren just before she could reach the plush. She struggled under the weight of Bakugo as he tried to grip onto her arms before she could stretch to All Might.
"I need it!" Ren cried out, kicking and squirming beneath Bakugo.
"You see nothing! It doesn't exist!" Bakugo pleaded as he grabbed a hold of each of her wrists and pinned them against his bed. Ren squealed and kicked her legs like an enraged toddler. "Quit it, you idiot!" Bakugo slammed his legs over hers to get her to lay still so she wouldn't accidentally kick him where it would really hurt.
While Bakugo was trying to save whatever dignity he had left by keeping Ren away from his plush All Might, the front door was unlocked and opened by his parents returning from a last minute shopping trip.
"Oh, it looks like Katsuki is home." Masaru said, nodding at his son's shoes splayed over the floor while shutting the door behind him.
"Ah, so he is." Mitsuki glanced down at Bakugo's shoes and mindlessly thrown down bag. "DAMMIT KATSUKI! YOU'RE BARELY HOME AND IMMEDIATELY YOU'RE MAKING A MESS!" She screamed into the house as she slipped her own shoes off.
Masaru shook his head as a little smile spread over his lips. He peeled his coat off, ready to hang it on the coat rack when he noticed a foreign set of scarf and coat he'd never seen before. 'Hm?' He raised a quizzical brow.
"YOU KNOW WE HAVE A-" Mitsuki went off again but she paused when her husband nudged her arm. "What?" She asked, irritated that he'd interrupt her from reprimanding their devil child. Her confused expression dropped when she followed what he was pointing at; a pair of neatly stacked together boots accompanied by a bag and the coat and scarf Masaru had noticed mere moments before.
Just as Mitsuki and Masaru had exchanged a questioning glance, two seperate pairs of footsteps coming through the house made them turn their heads as Bakugo stepped up before them with Ren hiding slightly behind him. He clenched his fists at his sides, puffing out his chest proudly as he prepared himself to speak while Ren rubbed her arm awkwardly and kept her eyes to the ground in front of her.
"M-Mom... Dad..." Bakugo began shakily. "This is Ren Chinami..." He grabbed Ren's wrist and pulled her out from behind him so they were standing shoulder to shoulder. "She- She's my girlfriend."
His cheeks immediately flushed but he tried to play it cool and confident. Ren couldn't help but let an uncontrollable smile spread across her lips as she beamed up at Bakugo. She still hadn't given his parents any real eye contact but in that moment she felt so unbelievably happy, she really couldn't care less about anything else in the room.
Bakugo darted his eyes down to Ren's grinning face. "S-shut up." He muttered to her, an even deeper shade of red now crawling up to his ears and over his nose.
Ren thought that even though she felt her heart might burst from joy and nerves, she should probably acknowledge his mother and father. The only thing she'd ever known about his parents was from the day she met Granny B, when she heard his mother's voice powering through his house, reminding him to bring bread to Granny.
She held her hands together gently and bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Mr and Mrs Bakugo." Ren said softly, keeping her head bowed until she was finished greeting his parents before she finally looked them both in the eye. While Masaru met her glance with kind eyes, Mitsuki's stare was intense, and Ren immediately tensed up and gulped.
"Ren Chinami..." Mitsuki repeated her name to herself. "Are you the girl who beat up my son?"
"Uh... Which time?" Ren internally slapped herself for her response.
"Ha!" Mitsuki's intense stare broke into an ecstatic smirk. "She beat you up more than once?!" She turned to her son, still grinning widely. "When did you become so weak?!"
"What did you say, you old hag?!" Bakugo launched forward, immediately screeching into his mother's face.
She slapped her hand over Bakugo's enraged scowl and shoved him away. "THAT'S ONE WAY TO SPEAK TO YOUR DEAR MOTHER IN FRONT OF YOUR GIRLFRIEND, KATSUKI!"
Bakugo growled and went to launch at his mother again but Ren grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him back gently, reminding him that this was her first time meeting his parents and not the time to get into an irrelevant argument.
"Well, I wish you'd told us yesterday you were bringing home your girl." Mitsuki said as she and Masaru gathered the last minute shopping bags. "I would've taken down that embarrassing All Might poster in your room-"
Bakugo's voice hitched in his throat and a flush of shame returned to his cheeks.
"And pulled your All Might bedding out." Mitsuki dumped her bags against Bakugo's chest and he ground his teeth loudly as he wrapped his arms over the bagged goods.
"Why are you doing this to me?" He asked his mother through gritted teeth.
"I've been waiting my whole life to embarrass you in front of a girl." She grinned back. "I'm guessing that Katsuki hasn't shown you around much seeing as your bag is still out here."
"I saw the poster." Ren smirked and glanced at Bakugo.
"You boys take these to the kitchen, I'll get Ren settled in the upstairs guest room." Mitsuki waved her hands at Bakugo and his father while Ren collected her bag.
"Can't she just sleep in-"
"Your bed, with you?" Mitsuki cut Bakugo off as he began to speak, making Ren freeze uncomfortably while Bakugo's grip on the shopping bags tightened to make them crinkle. "Something you kids wanna tell us then?" She kept an intense icy stare as she glanced between them.
"Nope. Not at all. Guest room." Bakugo muttered as he turned towards the kitchen. "I was just gonna suggest the downstairs guest room."
Mitsuki quirked a brow at Ren, who tried to keep a straight face but her embarrassed flush was definitely giving her away. Mitsuki guided her through the living room and back up the stairs, past Bakugo's room and a few paces down to the upstairs guest room. It was as immaculately modern and clean as the rest of the house, sporting equally as expensive looking bedding as Bakugo's.
"Just say the word and I'll get you his All Might bedding." Mitsuki said as she pulled a few towels from the cupboard in the room. "The room has its own bathroom so you won't have to worry about waiting your turn."
"Thank you, Mrs Bakugo." Ren said with a little bow.
"Sweetie, please. Call me Mitsuki. I'm sure you can tell from Katsuki's behaviour that formalities haven't stuck very well in this family." Mitsuki sighed with an eye roll. Ren smiled and nodded once as a thank you.
Ren and Bakugo spent the next couple of hours helping his mother set up for the party. It wasn't without plenty of ructions between Bakugo and his mother that Masaru would passively try to break up, only to have both blondes yell at him and make Ren snort out a chuckle. She learnt that this occasion had been happening every year for the last eight years since Masaru had been made a partner at his design firm. It originally began as a work only formal function but as the years went by, they slowly began including family and friends to knock out any other holiday season socialising.
By the time Masaru left to go get Granny B, Ren was exhausted from shifting furniture and hanging up decorations, and was so damn ready to have a bath. The caterers for their seemingly packed and popular event arrived moments after they'd finished setting up, and Mitsuki gave a Ren and a grumbling Bakugo the all clear to rest, bathe and get ready.
"Your mom gave me towels but before I use them, please tell me you've got some like, Gang Orca themed ones." Ren teased at Bakugo as they walked up the steps. "Like the kinda towels that have a hood so it makes you look like one of the crew." Bakugo gave her a side glance that answered her question. "Oh my god, you are such a dork."
"It's from when I was a kid!" Bakugo barked at her as they reached his bedroom door.
"Uh-huh, then why you still got it?" Ren asked cheekily before she winked at him. She catwalked away slowly, over-swaying her hips as she moved to ensure his attention was on her. Bakugo growled at her as he watched her hips swaying from side to side, making him knock his head a few times into his doorframe.
Ren took a luxurious wash, using some of the expensive and fancy looking soaps in the guest bathroom, washed her mess of pale golden curls and took a deep extended soak in the tub. They had a tub in the bathroom at the dorm but it was usually occupied by multiple girls at a time, so individual relaxing time was rare. Ren flicked the water about, making sculptural shapes resembling nothing in particular.
She realised she'd probably been in the tub too long when Ren heard voices and music coming from downstairs. When she finally checked her phone, she found a multitude of texts from Bakugo asking if she was ready yet, then some saying he'd be downstairs, and a couple making fun of her. Ren rolled her eyes and chuckled at the messages from Bakugo, her boyfriend.
That made her giddy.
Ren was glad she repacked the disaster Bakugo had thrown together and managed to compile an outfit of a cream cropped knit, a high-waisted, knee-length deep red flared skirt and some solid black stockings. Her house slippers didn't exactly go with the outfit and not wearing shoes even for a formal event was still a little foreign to Ren, even if it was her native culture.
As she came down the stairs and through the hallway to the living room she'd spent heavy physical effort to transform that afternoon, Ren scanned the sea of people. It had only been a short time since the starting time of the evening and it was already packed. Bakugo family parties obviously popped off, or his parents held the same air about them that Bakugo did that made people want to try really hard to impress them. Somewhere off to the side of the room, she spied Bakugo being talked at by someone his parents age while he irritably gripped and sipped at a glass of something colourful and fizzy he wished was alcoholic.
He caught Ren's gaze, giving her a look that said; help me, goddammit please, help me! She grinned, giving him a single nod to answer his plea. She was a hero on her way to rescue Bakugo from awkward small talk. Until out of the corner of her eye she noticed an elderly woman conversing with a small group of other people; a short and plump old woman with weather beaten skin, a traditional winter kimono, grey wiry hair pulled into a bun with a camellia hairpin poked into it, and chunky wooden jewellery hanging over her traditional dress.
To Bakugo's dismay, he watched as Ren paused and absorbed the appearance of the old lady, her eyes and grin widening at once. She glanced back at Bakugo, mouthing; Granny B. She changed course and Bakugo forgot his manners, simply groaning and irritably walking away from the person who was still talking at him. Granny was just wrapping up her conversation when she noticed the elated Ren approaching her, followed fairly closely by her huffing grandson.
"Ren!" Granny B exclaimed as she opened her arms widely to greet her. "It's so good to see you again!"
"You too, Granny!" Ren said to her as she snuggled into Granny B's comforting hug. After a moment they noticed Bakugo staring at them and they weren't quite sure who he was jealous of in that hug.
"Took you long enough to get down here! That guy was yapping on about fabric for like ten minutes!" Bakugo barked at Ren when she'd finally separated from Granny B's warm embrace.
"I'm sorry, the tub was just really good." Ren chuckled and bumped her shoulder into Bakugo's.
"You look well, Ren. I'm glad to see you so content after everything you've been through." Granny B said with a little nod.
"Thank you, Granny. I feel it." She nodded back.
"Your father told me about the little surprise you two dropped on them this afternoon." Granny wiggled her eyebrows at Bakugo. "It's about time you admitted that after all, Katsuki, Ren is your girlfriend."
Bakugo instantly flushed to the colour of his eyes, covering his mouth and whispering curses beneath his hand barely audible enough to hear. "G-Granny!" He groaned after he'd sworn enough to calm his nerves. Ren didn't look much different, her flush travelling to her ears and making her slink back into her shoulders until her mass of her covered her face.
"You two are too precious." Granny chuckled lightly as she squeezed each of their shoulders. "I must keep moving. Ren, dear, I'm here for the next few days so we'll have plenty of time to catch up. Mitsuki has more photo albums than I do." She tapped the tip of her nose and winked at Bakugo.
"I look forward to it." Ren said with a little side glance at the continuously annoyed Bakugo.
She left them to stand awkwardly at the centre of the crowd, wondering which direction to turn and how best to avoid these professional strangers speaking with them. They were about to head for a quiet corner of the room when Mitsuki grabbed onto the back of Bakugo's shirt and pulled down until his face was level with hers.
"Did you just... Walk away while my boss was talking to you, Katsuki?!" Mitsuki's hushed tone was still shrill and terrifying as hell. She smiled when people looked at the scene that was unfolding before them, playing it off like nothing was happening. Ren held a hand over her mouth as she tried not to laugh. "Get in the corner, don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone. If someone talks to you just smile and nod until they finish the conversation, got it?!"
"Get your hands off of me, hag!" Bakugo struggled against her grip on his shirt but he was no match for his seemingly composed but highly pissed-off mother.
"Ren, can I trust you to control him?" Mitsuki shoved Bakugo in Ren's direction and motioned for her to grab his shirt like it was the leash of a dangerous dog.
"Uh- Yeah I can keep him occupied." She took Bakugo's arm gently instead and pulled him closely to her as Mitsuki sauntered away, taking a deep sip of the red wine she was holding. "You make so much sense now..." Ren mumbled as she thought aloud.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's get me one of those." She gestured at the drink Bakugo was holding and the two of them tracked down the makeshift bar that had been set up.
Random party-goers spoke to them as they waited for their refreshment, and they both did as told; smiling and nodding until the person speaking got bored or finished what they were saying. Occasionally, they both thought they'd hear someone mention Ren or her father or the trial but only in small bursts of whispers. Bakugo could tell it was getting to her, even if she tried to play it off like she'd heard nothing.
When Ren was finally handed her mocktail, they scanned the party again until her eyes landed on something red and spiky poking out of the crowd. "Is that-?"
"Is what?" Bakugo asked but Ren had already made a beeline for the hairstyle she recognised. "Don't leave me vulnerable, woman!" He grumbled as he took off after her as quickly as he could through the moving socialising.
"Kirishima?" Ren asked as she placed a hand on his suited shoulder, making him turn to her and away from the conversation he was barely paying attention to.
"Oh, hey Ren!" Kirishima gave her a toothy grin. "I didn't know you were gonna be here!"
"Yeah, same here." She said with a little nod as Bakugo joined them.
"Although, I kinda guessed when Bakugo's mom said his girlfriend was here too." Kirishima wiggled his red eyebrows at his instantly blushing friend.
"Can people just let that go?" Bakugo grumbled.
"How come you didn't tell me Kirishima would be here?" Ren asked with a quirked brow.
"Honestly. I forgot." Bakugo shrugged. "They came last year."
"How could you forget about me, man? Oh yeah, those are my parents." Kirishima gestured over his shoulder to a couple conversing with Masaru and a few others they didn't know. Ren swapped her quirked brow when she noticed neither of them had bright red hair. His mother had mousy brown hair that fell soft and wavy to her shoulders while his father's hair was flat and jet black.
"That's definitely her." The three of them heard a whisper seemingly stand out from the noise and chatter. "I heard Mitsuki saying her son's girlfriend's name was Chinami. She's the one from the trial for sure."
Ren's head sunk low as staring at the hardwood floor suddenly became far more appealing than showing her face to anymore potential gossipers. Kirishima and Bakugo instantly hunched their shoulders defensively, Bakugo finding himself shifting to stand in front of her and feel around for her hand to entwine with his.
"This party sucks." Bakugo grumbled to the two of them. "Kirishima, can you grab that platter off of that waiter? We'll meet you outside."
"Yeah. Deal." Kirishima muttered back to him as he stared down the two women who'd not so subtly been whispering about his friend.
"Don't." Ren mumbled as she tugged on Bakugo's shirt to pull him back. "I can deal with the-"
"This party sucks." He repeated, a little louder this time. "Come on, we'll get some blankets."
Bakugo led Ren past the dining room and through the kitchen bustling with caterers and servers, all the while avoiding anyone trying to catch their attention or his Mother's disapproving glare. Their laundry room connected to the kitchen through a washroom and from the linen closet they pulled a few chunky blankets.
They traversed back through the house, using the less populated hallways and walkways through what seemed to be a never-ending maze of exquisite design and architecture. Bakugo finally slid open a sliding door that connected to another sitting room situated past the staircase. Kirishima was waiting for them outside; a neatly laid out and covered stone courtyard fitted with cushioned outdoor seats surrounding an unlit concrete fire pit.
He placed the platter of stolen goods on the table between some of the seats and grabbed one of the blankets Bakugo had chucked at him. The party was muffled, barely audible once the door was slid closed again and the lights from inside lightly illuminated their spot.
"F-fuck it's cold." Ren muttered as she buried herself into her blanket. Bakugo lifted the metal lid of the fire pit and sent a quick blast into the wood, instantly setting it ablaze and creating warmth for them to huddle around. Kirishima pulled a seat closer for himself while Ren and Bakugo settled into one together.
"No fair, you guys both have central heating." The redhead mumbled while holding his hands up to the fire.
"We can just- Go back inside." Ren said with a shrug. "You guys really didn't have to save me from that."
"You've dealt with that bullshit enough." Bakugo growled as he inspected the platter. He eventually settled on an appetiser and popped it into his mouth. Ren glanced at Kirishima and he gave her a reassuring smirk and nod.
"Hey, Kirishima." She said after a while of fire crackling quiet as she leant closer to Kirishima. "Can I check something?"
"Uh, sure?" He responded uneasily. Ren gestured that he shift closer and he leant further out of his seat until they were a few inches apart. Bakugo furrowed his brow as he questioned what the hell she was doing to himself.
Ren suddenly took ahold of Kirishima's head, parting his stiff and hardened hair, getting her eyes as close as possible to the roots. The shock made Kirishima drop his hardened abilities for a moment, making his hair fall flat before he pulled away and slapped her hands off of his head.
"What the hell are you doing, dude?!" He exclaimed as he ran his hands through his hair before hardening the follicles to make his hair stand straight again.
"Just as I suspected..." Ren mumbled as she snuggled back into her blanket and her seat. "I thought it was weird that neither of your parents had bright red hair..."
"I dunno what you're talking about." Kirishima said blankly. He glanced at Bakugo and his friend gave him a single knowing nod.
"He's always had red hair." Bakugo said with a little gesture at Kirishima's hair.
"Maybe while you've known him." She raised a suspicious brow at both of the boys.
"Nah, this is my hair colour, man."
"There's like half a centimetre of black roots!"
"Oh, and you expect me to believe those highlights are natural too?!" Kirishima pointed at Ren's hair accusatorially, making her gasp and place a chilled hand over her chest.
"How dare you!"
"So what if I dye my hair?!" Kirishima slicked back a few of the chunky hard pieces that had fallen out of place. "Is it just cause I'm a guy?!"
"Hey I don't care just don't deny it." Ren poked her tongue out at Kirishima. "You knew?" She glanced at Bakugo.
"Who do you think does his touchups?" Bakugo grumbled as he grabbed a few more appetisers.
"You mean this whole time I could've been asking you to do my touchups too?" She raised a brow at him.
Bakugo let out an extended groan. "Why did I say that?"
Kirishima and Ren chuckled while grabbing a few bites from the platter before Bakugo could down them all. They continued to talk shit for most of the evening, poking fun at each other, mostly Bakugo, telling strange stories from years gone by and reminiscing on what had happened that year.
"Can I ask you guys kinda a strange question?" Ren asked after a moment of laughter had died down. Bakugo shrugged before he rested his arm on the backrest of the couch and wrapped his hand over Ren's blanketed shoulder.
"Shoot."
"What was your first impression of each other? And me as well?"
Kirishima thought for a second. "I thought Bakugo was angry all the time. I thought he was kinda a jerk but I also thought he was pretty cool. And he had a good quirk. And youuuu- I guess I thought your quirk was really cool too! You were pretty quiet for the first few weeks but I liked how you stood up to Bakugo so early on." He chuckled, showing off his sharp teeth proudly.
"I don't remember the first time we met." Bakugo rasped at Kirishima. "Now I just think you're annoying."
"Awe." Kirishima's smile dropped.
"You're such a good friend, Katsuki." Ren said sarcastically. "Kirishima, I thought you seemed like a good guy and I still think that... And I was genuinely shocked by how smart you are."
"Th-thanks?"
"Katsuki." Ren smiled as she thought back. "I thought you looked like you'd be easy to irritate - and I was right." Kirishima snorted out a laugh, covering his mouth as he watched Bakugo's eyebrow twitch. "But I also thought you were kinda hot." She quickly covered her smile with her glass as Bakugo's cocky smirk returned to his face. "You never said what your impression of me was."
Bakugo scanned his mind for the correct answer. "I found myself more interested in you than I would ever admit." He glanced at his still laughing friend and held his hand up to point at him as he threatened him. "You repeat this, you're dead." Kirishima's laugh quietened down and he nodded with a broad toothy smile still plastered on his face. "And then when you made fun of me, you just pissed me off."
"That sounds about right." Ren smirked. "And now?"
Bakugo's cheeks went red and he had to turn away from Ren's sparkling blue eyes to hide his flush. "Don't make me do this in front of that dumbass." He muttered to her before he gave her a brief side glance.
"Are you guys gonna tell everyone?" Kirishima asked. Ren and Bakugo turned to each other, trying to read each other's minds and thought processes.
"I think we can just kinda-"
"Let things pan out."
A silence settled over the trio, the crackling of the fire met with the muffled sounds of the party, and occasionally they'd hear a dog bark in the distance or a car drive by in the night. A gentle snowfall drifted into the garden and Kirishima glanced over as a few snowflakes gently blew onto the stones of the patio.
"What are you gonna do about-" Kirishima paused, not entirely sure if he should ask the question or not. "Are you okay, Ren? You know with-"
"My father and my brother?" She asked and Kirishima turned to her. "How did you know?" He glanced over at Bakugo, who then turned to Ren with saddened and apologetic eyes. "That's okay. I trust you both."
"We don't have to talk about this." Bakugo said as his brows knitted.
"It's okay. If I have to talk about it with someone, I'd want it to be you guys... To be honest, I don't know. I feel like my life was starting to get on track, starting to feel normal. Even with all the shitty stuff that happened, at least it was just shitty teenage drama, right? I- I try not to think about it because when I do I- I don't feel normal, and all I've ever wanted is just to feel normal. So, I don't know, Kirishima. I really don't know what to do."
"You don't have to do anything." Bakugo grumbled. "You're out, right? You're free from that bullshit."
"Yeah. Maybe." She said with a glance to him. "If it was just my father, I think I could let it go. If I'm free from his grasp then he doesn't scare me... But my big brother is alive. And not only that he's- he's changed. And that changes everything."
*