Kaito slides off my lap and walks around the room, seemingly looking for something.
Bakugou notices too and asks, "What are you looking for, bud?"
"My suitcase," Kaito replies.
At this, Bakugou and I exchange worried glances. We both sweat drop knowing full well that Kaito's suitcase is now probably lying in the middle of the street part of a huge crime scene.
Hoping to soften the blow that all his belongings might be gone, I lower my voice and gently tell him, "Um, sweetie, I actually think your suitcase might still be in the van that flipped over, remember?"
His eyes widen as he remembers and his face immediately drops. "Oh ya, I forgot about that."
Hating the sad face he makes, I try to cheer him up with the first thing that comes to my mind. "But it's ok, we can go shopping and we can get you whatever you want! I promise!"
He perks up a bit at that, so I walk over to him and grab his small hand. Kaito and I are about to head to the door, but I stop in mu tracks when I realize I don't hear another set of footsteps behind us.
I turn around to find Bakugou still sitting down at the table, watching us with an unwavering gaze. I raise my eyebrow at him, "You coming?"
He clears his throat and curtly nods, he stands up and leads us out of the stifling conference room. We follow him down the elevator and when we reach the parking lot I ask, "So whose car are we going in?"
(y/n)'s car:
bakugou's car:
Bakugou straight up walks over to his car and opens the driver's door, "Obviously mine."
He gets in without another glance, seemingly done with the conversation, and in return, I scoff, deeply regretting our truce already. But feeling Kaito's little hand in mine takes all the anger out of me.
How could I be angry when I have this adorable child right next to me?
I squeeze Kaito's hand in mine and, start heading to the car, "Come on, let's get in before he strands us out here."
Kaito giggles at the prospect of us being abandoned by a pro-hero and I can't help but smile along with him.
I open the back car door for him and he happily climbs in. "Buckle up," I tell him as I get in the front passenger seat.
I look at all the neat gadgets inside and admit it's actually a really nice car. I say just as much which in turn puffs up Bakugou's ego even more.
He turns the car on and revs it, making Kaito (and myself) break into huge grins. He smirks back in response, "I know."
Ba-bump.
Did my heart just skip a beat?!
No.
It didn't.
There's no way.
He winks and I curse my body for having the nerve to be affected by it.
I feel my cheeks begin to heat up so I turn away from him and stare at the empty parking lot instead.
He pulls out of the parking space and drives out into the street, "So, where to?" he asks.
I shake off the strange feeling and breathe out, "I don't know . . . should we go shopping first or head to my place?"
But before Bakugou can choose an option Kaito screams, "Shopping first!!"
My apprehensiveness disappears with his adorable voice, so I happily instruct Bakugou, "Time to go to the mall then."
Bakugou speeds up with the destination in mind and zooms through the freeway.
I would normally be concerned with how comfortable he is speeding while a child is in the car, but I'm just glad he doesn't drive like Miss Daisy - that would've been extremely annoying.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Kaito browses through the entire store before settling on a pair of all-black vans.
"Those are the ones you want?" I ask.
He nods back eagerly, "Yup, I want these."
We head over to the register and I pay for them. I hand him the bag and he practically hugs them to his chest, "Thank you (Y/n)!!"
I pat his head, "You're welcome, cutie."
We exit the store and Kaito is struggling with all the bags he's holding. I try to take one or two from him, but he won't let me. Muttering about how a lady shouldn't have to carry someone else's bags. I would've normally melted upon hearing that, but it's kinda hard when he's literally huffing and puffing.
Bakugou seems to have had enough when he firmly grasps two of the bags, lightening Kaito's load. Kaito looks up at him with questioning eyes but doesn't voice his concerns. He just utters a sheepish "Thanks."
Adorable.
We make it out to the parking lot and they both load up all of Kaito's new accessories into the trunk.
Bakugou and I then decide that we should go back for my car since it was stupid of us to only take one.
So as soon we get back to the office, I turn around to face Kaito and ask if he wants to ride with me or Bakugou.
His gaze shifts back and forth between the two of us when he crosses his arms and announces "I'll go with whoever lets me ride in the front!"
Haha, this little punk.
But who am I to waste such a tempting opportunity?
Before Bakugou can promise him anything, I exclaim, "Looks like you're coming with me then!"
His eyes light up and he quickly unbuckles himself, "Sweet!"
He gets out of the car as fast as he can and begins running over to a random car, "That's not my car sweetie!" I yell at him.
He begins running to another one and I shake my head and start chuckling.
I step out of the car and close mine and Kaito's door (which he haphazardly left open).
Bakugou rolls down the window so I lean in a little and instruct him to follow me outta here. I give him my address and harmlessly taunt him, "Just in case you can't keep up."
He clenches his jaw, but I walk away before he can make a comeback.
I call for Kaito while he's waiting for me near a random black SUV, "Almost. It's this one over here." I point to my car and he speeds over to it and climbs in the front seat.
I tell him to buckle up as I get in and I drive out of the parking garage. I check my rearview mirror and see Bakugou's car right behind mine.
An idea then pops into my head so I quickly look over at Kaito and ask, "Wanna have some fun?"
Without missing a beat, he quips back "Always," but then looks around the car as if wondering how exactly we're gonna have fun. "But how?" he ends up finishing with.
I stop at a red light, roll down my window, and motion for Bakugou to get in the lane right next to mine. "Like this," I tell Kaito.
Bakugou pulls up right next to me with his window already down and annoyedly asks, "What now?"
"Did you put my address into Google Maps?"
"Ya, why?"
I smirk at him and begin to rev my car, "Wanna race?"
His eyes narrow minutely as if he takes up the offer.
I rev my car again, which makes Kaito squeal with delight, and I ask Bakugou again, "What's it gonna be?"
He turns to look at the red light then after a second or two, his eyes lock back onto mine. "Game on, Princess."
I smile and stick my tongue out playfully.
Princess, my ass.
He rolls his window back up and we both wait for the light to turn green. I grip the steering wheel with my gloved hands and Kaito starts giggling right next to me. Then, much too late, I realize I'm supposed to be the responsible one in this car, so I hastily tell him to hold on to something. His eyes widen at the warning, making him clutch his seatbelt in response.
That's better than nothing, I guess.
The light turns green and we both gun it, hurtling towards the freeway, merging on as a slew of cars honk after us. We weave our way through the maze that is never ending, trying to get ahead of each other with every passing second. We finally reach a clearing and before I know it, we're side by side going 100 mph.
Kaito starts laughing like crazy and rolls down his window to look at Bakugou, who's right next to him. Bakugou rolls his down too and cracks a smile at the little boy.
I press my foot even harder on the gas.
Bakugou does the same.
My hair whips all over my face, so I raise Kaito's window a bit, hoping to lessen the amount of tangles I'll have tonight.
A glance down at my dash tells me that I'm now approaching 110 mph. "Shit," I curse under my breath.
I shouldn't be going this fast with Kaito in the car, thankfully I see traffic up ahead, so Bakugou and I are forced to slow down.
We start bobbing and weaving through cars again and this time, Bakugou pulls ahead when I get stuck behind an 18-wheeler.
I click my tongue in irritation.
He exits the highway first and I follow. We stop at a red light and Kaito absolutely marvels at me. His eyes twinkle as he exclaims, "I've never gone that fast before!"
I chirp back, "I'm glad you had fun." Then I run my hands through my hair to unknot all the tangles, and it surprisingly isn't as bad as I thought it'd be.
Mazel-tov.
The light turns green and I stay behind Bakugou the entire way. I park right next to him as soon as we get to my place.
We all get out and Bakugou leans on his door, "How's it feel to suck?"
I roll my eyes and exhale loudly, "Don't get cocky. You only won because I got stuck behind that 18-wheeler."
He rolls his eyes, "Excuses, excuses." Then he cheekily winks as he goes to open the trunk. He hands Kaito a bag or two, and takes the rest for himself.
We head to the building and I hold the door open for them. When we reach the elevator, I press the 20th floor and Kaito's mouth turns into a small O. I raise my eyebrows at him, letting him know he's in for a treat.
The elevator stops and we get off.
I head to my door and open it wide.
Kaito walks in first and his jaw drops, "Woah . . . this is where you live?"
I nod yes and he replies, "You must be rich!"
pick the one you like:
Bakugou and Kaito set the bags down in the living room and I ask them, "You guys want a tour?" Kaito throws his bags haphazardly on the floor and practically jumps up and down saying yes.
So I show them around and eventually take them upstairs where the rooms are located. I open the first door to our right and guide Kaito in.
"This would be your room," I nervously tell him.
It's a really plain room. I mean, I wasn't expecting to adopt a little boy anytime soon so this'll have to do for now. He'll be staying in the guest room, which has a comfy bed and a small chest for clothes.
"We can decorate it however you want," I continue, hoping that might comfort him for the time being.
He rubs his hand over the bed and walks to the window.
Is he mad?
Nobody says anything for a few minutes.
Then Bakugou and I snap our heads to him when we hear sniffles.
Kaito is still gazing out the window, watching the sunset over the buildings. "My parents are dead."
He turns around and he's now full-on crying, "They're dead . . . and it's all my fault."
It feels like someone just stuck a knife in my heart.
A lump rises in my throat and I try to swallow it down, but I can't.
I reach out to Kaito then at the last minute, I pull my hand back to my chest.
What can I say to him?
There's nothing I can say to make this better.
He just lost his parents.
Of course, he's feeling like this.
I open my mouth to say god-knows-what, but Bakugou places his hand on the small of my back, walks past me, and leaves me by the door.
He squats down and places his hand gently on Kaito's shoulder. "It is not your fault your parents died, kiddo."
Kaito lifts his head and stares into Bakugou's eyes. "Your parents will always be with you. They've just . . . made a change of address."
I walk over to them, bend down and softly caress Kaito's wet cheek with my gloved hand. He leans into my touch and I softly say, "It's okay to cry. Don't hold back your tears, bebe. I'll be here to wipe them off for you every single time."
Tears threaten to fall down my face, but I ironically hold them back.
Kaito wraps his arms around both me and Bakugou and his shoulders begin to shake with the force of his sobbing. His breaths come out haggard and forced, and my eyes immediately start leaking.
So much for trying to hold them in.
I bite my lip to keep from making any embarrassing sounds and I wrap my arms around both Kaito and Bakugou.
Bakugou stiffens at my touch, but after a few seconds, he relaxes and hugs us both back.
His hand falls on my waist and the other on Kaito's back.
We stay there in each other's arms for what feels like an eternity - neither one of us wanting to let go.