Bakugou was back at work, and it was a good day. He had started a new pastry batter for Asui as she wanted to create more of her creations, but since she's always late she'll waste her time. He doesn't know why he's being so nice, but maybe he just wanted to be nice for once.
Midoriya was also there, and he was adding finishing touches to a new batch of tartelettes. It one of his first creations, and he's always happy when making them. Adding a few last tiny bits of lime zest, he put them in the fridge, and almost dropped them when he noticed Mr Yagi walk in along with Iida.
"Ah, Bakugou, Midoriya," he smiled, greeting them. "I would like you two to do customer service today," he said. "I know you are both great at it, but I still want to check over a few things," he added.
"Oh, okay," nodded Midoriya, blinking a few times, a bit in disbelief.
"Hah? Fine," shrugged Bakugou, patting the batter he finished, and then going to the sink to wash his hands. "Tell Frog Face I finished the batter for her pastries, so she doesn't have to waste her time, okay? Iida?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Iida.
"Huh? Yes, okay," he nodded, a bit surprised at Bakugou's use of his name. "I'll tell her as soon as I see her," he promised.
"Thanks, or whatever," nodded Bakugou, drying his hands, and taking the badge with his name and pinning it onto his white coat. "Deku, what's the time?" he asked.
"Uh, the shop opens in ten minutes. I'm planning to clean quickly and then open it," said Midoriya, as he opened the door to exit the staff to go behind the till.
Bakugou followed him, and then checked the shelves, while Midoriya checked any other place to clean.
They organised the shop for ten minutes, and as the opening hours began, Bakugou unlocked the door and kept the sign facing open for the customers outside. He would leave the door open, but it is a bit cold so he doesn't want to freeze to death while working.
He set himself behind one of the cash machine, whilst Midoriya did too.
They receive any customers for about thirty minutes, but they got a customer just before an hour had passed.
"Welcome! How can we help you?" asked Midoriya, as she entered the shop.
She glanced over at them, then smiled. "I would like to find three small desserts," she said. "My kids are going to be leaving next to week to go with their father, so I would like to treat them before they go for a while," she said.
Midoriya smiled, then nodded. "Alright! What kinds of desserts do they like? If they like mochi, then we have a bunch here. We take pride in our small desserts like pastries and especially the choux pastries. The tarts and cake slices are also a delight," he smiled.
"Oh, then... I have a very young son, I believe he would love to have mochi for dessert," she said, pointing at a strawberry mochi.
Midoriya took it, and placed it inside a box with their logo on it.
"I have another young son, and he has quite a sweet tooth, so maybe this caramel tartelette will make him happy," she chuckled, pointing at the most sugary tartelette they have on display. It was Uraraka's first non-mochi creation.
Midoriya nodded, and placed one inside the box.
"And, my oldest child, my daughter... I think she would enjoy something with choux pastry, so... um..." The woman paused, glancing over the different choices, scanning and looking hesitant.
"Need any recommendations?" asked Midoriya, huffing out a light laugh.
"Yes, please," chuckled the woman.
"Kacchan, help her, I'm not good with all your choux pastry creations," grinned Midoriya, letting Bakugou take his place.
The woman glanced at Bakugou, and gulped slightly at his sharp gaze.
"Does your daughter have any allergies?" he asked.
"Huh? Hum... she does have a peach allergy," she mumbled.
"Okay. Any other allergies?" he asked.
"No, that's all."
"Alright, that takes out these two..." he said, pointing at two profiterole types, then he glanced over the rest. "Does she prefer fruity things or more chocolate and sugary things?" he asked.
"She's a bit obsessed with chocolate these days," she said with a chuckle.
"Alright... Maybe consider this Moorkop," he said, pointing at one type of pastry. "The cream inside has been flavoured with white chocolate, and the chocolate on top was given a slight taste of chili, which barely makes anything hot," he explained. "It is my speciality," he also added. "I'm sure she will like it if she enjoys chocolate. On top, the cream is white chocolate but also has been added a taste of tangerine, which does make it still taste sweet," he said.
The woman blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Okay," she nodded. "I... I think she'll love it," she smiled, brightly.
Bakugou nodded, and took one of the moorkops they had, then placing it on the box Midoriya had taken out. "Anything else?" he asked.
"Hum... Yes. I would like to take one of those eclairs, if that's alright," she said, pointing at one of the more orange flavoured eclairs.
Bakugou also smiled proudly at himself, but kept the stoic face and nodded, adding it in the box. He then closed the box while Midoriya added up the total.
"Cash or card?" he asked.
"Card."
The woman paid, and then left the shop with a soft and satisfied smile. She had her phone out, and they caught a hint of five stars, and with a bright smile, Midoriya went back to focusing on any other customers that would come in.
The morning went well, and they exchanged places with Uraraka and Asui as they went on their lunch break.
Mr Yagi talked to them happily, and he even talked about how hardworking Iida, Asui, and Uraraka are. Of course, he did mention he was satisfied with their performance at customer service, and with content sighs, both men enjoyed their lunch very much.
As soon as their lunch break ended, Mr Yagi threw them words of encouragement, and they got back to work at customer service.
They did their job perfectly as they got to rush hour, and after that passed, everything became calm. They got less customers, but those who did come in bought several desserts at once. It was a successful day, they could all already feel it.
Eventually, they neared their end of the work day, but thirty minutes before closing time, a customer came in, and as Midoriya was busy cleaning up, it was Bakugou's job to take care of that customer.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" he asked, gaining a neutral expression as to not scare that customer away. Regulars just shrugged his scowl off, but other customers would most likely criticize the business because of their choice in staff if he seems unapproachable.
The customer glanced at him, then ignored him and looked at the display. Bakugou didn't get irritated, but he did raise an eyebrow at why he got ignored. Maybe the customer has social anxiety.
The customer spent a few minutes looking over the many desserts they had on display, and then they huffed.
"Do you have any gluten free products?" they asked, their voice seemingly tired with life, but also a bit irritated.
"We do," nodded Bakugou, making his way to stand behind the display. "Our mochi desserts do not include gluten, and a few others too. What kind of desserts were you looking for?" he asked.
"Huh? So just the mochi?" frowned the woman. "Is that really all?" she asked.
"No. Do you want me to list them all?" asked Bakugou, internally hissing.
Midoriya glanced over, and saw how the woman threw Bakugou an unimpressed look.
The woman huffed, then nodded. "Yes."
"All of our mochi selection, our meringue cakes, our mousse cakes, and most of our petits fours selection," he stated, pointing at every dessert he named.
"Why don't you have any typical pastries that are gluten free?" she asked, her eyes boring into Bakugou's with a slight glare.
Bakugou didn't know what to say. So he decided not to say actual words. "Hah?" he ended up letting out.
"Why don't you have any pastries that aren't gluten free? This is a bakery, cake shop. Isn't this unethical?" she asked, almost spitting.
Midoriya placed a hand over his mouth as he stared at the two, shocked. He couldn't move, and he saw how close Bakugou was to yelling.
"It isn't unethical. Simply because we are a bakery, cake shop doesn't mean that we will have certain products on our menu," said Bakugou, attempting to keep his cool. If he listened to his inner emotions he would be hissing like a wild cat at this point.
"Yes, it is," snarled the woman. "You are discriminating against people with gluten allergies. Just because I have a gluten allergy doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have pastries. It is a business's job to make sure they have all the products to please their customers. Right now, you are discriminating against me, and breaking the consumer rights law," she stated, placing her hands on her hips, and glaring with a scowl at Bakugou.
Bakugou knew, even in his seething rage, that he must not yell or talk back rudely. He knows exactly what the consumer law, and what unethical behaviours of a business are. He also knows that this woman is currently spewing anything and everything she can come up with, as if she desperately needs to destroy their content little business.
Midoriya couldn't move either. Bakugou saw how Midoriya was shocked, but at least he wasn't on the receiving side. Bakugou scowled, and decided to talk again.
"We are not going against your consumer rights. We, as a business, have studied and remembered every aspect of that law. If we were breaking it, we would have changed our behaviour long ago. However, we are not breaking any law, and we are conducting ourselves as a perfect example of what a business should do," he hissed out, almost growling.
"You're being rude to a customer as well, huh? Why don't you have your manager come here, and fire you since you are being incompetent. I asked for gluten free pastries, you should be making gluten free pastries," she demanded.
Midoriya blinked, in confusion.
"Hah? If you want a specific product which isn't on our shelves, contact us to make a custom order," growled Bakugou. "You can't just accuse us of breaking consumer law if you aren't going to look into our business. We have all the info on display on the door. If you fucking read it, then maybe I wouldn't be this close to kicking you out for disrespectful behaviour," he spat out, growling, and hissing.
Midoriya almost wondered about how Bakugou was making all those noises at once, but decided to jump in. "Um, Miss. If you would like to order a custom order, we could look over what you are looking for and have it ready for you tomorrow morning," he said, quickly jumping over the counter and standing in front of Bakugou.
The woman glared at Bakugou, but then smiled at Midoriya. "No thank you. I'll just take a slice of that meringue cake," she said, almost barking her words at Bakugou.
"Alright, thank you," smiled Midoriya, his frown expressing his irritation. He put the slice in a box, then told her the total. Soon, she left the shop, and Midoriya slammed the sign on the 'closed' side, and locked the door.
With a deep breath, he turned around and looked at Bakugou, who's face was boiling red with rage.
"Kacchan?"
Bakugou didn't answer, but he did stop shaking.
"Let's go prepare tomorrow," decided Midoriya, leading his friend into the staff area.
As soon as they entered, they were both looked at with worried glances, and also bombarded with every single question someone could come up with at this point in time.
"Bakugou, are you okay?"
"That was totally not fair from that customer."
"Bakugou, your efforts were great. Thank you, Midoriya, without you-"
Bakugou stopped listening to them, and instead glared at the floor. They could be preparing batter to let rest for the next day. They could also be checking all their ingredients are still fresh. They should probably be cleaning the kitchen as it had a few patches of flour there and there.
"Bakugou?" asked Mr Yagi, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You had done as well as you could have. That was an unreasonable customer, and definitely not a nice way to finish the day. Let's make the pastry dough for tomorrow, and we'll be able to finish many batches," he said.
"I..." Bakugou mumbled under his breath. He coughed, and spoke louder. "I think I'll just clean up," he muttered, brushing Mr Yagi's hand off his shoulder.
They didn't spend too much time at the shop after closing it, and after Mr Yagi entrusted the keys to Bakugou, they all left in different directions. Usually, they would banter before saying goodbye, but tonight, it seemed that Bakugou wasn't in the mood to talk or even wave.
He didn't look at the leaves on the tree, and he knew that he was being over-dramatic. So what? Midoriya had managed to shoo the rude customer away, that doesn't mean Bakugou's suddenly terrible at his job, right?
When he entered his apartment, he just felt down. He realised how Midoriya was so much better than him. However, he forgot about everything when he glanced at the calendar hung on his wall.
'The fuck is that red circle in two days?' he wondered to himself. He squinted, then gasped as his eyes went wide. 'Fuck! The music festival recital is in two fucking days!'
Before thinking about anything, he jumped to his piano to practice. He knew he was a procrastinator, he just didn't realise he did it so often.
The next morning, however, he had remembered his failure of the last day, and almost convinced himself to take the day off to calm himself. That was until he realised he had to open the shop.
He dragged himself through a slow morning, and as he opened the shop, he felt like being hostile at the first sight of Midoriya.
He becomes more aggressive with himself as he notices everything Midoriya can do that he can't. Like the perfect shape of his petits fours. And then the shape of the sfogliatella, and then crispy outside and melting inside of the viennoiseries they make. Bakugou may be an amazing cook, but there are some things he can't do. At least Midoriya hasn't mastered choux pastry yet.
Thankfully, Mr Yagi didn't throw him out of the kitchen to do customer service as a lesson for his behaviour. Instead, Mr Yagi let Bakugou create new batches of everything, and he didn't even let Bakugou remember the event yesterday, letting him fall into a relaxed state while baking and cooking, and simply just setting things up.
By the time it was lunch time, Bakugou had prepared five batches to be made in the afternoon, and he had finished a batch of pastries.
Their lunch break was alright, but Bakugou's quiet state had alarmed Uraraka a bit. As soon as they finished eating, the others decided to talk, but Uraraka wanted to get Bakugou and her alone.
"Hey, Bakugou? Can you help me with the bin bags? I want to change them, but I need more manpower," she said, grinning.
'Bullshit,' thought Bakugou, knowing that Uraraka is just as strong, but decided to go along. He could use some fresh air, even if it doesn't have the nicest smell.
He walked towards the three bins they had, and took one of the bags, the actual bin bag, and then also a compost bag. Uraraka grabbed the recycling bag, and then they walked outside.
It was silent as they put the bags into the outside bins, and as Bakugou was about to walk back inside, Uraraka coughed, then coughed again but emphasising how fake it is.
"What?" he asked, clicking his tongue as she gave him a frown.
"What's up?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning her weight on one leg.
Bakugou raised an eyebrow, then looked away. "Nothing," he claimed.
"Clearly something is up," she huffed. "What is up with you? Is it about yesterday?"
"Urgh, no. Don't fucking remind me," he growled.
"Right. Is it about Deku again? Are you making yourself believe that Deku is onto you or something?" she asked, uncrossing her arms, and letting one hand rest on her hip.
"No!"
"Fine. Why are you so disagreeable? I'm not going to run my mouth off to others. You can tell me if something is bothering you. Maybe that would lift the weight off your chest, and stop making you so angry all the time. You are being mean to everyone for no reason. Bakugou, why can't you just be honest with us? We are your colleagues, your friends!"
"Fine! Yes, it's fucking Deku bothering me again! You heard how he did yesterday," he exclaimed. "I couldn't hold the customer off, and I was fucking arguing and making it worse. He managed to take over, and have her leave within minutes! It isn't fucking fair that he seems so much better than me in that instant when all I was trying to do was have the customer understand that they are wrong!" he said, his voice quietening, and almost cracking. He wouldn't let her see him so emotional though, so he frowned and scowled again.
Uraraka dropped her scowl, and instead looked at him concerned. "You aren't going to get... you know... violent?" she asked, almost whispering.
"Hah? Fuck no," he sighed. "I might yell, I might nudge him a bit, but I won't punch, kick, or push him to the ground like I used to. Not while we are here, and not while he can't prepare for it. It's an asshole move to start a fight out of nowhere," he said.
"Oh, really?" she chuckled. "You started plenty of fights before without having him no beforehand."
"That was before," frowned Bakugou. "I've grown. I listen to my mind more these days," he said.
Uraraka threw him a smile, and a little chuckle.
"Urgh. Why the fuck am I even telling you anything?" he asked, quickly slamming the door open. "If you tell any of the extras in there, I'll beat you at sparring again," he said.
"Oh! You can count on me to keep a secret, but you can also count on me to be your gym buddy again when we find time," she smiled, following him inside. "Just... don't make everything so tense. Okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," shrugged Bakugou, as they got started on their afternoon shift.
Just as Uraraka made Bakugou agree to, things were less tense. Bakugou seemed more cooperative, but between his clenched jaw and his twitching fingers, it was obvious that he was just forcing himself. They all appreciated it, but Midoriya did feel like he should avoid his friend, just in case he was the exact person Bakugou needed to blow a fuse.
Bakugou knew that all he needed was a distraction, and then he wouldn't be thinking and be angry so much. So that's what he did. Get a distraction.
The rest of the shift was spent baking, and he didn't even take a break to cool down or anything. He made batches, custom orders, and he even attempted making something new, but it wasn't that great so they just ate it as snacks.
Towards the end of the shift, he was beginning to dread going home. He knew that once he gets home, his mind will be full of poison. It was nearing nine in the evening, and most had gone home.
Iida had left at eight, giving everyone else the advice of leaving soon after he does. Asui did leave soon after he did, and soon after her, Mr Yagi did.
Bakugou showed no sign of leaving, and Midoriya was beginning to fall asleep while working. The trio left knew they won't be paid extra, but if they can work to relieve stress, they would do it. However, at this point, it was way too much this time.
Uraraka and Midoriya looked at Bakugou with concern. It was no secret by now that Bakugou didn't want to go home, but he couldn't just stay and work all the time.
"Kacchan-"
"Shut up."
Midoriya sighed. "Kacchan, go home," he demanded, frowning.
"Hah? What are you going to do? Drag me there?" he asked.
"If I have to, then I will," nodded Midoriya. "You have a performance tomorrow. You have sleep to catch up on. You need to go home."
Bakugou huffed and looked away, putting the last batch he was taking care of in the fridge. "It's not even that late."
"Eleven is quite late. Especially for you," said Midoriya.
"Shut it. Fucking go home if you want, I'm not holding you back, Deku."
"Maybe you are, Bakugou," sighed Uraraka. "We have work tomorrow. You have a performance tomorrow. You are lucky that it isn't in the morning, otherwise you would be falling asleep while playing," she sighed. "Mr Yagi allowed us to all get half the day off. We'll be coming to see you. Don't make us regret thinking your performance could ever be good," she said, knowing very well that Bakugou's performances will always be great, sleep deprived or not.
"Shut up. Go home."
"Kacchan. Can you fucking stop working? Stop avoiding your thoughts. I know you have some things to deal with, between our rivalry, and then your parents, and maybe your definitely-not-obvious feelings for Kirishima, but you don't have to deal with it today. Fight with them tomorrow. Fight for Kirishima when the time is right. And fight with me when the time comes around. For now, nothing is going to happen, so just calm down," sighed Midoriya, huffing, but also frowning.
"Deku-"
"No. Give me your coat, and let's leave."
Bakugou stared at his hands for a few seconds, then closed his eyes, and then opened them again while he took his coat off.
Uraraka gawked for a while, then put her own coat own. She knew they were close friends, but bossing Bakugou around? She didn't know Midoriya could do that.
Bakugou slipped his coat on, leaving it open, and Midoriya followed his movements with his own coat. Once they left the building, Midoriya locked it, and shoved the keys in his pocket.
"Kacchan."
Bakugou faced the other way, but didn't start walking.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight," shrugged Bakugou, beginning to walk off.
He heard Uraraka and Midoriya talked as they also left, and after two seconds they were laughing. It made Bakugou's chest ache, but he ignored it.
As he walked, he found himself near his apartment, yet he wasn't walking on the right path.
He sighed loudly, and kicked at a rock on the dirty path, and then looked around at the flower bushes and trees. He almost wondered what he was doing in the park, but at the sight of his apartment block, he immediately remembered that he didn't really want to go home. It wasn't even that cold.
He walked around, pausing to squint at a flower he could barely see, and glanced at the metal plates on trees to see their names, but if he can't read it in daylight, there is no way he'll be able to read it in this darkness.
He walked through the park once, then twice before deciding to leave and go home. He still didn't want to go home, but the thought of the random guy walking his dog so late at night was a good distraction from his thoughts from earlier in the day.
As he dragged his feet towards his front door, he fumbled with his keys. He finally held the right one, and then lazily aimed it in the keyhole, purposely missing, and not caring at all if he missed. He might have dropped once or twice, but no one would call him out on it. Eventually, he entered his apartment. He closed the door, and ignored the light switch.
It was pitch black, and as Bakugou moved around after discarding his shoes, he knew that if he wasn't a tidy person, he would have broken, and ripped a few things by just stepping on them by now. He crashed onto his couch as soon as he left it, and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes while his cheek was squashed onto the couch.
The man walking his dog during the night escaped his mind, and his earlier thoughts came back up to haunt him.
He could hear his thoughts insulting him, and whilst he knew that it was just himself against himself, a part of him couldn't help but think it is true.
Perhaps Midoriya does hate him. He's been nice to Bakugou ever since they met, and even when Bakugou had bullied him, insulted him, and fought him, Midoriya had only been kind. Maybe he does hate him under the facade he shows everyone. Maybe he just wants to say one thing to Bakugou. One thing that will have Bakugou back off, and rethink his whole life over. Believing that whilst he was made of lies, he was only fed lies too.
'Fuck you, anyway.' He could hear it in Midoriya's voice, spitting those words at him, just like Bakugou had to him when they were young and dumb.
It was almost too frustrating. It was frustrating that whilst Bakugou thought he grew up, his rivalry and doubts about and with Midoriya only kept resurfacing, only stronger than it was before.
Uraraka had also been with him for a while. They did only meet when she began working at the patisserie, but she had been friendly with him and everyone else too. She loved talking, and she knew when to get serious and when to joke around. But... she also had morals. She won't go talking behind someone's back. She won't go telling someone outright she hates them. He can't help but think she has no reason to enjoy his company, and just all the reasons to hate him.
'You're too mean.' He can hear her say that. He can hear her repeating it in his ear until he got his through his mind that she doesn't like him. She doesn't like him, and always despised him.
He found himself annoying. Why must he begin to enjoy being with others, and begin to trust them when he knew they just hated him and were going to conspire against him? Why must he think like this? What did his messed up mind decide to do? Why did his heart never go the right way, or trusted people that will trust him back? Why-
His eyes shot open when he heard the door open. He quickly stood up, swaying slightly as he got disorientated, and he glanced at the digital clock from the inside of his room, through the open door. 'One in the morning...'
He glanced at the door, and blinked as he saw Kirishima close the door behind him, his breaths quick, and his heart probably beating way too fast to be healthy.
He walked a step away from the couch, and glanced at Kirishima confused. His thoughts were still taunting him, but right now Kirishima was silent. He watched as Kirishima slid his coat off and let it drop on the floor, and he watched as Kirishima kicked his shoes off weakly, his knees buckling slightly before he got his balance again. Once he looked up towards Bakugou, Bakugou's previous thoughts were thrown out of the window, and completely forgotten.
Kirishima looked like a mess. His face was pale, as if he'd seen a ghost, and his eyes were darting everywhere confusedly, but they also shone as they watered up. When he realised he was looking at Bakugou, he took a few steps forward, until his knees buckled and lost his balance. He fell onto the carpet, his hands on his lap, and his eyes on the floor.
Bakugou dropped to his knees, and shuffled closer until their knees knocked with each other's.
After a shared silence, Kirishima sniffed, and wiped his eyes although no tear had fallen yet.
"Kirishima?"
Kirishima looked up, and as he took in the sight of his worried friend, he let out a smile and a chuckle. "I... I didn't want to be at home right now," he said, a dry chuckle mocking himself. "I know I'm being unmanly, but I just... I don't know what to do, to think, to say... I just... didn't want to be at home," he mumbled out, his eyes glancing to the side, his smile shaking while his eyebrows betrayed its purpose. He was frowning, and his eyes were blinking too fast.
"Kirishima..."
Kirishima's smile drop, and he looked up at his friend.
"The hell happened to you?" asked Bakugou, leaning forward, hoping to catch Kirishima's attention enough to let him see how he was feeling exactly.
"I... Himura happened. That's what happened," he muttered.
"Who do I need to kill?"
Kirishima shook his head, frantic. "No one. But, I need space right now. From her."
Bakugou frowned. "What happened exactly?"
"Uh... long story?"
"That's not gonna fucking work," growled Bakugou. "What did she do to make you cry?"
"Yeah... yeah. Right. Well, I guess things were fine until half an hour, maybe an hour ago? She had brought one of her friends over at five, and we actually got along? He was a cool guy, so things went well. But after we went to bed things didn't really continue well," he sighed.
"Tell me details. I need to know who I need to kill."
"We aren't killing anyone! But... I guess this is what happened," sighed Kirishima. He continued telling.
All he remembered before falling asleep was that Himura's friend was a nice friend. He was kind, and had a good sense of humor that Kirishima understood. They bonded over memes and food, and talked a lot about their interest. Kirishima rambled on about his growing career, and the other guy rambled on about how his career and job is going. Everything went well, and he went to bed peacefully.
He had woken up near one in the morning. They had gone to bed a bit early, but he didn't think he would wake up just an hour after going to bed. The first thing he noticed when he had woken up was that he was cold. He was under his covers comfortably, but there was no body warmth next to him like there was when he went to sleep. He sat up, and noticed Himura wasn't in their bed. He yawned, then stood up. He walked, and quietly opened his bedroom door, not wanting to disturb the friend that was sleeping on the couch.
He quickly discovered that he wasn't disturbing anyone's sleep. Not the friend, not Himura's. But... he did not like what he saw.
'So that's where Himura went,' he thought to himself, dumbly, as he saw his girlfriend and her friend on the couch, hands all over each other, mouths clasped onto each other too. It was noisy, he noticed, and he wonders how he didn't hear it as soon as he woke up.
As soon as he realised what he was watching, he closed the bedroom door, and leaned on it while his eyes grew wide and his breath began to speed up.
'What the fuck!' he exclaimed to himself, and he gripped his hair. 'What the fuck!'
Himura was his girlfriend. Right? They established that weeks ago? How long has it been? Years, weeks? It feels like a long time. Then... why the hell was she kissing and touching another guy? Her friend as well? Are they friends with benefits? Were they doing all of this while Kirishima thought she was only going out with her friends?
His eyes began to water up at his heart processed the situation faster than his mind. Right now, they were making out without knowing that Kirishima knew. Maybe that's why she brought her friend over after a long time of never even bothering to introduce them to her.
He felt sick, but he didn't have to go out there and see them again. He could just, go back to his bed, sleep, and willingly forget.
Kirishima choked over a quiet sob as the tears in his eyes stayed still. He could just go back to sleep, but just looking at the floor of his apartment that he shared with his girlfriend made him sick. He needed to leave.
He needed to leave, he really did, yet as the same time he refused to have them know that he knows. He doesn't want to deal with that situation right now. Especially with her friend there, even if she's... making out and clearly not being loyal to Kirishima with him.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door slightly.
"Himura?" he called, his voice steady, yet fake.
He heard shuffling, gasps, and a quiet 'oh fuck, he's awake.' He hid his face inside the bedroom, and pinched his eyes shut. 'Fucking damn it,' he thought.
"Kiri?"
"Himura? Where are you?" he asked.
"Uh," there was hesitation, but a quiet suggestion from the friend had her responding, "in the bathroom. I'll be back soon," she said, her voice almost squeaking.
"Ah... Hum..." He thought. How could he leave? He didn't want to see them. Especially not her, especially not her friend. "I need to leave," he said, after changing his pyjamas into normal yet very comfy clothes.
"Uh-huh- wait, why?"
"I..." He shoved his phone in his pocket, and rubbed his eyes as he walked passed the couch and towards the front door. "Bakugou. He said he needed to see me, and I can't ignore him," he decided to say, his hair falling around his face as he quickly put his shoes on, and slipped his coat on messily.
"But, Kiri, it's one in the morning-"
"Bye."
He never slammed the door as hard and ran as quickly as he did that night, and if he almost tripped over his feet a few times, there was no proof to make fun of him about it.
"Kirishima... she-"
"Yeah. I fucking know, okay?" growled Kirishima. "You warned me about it, Kaminari and Sero were beginning to doubt her, and Ashido clearly told me her thoughts like you did, but I still believed that maybe she liked me, and maybe she was just going out with friends. She's fucking cheating on me, okay? What the hell can I do about it? Nothing!" he exclaimed, almost yelling, but his sobs made him stop raising his volume. "I can't do anything about it right now," he said, his voice cracking. "And... yeah, you're right. I always believed you somewhere deep in my mind, but I convinced myself that she loved me. Fuck, it hurts so much," he said, tears finally escaping his eyes. The more he cried, the bigger they got.
"Kirishima..." Bakugou didn't know what to say. He can't tell Kirishima 'I told you I was right,' and he can't tell him 'I'll fucking kill her for it, out of love for you since I like you,' so he didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Kirishima knows he's not great with words.
With a small shuffle closer to Kirishima, Bakugou grabbed Kirishima's wrists gently, and moved his hands off his crying eyes.
"Bak-"
"Kirishima. Maybe you can't now, but you will be able to get away from her fully," he said, extending his arms towards Kirishima, and wrapping them around his shoulders. He led Kirishima's head to his shoulder, and whilst he drew soothing circles on Kirishima's back, Kirishima wept between his shoulder and neck, staining his shirt with tears, with beginning to feel like he might stop crying one day.
"Bakugou, I'll never deny it again," he declared between sniffles. "I'll never live in lies ever again. I'll never lie to myself again," he said, his fists clenching Bakugou's shirt. "Are we both going to stop living in lies?" he asked.
Bakugou nodded shakily. "Yeah. Yeah, we will," he said.
Kirishima huffed a chuckle, but his sobs came back. "Bakugou... Bakugou!" he repeated many times, as if he was chanting to get comfort.
Bakugou rubbed larger circles on his back, and then whispered so quietly he barely heard it himself.
"I love you."
Kirishima hadn't heard it. If he did, he only cried harder. If he did, he didn't react.
Bakugou thought it to himself again. 'I love you.'
When will he ever say it to Kirishima? When will Kirishima be able to understand that his love changed from the platonic love it used to be.
They hugged more tightly, and Bakugou started to hide his face on Kirishima's shoulder.
"We'll get through it. Eventually, all of the lies we lived in will be behind us," he declared.
As Kirishima chuckled a 'yeah,' and stopped crying so much, just continued to hold on to him, he knew there was hope.
At least one day, they'll be free from the shackles put on them by others, and themselves.
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:DDDDD finally!!!
i can't wait to upload next week's chapter, which I'm sure all of you will enjoy x)
at least now Kirishima knows, and can start moving on ;D (he did not deserve that, but I'm sure he'll get the love he deserves soon enough xD )
anyway! Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed ;DD
Until next time~!! ;DDD
(btw, i hope everyone is safe with all the coronavirus stuff happening)