💥🌸[SUN. JUL 26th]🌸💥

"I don't get it, cheeks. Can't you just buy this crap online instead of bothering me to follow you here today?" Katsuki was complaining every now and then about the two of them hanging out; yet he still went out of his way to pick her up when she was asking him not to.

She explained to him why she wanted to see the products in person before buying them. Katsuki thought of it as a simple, yet stupid excuse to just spend the day with him. After all, [____] was so fucking easy to read.

"You are the most annoying girl I ever met." He found himself lying about this as his crush inspected the sheet masks on the beauty aisle of a large general store. "So? Hurry up and find your shit so we can get out of here and do something else that's not gonna bore me to death."

"Sad you see me this way." By now, [____] had grown costumed to her crush's unintentional insults. Although Katsuki spoke cold towards her at times; he'd still go out of his way to make her happy.

She didn't know since when she began to let his actions speak to him, but she was glad she had figured him out this much. "By the way, what are you guys going to do tomorrow at Sero's? I'm just curious."

"Don't know, probably play video games or watch movies all night."

[____] paused, hoping to hear more. "...Is that all?"

The ash-blond guy inspected one of the sheet masks the girl placed in the red shopping basket he was holding. "Well, what else is there to do?!"

"I don't know, bake or cook something together; talk about celebrity gossip, eat ice cream and fruits...Oh!! Play truth or dare! Oh, oh!! Watch romance dramas and cheer for the main couple, together!"

Bakugo expected a 'J.K!' coming from the cute girl for a long second. "...Tch. Do you want us to wear silk robes and bunny slippers while we're at it—? WE'RE NOT YOU, GIRLS!! WE DON'T CARE FOR THAT KIND OF SHIT!!"

"Aw, come on! At least two of those things sounded like fun to you, don't try to deny it." [____] laughed a little. "In any case, I really hope you enjoy the sleepover, Suki. I kinda wish I could be there too...But only because I had so much fun, playing video games with all of you last time..."

The guy didn't say a thing in response; His eyes just examined the girl in front of him. She was happily reading the back of more sheet masks and he admired the way she looked in secret.

Lightly glossed lips; few strands of her hair stuck in her cheek because they might have accidentally touched her lips once and move somewhere else to be glued onto her; She was a piece of art.

💥🌸💥🌸

After some light shopping; [____] and Katsuki left the store with four reusable bags of shit that the guy couldn't even name its purpose for. "Suki— Are you hungry yet? We can stop by the pretzel kiosk and get something, if so!"

"I ate breakfast at home, so no." His response wasn't what she was anticipating. Her stomach growled right after, but she did not make it a big deal. "....Wasn't it the same for you?"

"Hehe, about that..." [____] went on and explained how one of her kitchen ovens had to be replaced because of a baking drawback; and when she told her mother about it through the phone, the woman decided it was a great time to start remodeling her kitchen.

Himeko had stated how she disliked the placement of the faucet sink and the grey marbled countertops anyway. So for the next three months, [____] could use the mini fridge and a single burner from one of their guest rooms to cook if she really wanted to. Though at this point she felt discouraged to try another recipe.

Bakugo listened to everything she had to say as they idly walked around the mall. When it was his turn to make her feel better about the situation, he just smirked. "Your folks sure love to waste money."

"That's what I was thinking...They said I could buy a different stove and keep it in the common area in the meantime, but then..If I do that, I'm thinking I'm no better than they are..."

"So what the hell do you plan on eating, meanwhile? What about your maids and that stupid dog of yours?! Don't they have to eat, too?"

"My mom gave them extra money besides their checks to keep themselves fed, this morning they purchased fast food for breakfast...I think they're happy about this change. They offered to pick up food for me too, but I have just been eating refrigerated fruit cups in the meantime, they taste just fine in my opinion but don't keep you full very long."

"Of course they wouldn't. That shit is for kids only." He furrowed his eyebrows. "....All this because you suck at everything, even baking."

"That is not true! I can excel at many things!"

"Name three." He challenged; [____] thought hard about what she could list when he rolled his eyes at her. "...What are you in the mood for? Hurry up and decide. I'll pay for you today."

"Soft pretzels!" [____] forgot all about the things she claimed to excel at to happily reply. "Suki, they sell a jalapeño cheese dog you might like!"

"That sounds disgusting already. I'll pass."

[____] acted uninterested all of a sudden. "Ahhh...Then I guess I am also not in any mood to eat, unless we were to share, or something."

"Heh, you think I'd let you starve today?! You need to consume something other than fruits, otherwise your cheeks are gonna deflate and fall right out of your face, and then you'll truly be nothing!!"

[____] took a small mental note on how to make her crush agree on anything.

She wondered if she just got lucky this time, though, as he took the two bags she was holding onto and carried all four of them by one hand. While the other he used it to grip onto her and pull her towards the food court.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

Later that night, [____] stood far enough from the entrance of her kitchen to watch a few workers that were already hired uninstall cabinets. She bit the inside of her cheek to try to make sense of her problem.

'I followed the recipe by the exact measurements, precise temperature and time...Theres no way I could of caused an oven to not work! Am I just cursed or something...?'

Her house phone rang; and she didn't think much of it as her mother's butler answered. "Miss [____], it is for you."

"For me..?"

"A friend of yours, from class. I recognize her cheerful tone of voice."

"Mina.." She immediately knew who this person was and took the phone out of Hideaki's hands. "Hey, what happ—?"

"[____]!!"

"W-What's going on?! Why are you calling my house phone, instead of my cell!? Are you in danger!?? You sound exhausted!! Where are you?!" [____] felt alarmed when her friend breathed hard from the other line.

"I am!! Hold on, haa, haa...I am exhausted! No I'm not in danger, but it's just that...Haa, haa...I had to run out of my house real fast to the nearest pay phone. I couldn't call you through your email, I had my phone taken away and I only brought enough coins with me for this call to last 3 minutes so listen to me!! [____], I am SO sorry!!"

"Grounded..? Mina, what are you apologizing for? I'm confused." She said, honestly.

"Yes! Grounded! My parents asked me to do some chores today before they got home and I forgot to do them so I got grounded! Can you believe them?! Waaah, I can't host the sleepover, after all!"

"Oh, Mina..." [____] let out a breath of relief. "For a second, I thought something horrible first happened to you..."

"THIS IS HORRIBLE!! And it's happening, all right!" Ashido claimed. "I haven't told any of the girls. So could you do that for me? I don't have much time left; I think my dad sent my brother to come after me. Call them up, will you please?! You can host it instead if you'd like! It just sucks that I won't be able to go, either way. I was really looking forward to it—"

"Hey!! What are you doing!?" [____] heard a male voice ask her friend from afar. "We're going back home right now!"

"EEE, HE FOUND ME!! I GOTTA GO, BABY PANTIES. AGAIN IM SO SORRY!! DO THIS FOR ME PLEASE, BYE!"

[____] wanted to ask her not to call her that in front of her family but she had already hung up and left her a little speechless.

🖤🖤[MON. JUL 27th]🖤🖤

"What are you doing here, shitty nerd!?" Bakugo walked into Sero's room around 1 pm and attempted to throw his backpack at Deku's face out of sudden rage. Todoroki shielded Midoriya with a small ice wall. "Soy sauce face, you really want me gone don't you?!"

"K-Kacchan, hello."

Katsuki ignored Izuku. "—AND YOU EVEN INVITED ICYHOT TOO?! FUCK THIS SHIT, I'M LEAVING!"

"Don't leave, Blasty! Let's not fight, either. Tonight is supposed to be about us, bros, having fun!" Kirishima was in the middle of laughing over his tantrum as he provided him with reasons to stay. "Look, we get to play against each other so if you're that angry you can just kick their asses in the game. Come on, it's Sero's birthday tomorrow, don't do him like this."

"Yeah, don't do me like that, Kacchan." Hanta knew that it was his free pass; Katsuki would never try to hurt his friends on their birthday. At least he's seen it enough times to feel this way. "Just stay. Promise it won't be as bad as you think."

The angry guy furrowed his eyebrows at the two losers who were still sitting on Hanta's bed. Midoriya had the same smile plastered on his face since kids and Todoroki was just looking blankly at him too. "... I'll be right back with my answer, idiots."

He didn't explain to anybody why he left the house and walk a few street blocks away as he turned on his wireless earphones and answered the FaceTime call that his crush kept asking for.

On the other line, [_____] was smiling just as Deku was a second ago. "Katsuki, hi! Took you a while to reply. I was going to give up after one more ring, hahah!"

"What are you calling me all late for!?"

She thought he would be happy to hear from her but instead she had called an irritated Bakugo. "All late..? But it's only one pm!"

When he was too mad; sometimes he spewed stuff he didn't mean, didn't have to be a direct insult either. He thought [____] was going to call him later that night, not during the day. "I know that!! Shut up—! Aren't you supposed to be with weird eyes, looking at dramas or something?!"

"Ah..Yeah. As it turns out, Mina had to cancel because she got grounded...I thought about calling the girls up and hosting the sleepover in her place, but...It'll just feel unfair to Mina. & my kitchen is being remodeled and I don't want Hideaki to feel anymore stressed right now. I decided to just leave it like that for now, maybe we can reschedule it once she is able to hang out again..." [____] sadly explained.

"Then what are your plans for the rest of the night?"

"Eh? I...I'm not sure...I can't even practice my baking again so I guess just lie in bed...listen to some music? Maybe I can do some online shopping..." She muttered the last part to herself, just to not get lectured by her crush about wasting dough as if it just fell from the sky. "Anyway. Sorry that I called you while you were busy."

"If I was truly busy, I wouldn't of answered." Bakugo came to a stop in front of a few vending machines. He flipped his camera around to show [____] the selection of drinks. "Which one would you like?"

"Um..." The girl tried to understand why he would ask for her opinion. "I don't know...Watermelon green tea? It's not spicy, though. It's super sweet, I'm not sure you'll like it..."

She watched him pay for the drink with a card and then swipe it again to order another one. "Be ready in half an hour, cheeks. I'll pick you up."

[____] did a terrible job at hiding her joy and embarrassment. "Wait! ..What do you mean 'pick me up'?! Are we going somewhere?! Should I dress up, or something...?"

"Calm down. You're just coming with me to soy sauce's place." Katsuki let her know. "If you're not there with me...and you got nothing better to do, then you'll just start annoying me with texts and calls all night. I'm only saying it 'cause it's true. So, it's just better for the both of us to be around each other."

His camera was still facing whatever he was looking at; Bakugo was glad of this. He didn't want [____] to see how awkward he truly felt while saying this.

"Suki..." [____] really wanted to see her crush in person; he had already bought her drink and she'd hate for it to go to someone else. Though, the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt about Mina. She couldn't just tell him that, yet. "You know...You can always ask me to leave you alone and I will."

"Am I asking you to leave me alone?! What the hell!! Do you want to spend the rest of your night moping about crap or do you wanna be with me and these losers?! Give me your real answer, make it fast—!"

[____] complied. "I mean, I do! It sounds like fun! But Mina...And also, Sero..."

"Screw those two. Raccoon eyes shouldn't of gotten herself grounded and the tape dispenser invited shitty Deku and icyhot without my permission, anyway. He has no say in this!!"

She chuckled. "I don't think Sero needs your consent to bring anybody over to his own house...Hahah. But when you put it that way, I..."

'I don't want to disturb the guys' plans. Suki wants me to go, though. I want to hang out with them, too...'

[____] seemed a little unconvinced so her crush pretended to give up. "Look, it's up to you. Just don't come crying to me later, saying you wish you would of said yes, instead—"

The same reverse-psychology tactic she used on him the other day ran back to her, like a boomerang. "—No, I thought about it!! I'll go, Katsuki! Just let me get my things ready, first!"

💥🌸💥🌸

As promised, Katsuki picked [____] up and even carried her two bags filled with bricks (what an exaggeration) to Hanta's house at around 1:33 pm.

She asked to stop at the nearest ekinaka to buy something for the soon to be birthday boy. Bakugo complied with her request but as usual, complained about it at least a little. "This is stupid. It's not a house party, you don't have to bring shit."

"I know but it always feels weird to me to walk into somebody's house for the first time and not bring something...I'll just buy cut fruits and maybe some more pastries? I don't know what any of you may like, otherwise...Temaki, maybe? Oden?"

"You're too nice to those losers, cheeks. They're seriously not worth your money and effort..." Katsuki took a small break from watching over her and turned back to the entrance of the coffee shop they were in.

He spotted two of those losers walking so close to eachother and towards their way. One of them was being far too clingy and overly happy. The other looked like he was ready to die any moment.

"Oo, Suki, they sell panna cotta here. Would you like to try it? I wonder if I should buy a mix of different sauce toppings or just stick to berries..." [____] was inspecting the dessert display when her crush pulled on to her arm to make her follow him out of there. "What's wrong?"

"We're leaving this place. Right now."

"But I didn't even get to purchase—!" She stopped mid sentence as the two of them came face to face with her two friends. "Ah, Kaminari and Shinso! Hello!"

💥🌸💜⚡️

"I knew the entire 'stop by a store' crap was a bad idea, from the start..." Katsuki mentioned under his breath as him and [____] walked a certain amount of space in front of the other two guys. "You're bad luck. I swear I only bump into the most annoying people whenever I'm with you."

"Even if we didn't ran into eachother, it wouldn't change the fact that they're still going to Sero's." [____] gleefully replied. "So either way, we were gonna see them, and I'm glad they offered to help us carry the fruit and desserts. The two of them are so kind!"

He didn't riposte; rather, he tried to ignore Denki's loud laugh and [____]'s little humming until they got to Hanta's place.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

At 2:45, Sero welcomed his guests by answering his own front door. "Come on in, dudes. Whoa, [_____] is here?"

"Don't say shit about it unless you want me to set this house on fire." Bakugo stepped inside and shoved the birthday guy away and urged the girl to follow after him.

"Hi, Sero. Is it okay if I stay a little while? I don't mind going home if it bothers you, though. Just tell me."

"I mean..I guess it'll be cool having you around. Where's Mina? Did you guys bring her, as well?"

"She is grounded, bro." Kaminari replied in the girl's place. "But it's fine, 'cause I invited Shincchan and he'll make up for Ashido's absence!!"

"I don't intend to take anyone's place." Hitoshi was the last person outside of Sero's front door. He stood there reluctantly until Hanta requested a handshake from him. "Hi."

"Hey, dude. Welcome to my humble abode. Don't worry about my parents, they're not home. They work late and will most likely stay the night at an hotel near their jobs, like they usually do."

"...Thanks for having me."

Kaminari had taken the time to place the desserts [____] had purchased inside the fridge and jogged back to wrap his arm around Shinso. "Sero! I'm sorry my guy, but tonight Shincchan and I are gonna cuddle so can we share your bed and you take my sleeping bag?!"

"Sure, dude."

Hitoshi was hoping the birthday guy wouldn't go along with him; but he did. & suddenly, it was time for him to leave. "Well, this was fun. Have a nice day."

He unhooked Denki's arm away from him and was on his way back outside; although Sero blocked his front door with a smile. "Sorry...But now that [____] is here; I'm gonna need another guy in my team to make the it even. We're playing four against four. You can't leave, now."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

The girl greeted some of her friends when she followed Katsuki to Hanta's bedroom. Like the Bakugo family home, the Sero's had a floor cooling system.

[____] thought it was why his room was a lot more chilly than the rest of his house, however she soon noticed it was actually because Shoto was standing close to opened window, half of his body acting as a portable air conditioner as it hit him first. "Hi, everyone!"

"Amacchan, you're here!" — "You're gonna spend the night, too?"

She shrugged to Kirishima's question. "Sero said it was okay to hang out. Katsuki made me bring my stuff over just in case, but I seriously don't want to be a bother to you all tonight. I might just go home when it gets dark outside."

"What 'bother'?" Hanta overheard her say this as he guided his friend and the guy who was convinced into staying into his room. "You're none of that, [____]. Spend the night if you'd like."

"Really? I can...?"

"Sure, what's important though is that you feel safe at all times, while being here with us. Right, guys?"

[____] wasnt worried about it until her friend brought it up. '...Oh my gosh what am I doing!? Dad!! I'm so sorry, I let you down! I completely let this go past my head!! Spending the night in a room full of seven guys, my age!! Is this indecent of me!? Should I just go home!?'

"She's fine. I'm here." Bakugo knew his crush was going to overthink things again and end up claiming she needed to be home, even if that's not what she wanted to do. So he answered for her, half-annoyed and she didn't say anything about it. "Now let's focus on which losers we're gonna pick for our team, soy sauce face.

I don't care if it's your big day tomorrow, either. My team isn't gonna take things easy just to let you have a small taste of victory, ever...It's just a heads up."

💜🌸💥

[____] sat on a tatami pillow, in front of a collapsible floor table to eat a small bowl of the fruit salad she brought for everyone. She was watching almost all of the guys play a different game than the one she was introduced to last week.

Like before, they were sharing screens or playing on their own laptops/cellphones. None of the guys were speaking to eachother for quite some time, unless commands/yelling could count. It actually made [____] feel like she was all alone in the room.

That was until Hitoshi removed one of his ear phones and shifted from Sero's bed down to the floor, across from the only girl. "Hey."

"Hi." [____] had a mouthful of fruits that she moved to one side of her cheek before speaking. She also covered her lips as she decided to chew faster and gulp the sweet aftertaste down with some more of the watermelon green tea Katsuki had bought for her.

Shinso pointed with his eyes at a napkin she had placed close to her, where she separated her least favorite fruits to throw away when she finished eating. "Don't like oranges?"

"I don't mind them, just not mixed with the other fruits. The taste of their juice can be overpowering." He smirked at the way she described a simple fruit and it caused her to smile. "...What? Did I say something funny?"

"Nothing, really...You're just interesting..In a good way, of course."

She thanked him for saying a kind thing with a small nod. "What are you doing, then? Don't feel like playing with the rest?"

"I sort of do, but it's just..." He began to form a sentence only to leave it alone halfway.

'...Does he feel uncomfortable, being here with all of us...When we're not even his classmates? I've only seen him be close to Izuku or Kami...' [____] thought.

The concerned look on her face caused Shinso to finish what he wanted to say, after all. "It's not what you're thinking. I'll just kick everybody's ass in this game...That's all."

"Oh, so you're just being merciful and not nervous. Got it!" She didn't know why it was so easy for her to talk with him. Despite embarrassing herself 24/7 whenever he was around; he still wanted to speak with her. She was actually pretty grateful he didn't judge her, in the beginning of their friendship.

"You don't have to believe me, but I speak facts." He insisted with the corners of his tired eyes crinkling. [____] couldn't help but admire his perfectly straight teeth. He stopped smiling soon after taking a mental note that she was inspecting him, in a way.

[____] snapped out of it too; she tried to laugh it off. "I'm sorry..I was just...Um...Do you want some fruit?! I can go downstairs and get another bowl!"

"It's fine, I don't—"

She didn't let him finish answering. Getting up in a flash out of embarrassment, she announced. "I'll go get you some fruit! I'll be right back!"

💥💥💥💥

"Dang, Todoroki died immediately in this round...are you sure you don't want to use my laptop instead, dude? I'll be on my phone..." Sero, a second after his female guest left his bedroom, asked one of the guys in his gaming team to switch consoles since he was doing a terrible job playing on his cellular device.

"I am okay at this." Shoto reassured himself, only; since nobody else on his team believed it.

"I think you should try the laptop, Todoroki." Even Midoriya, who was being the nicest of the group, also suggested the idea to his friend. "Think about it, a bigger screen, a bigger target..."

"ICYHOT YOURE SHIT AT THIS GAME!! GET BETTER, RIGHT NOW OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!!" Bakugo was tired of the guys sugar coating everything for their classmate. It was clear he sucked; therefore, he needed to be the one who says it like it is.

"Is one of the consequences being on your team, instead of Sero's?" Shoto asked to get punched by Katsuki.

Eijiro was quick to drop his remote and restrict the blond from going after Todoroki. He used his quirk to secure Bakugo's hands stayed locked away from anybody's distance. "Relax, bro..Why are you even upset? We can easily beat them this way."

"I CAN'T fucking understand why he's here, for starters!! Or the nerd!!" Katsuki always had time to insult Izuku, even when he wasn't doing anything but minding his own business. "Fuck you, Deku!"

"Kacchan, why?!"

"I invited them, dude. I told you already, it's as simple as that." Hanta then decided it was enough video games for a while. He asked if the guys were cool if he played a movie on his living room, instead. "Let's switch things up a little. We don't want to get too hyped up about competing against eachother, just yet."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

'Sero's kitchen is seriously small, but so accommodating...' [____] took a moment to appreciate the view of the common Japanese home.

She thought about how, in comparison, her house was just absurdly large and for no good reason. 'When you're in a home this size, you obviously get to feel more familiar with the people you live with...'

"— No, I'm serious, Bakugo!" She overheard the guys' footsteps coming down to the first floor. Sero was carrying his gaming console as he reminded the blond of something. "You owe me a new TV for that!"

He was sort of laughing; [____] didn't know what they were previously speaking of, but she assumed it was just a joke like it usually was.

"I'm not buying you shit. Fuck off." Katsuki jumped off the hand rails halfway as he was coming down with the rest of the guys. He landed fine on his feet and headed to the kitchen to close the refrigerator door on [____]. She jolted in surprise. "What are you doing, cheeks? Hungry again?"

"I was about to put something away..." She held on to the plastic container of fruit salad. "Do you want any of this?"

He moved away and opened the fridge for her. "No. Come on, we're gonna watch a movie. Sit close to me, yeah?"

🌸💥🌸💥

[____] couldn't come up with words that were able to replace the smile on her face. She followed after her crush and handed Shinso the small bowl she said she would serve him.

He didn't want it but still thanked her for it, and then sat on the ground, a few feet away from the loud blond and the kind girl. Kaminari tried to sit on his lap but he moved and allowed him to be next to him, instead.

"Before I turn on my living room TV, I wanna apologize 'cause it's a little bit broken..." Hanta finished connecting some cables on the back of it and explained to his friends. "My boy, Bakugo over here, got mad one day when we were playing this racing game and he threw his remote on it out of rage, now my screen has a random white line on the left side whenever it's on."

"Katsuki..." It wasn't unbelievable to hear this, so [____] shook her head, disappointed at her crush.

"It's fine, bro, we don't care." Eijiro let him know. It was true, for the most part. Kaminari, Midoriya and him had already known this; Shoto and Hitoshi didn't mind at all.

[____] was the only one feeling guilty, for one reason or the other, that the birthday guy had to deal with apologizing each time he turned on his family tv because of her crush.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

They ended up watching two entire movies while munching on random snacks that didn't gain [____]'s attention, so by the time it was 8pm; she was hungry. It was the kind that not even snacking could suffice so she asked the guys if they wanted a pizza.

"I can order it!" She offered. "What kind of toppings do you guys like?"

"Pepperoni is fine." Sero answered first, getting up to search for his wallet on his back pocket to pay her back with cash. "[____], dude. I'm hosting tonight so I have to pay for this."

"I want lots of meat, so make it extra!!" Eijiro announced. "Blasty likes jalapeños so add that too!"

"I'm fine with anything." Izuku stated; Shoto nodded in agreement.

"I want pineapples, tomatoes and chicken on mine! With barbecue sauce instead of tomato sauce." Denki customized his own; Shinso gave him a strange look.

[____] listened to all of their requests. "Okay, just to be safe I'm buying four pizzas, and they will be different on each half, that way we can all get four slices of whatever toppings we'd like. Does that sound good, you guys?"

🌸🌸🌸🌸

As they waited for the delivery; Sero turned on his air conditioning and changed into a much looser, tank shirt. It exposed his chest if he moved too much in it. "Even though it's night time already, it's still hot. I wish I had a pool to offer, you guys."

"A pool? Wish I had one too." Kirishima answered, taking off his shirt since he was also sweating and didn't care that the girl was sitting in between him and Bakugo. She closed her eyes immediately and faced her crush. "It would be a great way of working out if you swim with ankle weights!"

"Oi, put on a fucking shirt, shitty hair."

"I was thinking the same!" Deku agreed with Eijiro's idea. "You'll build up resistance!"

"Right?! Don't worry, Blasty, I'm gonna take a shower right now, I won't stay this way all night. There's a lady in the room, I know, I know...But anyway, Midoriya, you and I should go swimming one of these days! With a mindset like that, we are definitely going to be even greater friends than what we are now!"

"That's cool and all, working out...But c'mon!" Kami shook his head at the two guys all razzled up over weights and whatnot. "If I had a pool in my house, I'd only use it to throw parties every weekend and invite the hottest girls over! Tell me that's not what owning a pool is about!"

"That's not what owning a pool is about." Hitoshi responded with the exact words he was asking to hear.

"I have one at my house... I just swim in it." Todoroki let everybody know, his voice without any intonation.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "That's what it's used for, idiot!!"

It was clear to Shoto that he was already annoyed; but not enough to start breaking things yet. He figured he could change that, so he added. "I'd invite Bakugo over to my pool all the time."

"AND I'LL BE LIKE 'NO AND EAT SHIT!' TO THAT!!"

"If Bakugo wants to eat feces in my pool, I'd let him."

"WANNA FIGHT ME, ICYHOT?!"

"I don't fight in my pool. I just told you, I swim in it."

"Please don't anger him anymore, Todoroki..." [____] asked in a supplicating tone, she was the one closest to the ash blond guy, if he yelled a little louder she was sure he could rupture her eardrums.

However, the rest of the guys in Bakugo's team were already laughing to tease him some more. Kirishima excused him a moment later, leaving an empty spot between Izuku and [____].

The green-haired guy asked her if she still had a pool in her mansion; which she nodded. "...But I don't visit the room often, because I'm not the best swimmer and anyway, right now, some of the pipes got clogged with some sort of debris so its being fixed. Might take a week or two..."

"Aaah, that sucks, we could of used it as an excuse to go to your house, at this hour..." Denki didn't care if he let his true intentions show, sometimes. He directed his attention at the guy he claimed as his best friend. "Shinso, you have a pool at your place?"

"I don't."

"I feel bad for you, bro..."

"...but Kami? You just said you don't have one either." [____] was a little confused by his comment.

"Yeah, but like— I feel bad 'cause Shincchan's body is secretly rocking. I watched him take off his shirt the other day while he was trying on clothes. If he had a pool he'd be able to show those abs more often."

'Nobody is trying to replace Mina, I know...But sometimes Kaminari can sound just like her...' the girl tried to smile her way out of this conversation.

"Don't look at my body." Shinso reminded him of this.

"I can't help it, bro! I gotta inspect every inch of you every chance I get! I wanna be just like you, teach me how to be just like you!"

"You're seriously not going to become popular, trying to look like me."

"At least eyebags is honest." [____]'s crush commented.

🌸🌸later..🌸🌸

At 12:42 AM; [____] took a break from playing video games with the guys to go take a shower and do her nightly skincare routine in Sero's bathroom.

It wasn't anything special, she cleansed and moisturized her face with a special anti-aging cream her mother had sworn worked miracles and urged her to start applying it right now, that she was young.

She walked back into the guy's bedroom and was greeted by a red dual-shock controller, that hit the door and not her but only for two inches. "What the—?"

"LET ME GO, ELBOWS!! I'LL FUCK HIM UP REAL BAD IN PERSON!!!" Her crush was struggling to be set free from Sero's tape.

"Can't do that, Bakugo. You gotta relax."

"Amacchan, are you alright?!" Midoriya was the only one not startled enough to notice [____] picking up the broken remote and placing her stuff in a corner, near Hanta's bed.

"I'm fine, but what happened?"

"Blasty got pissed that Shinso keeps beating him no matter what he does." Kirishima summarized it for her, he took the device out of her hands to make sure it was still intact. "Aw, dude, you broke Sero's remote. Apologize to him."

"FUCK YOU!! IM NOT DOING SHIT!"

"— It's fine, don't apologize but find your chill instead, bro. Can't have you yelling like this at this hour. My neighbors might call the police." Hanta was starting to get irritated by his team leader; [____] caught on to it by the look on his face so she offered to take him off their hands for a while.

"Katsuki, can you come outside with me for a bit, then? I want to buy a drink from another vending machine..."

For her, he toned it down almost immediately. "Fine! I'll go with you, cheeks. I can't stand this fucker and his stupid face— Hurry up."

With that, Sero set him free and Kaminari asked if they could get him a drink on their way out.

"You'll get a bottle of my piss if you don't shut the fuck up!!"

[____] talked over the blond. "I'll get you all something to drink! No worries!"

🌸💥🌸💥

'I don't understand how they can get so worked up over video games, after all...Suki really needs to stop playing if he keeps breaking others' stuff.' [____] wasn't saying anything out loud as she walked beside her crush. 'Maybe he needs a new hobby...'

"It was his fault." Katsuki broke the silence before she could ask him what his problem was. "He sneaked up on me, only. Eyebags wanted to get on my nerves on purpose."

"It's still not an excuse to break Sero's remote, Suki..." She reminded him. "You should really apologize to him, and make it up by buying him a new one or giving him one of yours."

He didn't respond to her suggestion; it wasn't a bad one he just didn't feel comfortable saying she was right about anything.

"Let's get everyone something to drink. I don't like seeing you get angry at all of them when you play...Maybe we can try doing something else before bed?" Even though she requested, she knew the guys were attracted to the idea of staying up all night playing more video games. It was the whole reason why Sero invited them, only.

"You're sleeping with me, right?" He had to make sure of it when they reached the vending machines.

[____] froze out of nowhere. "...huh?"

"Of course you are." He answered for her. "Who else would you want to sleep next to? I'm the only person you're crazy about."

🌸🌸[TUE. JULY 28th]🌸🌸

At 2 am on the dot; the girl was beginning to fight against her tiredness. She was trying to stay up with her friends and not feel like a party pooper if she admitted to them that she needed some zzz's.

Her crush and the guys were back to playing video games nonstop and she had to get up from the floor because her bottom half was starting to hurt from staying in that position for hours.

"I'm gonna get a glass of water..." she let anybody who was listening to her know and with that, she walked downstairs and did what she had to do.

In the middle of searching the cupboards for a glass tall enough to quench her thirst, [____] stumbled upon an Italian-inspired recipe book that was displayed on the countertops and she couldn't help but look through it.

The excitement in her system fueled up her energy and she forgot all about her drink to run back upstairs with the book in her hands. "Guys, everyone!! Look at this!"

"My mom's recipe book?" Sero questioned what was so important about it before going back to the game he was so focused on. "She has lot of those. If you wanna read them all, they're downstairs...Near the kitchen, in a bookcase."

"It's not that...I was just hoping we could cook something, together!"

"Make food?" Eijiro's character had died from him getting distracted by [____]'s idea. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you hungry again, girl-bro? We can just order something else."

"What kind of restaurant is open at this hour?" Kaminari asked everyone. He willingly quit the game to take a small break and wrap his arms around Hitoshi's shoulders. "I'm feeling some ramen, actually. Shincchan, what are you in the mood for?"

"Personal space." The guy responded immediately.

"But.. Come on, guys. All you've been doing is playing video games. I hate to be a mood killer but I'm sort of bored already." [____]'s voice got a little bit quieter with each word. "...Um, I realize I have no say in this. It's Sero's birthday already...I should probably head home if I'm bored. I'm sorry..."

Katsuki made sure he won the last round before exiting the game and looking back at the girl. "What are you crying about, now!?"

"I'm not crying!"

"You always are." He took his time to stand up and take the book out of her hands to look through it. "...You want to try this shit out? If we don't do this with you, you'll leave? You threatenin' us?"

"No, I just don't want to be an eyesore for you guys. I understand now, that playing games is what you all wanna do. I shouldn't of brought this up. Again, Sero, I am so sorry!" This time, [____] directed her apology to him in particular. "This is your sleepover, I shouldn't try to ruin anything for you guys...Um, I can just call a cab— Better yet, I can just use my quirk so I'll pick up my stuff and—"

"Bakugo, quit glaring at her, man. She thinks you're serious." When Hanta interrupted her to scold her crush, [____] wasn't expecting another two guys to start laughing about it. "Please stay, [____]. I'm probably gonna be bad at this type of thing, but I'm willing to try, if you want."

"I'm so down!! Shincchan is too!" Kaminari decided for the both of them. "My angel, what do you think we should make?! If my dish is good, can I feed it to you personally?!"

"OH! You know what would be cool? If we add another one of those infamous wagers to this." Kirishima proposed. "Blasty, what do you say? Winner gets to sleep next to [____] tonight. Are you up to compete with the rest?"

The girl couldn't understand how she somehow, always ended up being called the trophy to their bets. "Wait a second!! I don't agree to this, you guys! I don't even want it to be some sort of tournament. You just like to fight against each other, don't you?!"

"But this makes it more fun! What's wrong about it?" Denki asked her with a guiltless expression plastered all over his face. "We just want to put our best into this..."

'Cute...He sort of looks like a little kid who doesn't know any better...' [____] smiled at him, then reminded herself that Denki was actually the person talking about girls in bathing suits right in front of her. "You can do that without including me as the prize!"

"Then how about the winners get to be crowned king and/or queen of Italian food for the rest of the school year." Sero recommended a less fun but much safer option for the guys to fight over. "Manly title, right Kirishima?"

"I like it! Blasty, want to be my partner? Let's do teams of two!"

"Pass." Katsuki had given the cook book back to his crush and crossed his arms a while ago. He kept glaring at Izuku since then, making him nervous on purpose. "Hey, Deku. Be my slave for this shit."

"K-Kacchan?!" — "What?!" Both, Izuku and [____] responded in unison. "Slave?!"

"Pretty sure by that, he meant 'partner" but..the way he said it just sounds dirty..." Denki chuckled at the other blond's poor choice of words. "...Wait a minute. Shincchan, I can be your slave!"

"Don't think I want that, no." He responded.

"Aw, come on!! Say 'yes' to me! I'm a great cook, I'll have you know!"

While the guy kept trying to win Hitoshi over, [____] focused back on her crush, who still hadn't said anything about his offer being a joke to Midoriya. The freckled guy spoke, "I mean— What about Amacchan, Kacchan...? Don't you want to partner up with her?"

"Her cooking is trash and you should all know it."

Bakugo was quick to answer, deliberately burning down her small amount of confidence left for that day. "As much as I hate you, Deku, I know you used to help aunty with a lot of dishes growing up. Your skills have got to be the second best, after mine of course."

[____] tried really hard not to act hurt by the arrow of truth he just shot in her chest. 'He has a point, I guess...But I thought he'd want to do this together, with me...'

"Damn, so we are going by who's good at cooking? Then, Todoroki, partner up with me. Yeah?" Sero asked the most quiet guy from the group.

"I am only skilled at preparing soba."

"That's good enough. You and me, going at this tonight, dude!"

"Okay.."

Since Denki was still begging Hitoshi to be his partner, Kirishima had the option to ask [____] for her help, or just work alone. He found both of those options to be very onerous. "Kami; just be my partner, bro."

'Kiri doesn't even want me on his team?!' She regretted even glancing at the cook book, all of a sudden. 'This is embarrassing...'

"I'm sorry, Kiricchan! I would if I could but Shincchan is my boo and he doesn't want me with anybody else!" Kaminari professed.

The guy he wouldn't leave alone said the opposite. "I think you should partner up with him, actually."

"What a funny joke! Shincchan, you know that the two of us are gonna be crowned kings at the end of this competition, and we're gonna live off Italian dishes forever and ever, like the happy ending we deserve!!"

"Someone, anyone, get him away from me."

Eijiro granted Hitoshi's wish. "Come on, quit smothering him for two seconds and stick with me. You're my partner."

"Shincchan, you're seriously going to let some other guy just hold on to your boo and pull him away from you like this?!" All the other guys had gone downstairs to the kitchen area, it was just them three and [____] who were still standing in Sero's bedroom.

Denki pretended for cry as Eijiro guided him out of there as well. "At least say something!! Anything!"

"Yeah, sure.. Thanks." Hitoshi spoke to Kirishima. The red haired guy gave him a quick sailor salute. "Really feels like I owe you one."

🌸💜🌸💜

"So, I guess...That just leaves you and me..." [____] wasn't trying to wait until everyone else was out of the room to speak up, yet that's what happened. "Unless—!! You want to work alone, you know, I mean I'd get it, hahah..."

'But then... I'll feel useless at that point. First the guys were treating me like the prize, now suddenly none of them want me in their team? I'm mostly hurt about Suki...'

As if Hitoshi's quirk was to read her mind, he replied to her with the tiniest smile. "No, I'm sure you and I can win against all of them."

"Really?!" [____] was glad someone was setting some sort of hope beside her. "You think so?!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Well...Cooking is not my strongest factor, as Katsuki stated...So I apologize in advance for not meeting any of your standards when it comes down to it, Shinso!"

"You humor me by thinking I'm the kind to worry about 'standards'. Food is food, no matter if it's Japanese or Italian. With that...let's just meet up with the rest."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

"Okay, dudes and dudette, let me repeat myself for the convenience of those who just got here." Sero went over the plan one last time for [____] and Hitoshi, in specific.

Kaminari and Kirishima were given safety scissors, crayons and cardstock to create the paper crowns for the winners. Eijiro was complaining how he couldn't cut through anything with the smallest instrument made out of plastic, but Hanta reminded him that Denki's feelings would be hurt if they gave him really sharp scissors instead of him.

"This isn't gonna look so pretty, Blasty. But I'll decorate the crown up to your liking, 'cause I'm sure you're going to win first place!"

"'Course I am." Katsuki liked hearing his best friend support him at times.

Izuku cleared his throat. "You mean 'we', Kacchan..." — "No one's talking to you, nerd!!"

'Suki is actually looking forward to this, more than what I was expecting...' [____] once again dwelled on the fact that she wasn't anybody's first choice, but then shook her head a few times to get out of that sulky mindset. 'Doesn't matter! I'm gonna give it my best as well to not make Shinso look bad!'

Sero continued; "I just watched three seasons of Hell's Kitchen to get used to Bakugo's yelling. So I don't mean to put myself out there, but I'm kind of a pro at how these things work."

"Hah?!" Katsuki usually wasn't fond of cooking shows; but this was the first time he had heard of something so violent that had to do with food. "...What's it about?"

Hanta went off about how the cooking competition system worked in his eyes; He claimed that everyone had 30 minutes exactly to go to the grocery store and pick out whatever ingredients they may need. [____] offered to get them there and back with her quirk to not waste money or time on ubers.

"Sounds reasonable. Thanks, Amachi." The birthday guy wasn't planning on having a cook-off during his sleepover; but he was sudden glad the girl suggested this change of atmosphere. "Alright, did we all pick what dish we are gonna make?"

"Obviously." Katsuki answered for all of the teams but the truth was that it was just himself who was fully ready. "We are making lasagna."

"We are?!" Izuku wasn't as excited as much as he was worried for the rest. He knew Kacchan was the kind to put everything he has into any challenge. "I mean...We are!"

"Give us a second. Todoroki, let me see the book." Eijiro asked for it and Shoto complied. He and Denki skimmed through the pictures until they both agreed on something. "Bro, the caprese salad looks like the easiest to make, let's go with that!"

"Totally!"

"There goes the one dish I had my eyes on..." [____] murmured to herself. Her partner for this event overheard it.

Hanta, then, took the hardcover from Kirishima's hands and flipped some pages, nodding his way until the end of it. "Mhm. Mhm. Ah, I see...Yep. As I thought..I don't know how to make any Italian dishes."

The book went back to Todoroki and it didn't take him long to know that he wanted something sweet, as opposed at the other teams. "Tiramisu....Because we need some kind of dessert."

'Dessert...Salad...Main course?! Are we going for a theme, now?! If that's the case our only option left is bread! Not unless you count the drinks...Can we get away with just using some fancy sparkling water?'

When it was [____]'s turn to read some pages, she was left with no more simple ideas to recreate. "I'm sorry, Shinso! I don't know what I can help you with—! Oh?"

Her partner placed a finger on a picture of well decorated focaccia bread. Coincidentally, it was exactly on the page she kept open. "This looks interesting...reminds me of you."

"Bread...I was just thinking of that, actually!" [____] was too distraught by the colorful vegetables that looked perfectly roasted on top of the flat bread to realize he was trying to compliment her. "You think we should choose this?"

"It also seems like it's easy to make..."

'Did he hear me complain about Kiri picking the salad, first?' She regretted saying anything about it, right then. 'I probably sounded like such a spoiled, little kid...How unappealing...'

[____] gave a firm nod to her partner; Shinso closed the book soon after. "We're set, too."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

When everybody finished putting on their jackets and shoes; they met back in Sero's living room at 2:39 am.

The only places that were open at this hour were convenient and general shops. Because they wouldn't be able to find proper ingredients in some sketchy liquor store; the high school students decided to go to the nearest Seiyu. [____] gladly looked up the location on her phone and got them there in less than two minutes through doorways.

Their appearance in the left entryway of the store caused a security guard to panic, he was standing near them after all. [____] stayed behind to apologize as the guys all dispersed into their favorite section of the place. Hitoshi waited for his partner to finish being too kind to the man.

💥💚1 min in💥💚

"Kacchan! What ingredients do we need, again?" Midoriya was trying to catch up to Bakugo. The guy could sure walk fast when he was being timed to do anything. It was either that or he was purposely trying to make his partner chase after him at all times. "Kacchan! Wait for me! Answer my question, too!"

"SHUT UP!!"

⚡️❤️3 min in⚡️❤️

"Looks like we only need three major ingredients. We'll be finished with this sooner than the rest. So let's check out the other aisles for protein snacks, what do you say bro?" Eijiro was confident in his level of cooking skills to succeed in this battle.

He just wasn't so sure if Denki had the same amount of credence as he did about it; considering all the guy was talking about was how great it would be to have the only girl in the sleepover feed him the salad. "Think about it!! A cute girl like [____] putting anything close to your mouth, it sounds like a dream come true!!"

"You have a way with words that sometimes make me understand why Blasty should hate you..." Kirishima gave him a slightly painful looking smile.

🌹🖤10 min in🌹🖤

"I purchased everything we need." Shoto went the other direction as Hanta as soon as the rest got separated and looked for their ingredients on his own. He assumed Sero would be by the electronic section of the store, and sure enough that's where he found him. "...What now?"

"Sorry, dude. Got a little side tracked." Hanta was looking at the prices of the TVs that were hanged on the wall. "How much do I owe you for this?"

"There's no need. I don't mind paying for everything."

"Nah, let me at least give you half."

"Isn't today your birthday? You can consider this deed a present."

Hanta was a little reluctant to nod. "Ahah...Yeah...But, I don't know. Doesn't really feel like it, honestly....Wonder why."

Todoroki didn't reply; although he also took a look at the prices Sero was dwelling on about.

🌸💜20 min in🌸💜

[____] was looking at her phone, following after Shinso while he guided her to the fresh market aisle of the store. "So! It says here we need yeast; and we need to let it rest overnight. We don't have time for that so what if we just buy premade pizza dough? It's not going to taste the same, but I bet it will be kind of close!"

"Okay."

"We should get bell peppers, carrots and even purple onions! Shinso, If we don't win based on its flavor, we're totally gonna win in the looks department, these images are incredible, each one of them look amazing!"

"Should I leave the decorating to you, then?"

"No! We have to do this as a team! Otherwise, if you put too much hope in me...I'm afraid I'll mess everything up for us..."

They both reached the tomato display at the same time. [____] was about to grab the prettiest looking one but he beat her to it and she ended up touching the back of his hand, instead.

She pulled hers back immediately. "Um, but I really am grateful that you were willing to partner up with me."

"You don't have to thank me at all." Shinso reminded her; "Besides... I would eat anything you'd make, anytime."

"Y-You would?" [____]'s eyes lit up a little. She thought about how the world could be full of kind people, after he said that.

He reacted a little too fast for his liking, and so he had to quickly gaze at another display of vegetables until he no longer felt like blushing over nothing. "Yeah..even if it kills me. I welcome death on the daily, anyway."

[____] realized it was a joke but she still shook her head at him. "Wait a minute, don't say that!! And—! My cooking won't kill you! I promise, I'll try my best so it's not considered poison!!"

He smiled before laughing; [____] was sure it was the first time she made any guy sound so unrestrainedly; She joined him, but with a chuckle. & then, their moment was cut short by one of their friends.

Kaminari was inside a cart, enjoying the fact that he was being pushed around by Sero with so much speed. It caught the eye of the guard outside and he used the speaker phone to remind everyone that the seats on the carts were meant for children and not bored teenagers in risk of being arrested.

"Your friends are a handful, aren't they?" Hitoshi ignored Denki, who was shouting his name at the top of his lungs, begging to be noticed.

"They're your friends, now, too." [____] reminded him of this; she waved at Kaminari, who began to chant her name as well.

Her partner finally acknowledged his existence by lifting his chin at him. He went back to his conversation with the girl. "....That guy is more of a crazy stalker than a friend, if you ask me."

[____] snickered. "Maybe at first, he comes off that way...But he likes you, so now you're part of our group. We all welcome you, seriously!"

"All of you?" He pointed with his eyes at Katsuki; who was actually behind [____]. A couple of feet away and too busy glaring at the different sorts of peppers that were laid out for him to care for his crush, actually.

"Kacchan, we shouldn't alter the recipe with spice— I mean, isn't it best if we follow it correctly instead?!" Midoriya was there too, practically begging him to not make their dish indigestible.

"Hah?! Stop breathing down my neck, Deku! I know what the hell I'm doing!!"

The girl examined the annoyed look in Bakugo's face. "It might take time for Katsuki to get used to you..Trust me, I once felt the same way you're feeling..I know he doesn't look like it, much, but he's very kind. I hope you'll see him that way soon, too...

Uh, anyway..I think we have everything we need. We still have a few minutes left. Want to look around the store with me?"

"Sure." Her partner replied. "Where ever we are heading; lead the way."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

The beauty section wasn't his first guess; but Hitoshi didn't find any reason to complain.

[____] was browsing along the face mask sections; she grew quite fond of the pretty packaging and different vitamins they claimed to give. "If you get bored of this, just let me know! We can also look anywhere you'd like."

"Bored of the things you will say or do? Hardly." He responded confidently; his curiosity allowing him to also look at the products she had her eyes and hands on. "I told you before, I find you quite mirthful."

"I don't know what that means, haha..." [____] laughed weakly, mostly to herself. "Shinso...If I ask you something, will you promise to be 100% honest with your answer?"

"Sure."

"Then...What do you think of this?" She held a sheet mask close to his face. It was shaped like a sunny side up egg and insisted to have that natural ingredient in it, too. "It says it tightens your pores and gives your a bright glow! Would you try this?"

"Personally, I wouldn't. Something about the smell, I guess." He kept his promise about being honest; [____] appreciated that.

"What about this one?" From then, on, she concluded that he was trustworthy enough to rely on him for candid opinions. "Or this one? Oh! How about that one, on the shelf?! It looks more like a serum; so maybe it's meant to stay on your skin? Wait here, I'll go look!"

"I really don't know much about this stuff..." Shinso muttered; making sure [____] wouldn't hear him for a moment.

🌸💥28 min in💜🌹

In the end, [____] browsed but didn't purchase anything else than their ingredients. She had texted the guys to let them know they should meet back at the entrance of the store to go home together; everyone had replied to her except for Shoto. Hanta was carrying their bags the entire time, apparently.

So she worried and decided to go search for him on her own. Of course, her partner and her crush wanted to follow and ensure she wouldn't get lost, herself.

"Just so you know, you're gonna lose to me. Can't wait to be called 'king' by you extras, fucking finally." Bakugo had taken this as an opportunity to talk down to the competition. "When I say 'extras' I'm not including you, cheeks. Just don't cry over this shit, after I win."

"I won't cry!" [____] grew a tad tired of exclaiming it.

Hitoshi wasn't bothered by his smugness. "Great. I'm happy for you."

"Sarcasm doesn't work on me— You think you can tear me down with those half assed comments of yours, eyebags?!" Katsuki was right; but the other guy had another card under his sleeve and it was simple...

Disregard him.

"Tch. Are you ignoring me?!"

"I am."

"You piss me off!!"

"I'm flattered."

"Guys!" [____] cut through their little chit-chat to remind them of the entire reason why they were walking through aisles at almost three in the morning, in the first place. "I found Todoroki!"

He was leaning against a dvd rack, arms under his chin and folded, still standing while napping. Bakugo crossed his arms after seeing him like this. "This somnambulist piece of shit."

"I'm surprised you know such a big word." Shinso believed it was safe for him to bait the blond now that, as [____] said previously, he was officially part of their 'group'.

"You wanna fucking start something with me?!"

"Please, can one of you just help me and get him to wake up? I'm not sure what I should do in these types of situations..." Once again, [____] interrupted the guys to ask for a favor.

She didn't expect Hitoshi to go out of his way and carry Shoto over his shoulder; The guy groaned a little in response but it was only for a split second. He was holding onto a long receipt paper that slipped out of his hand when he was moved away from his sleeping spot, and [____] was quick to catch it before it landed on the floor.

"What is it?" Katsuki didn't actually care; he was just trying to move the girl's attention back to him.

"I'm guessing the receipt for their ingredients? I'll just put it in my pocket for later, him and Sero might need it..right?" She padded the sides of her pajama bottoms and frowned. "I forgot I don't have pockets. Shinso, could you—?"

"—Give me that. I'll hold on to it!" Her crush disliked the way she didn't choose to ask him first. "What?! You think just because I hate icyhot, I won't do something like this for you, cheeks?! Give me a break."

"Um..No..That's not it. Thanks?" [____] raised an eyebrow at him but didn't hesitate to give him the receipt, where as he crumbled it up inside his sweats' front pocket.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

When everybody was able to get out of her portals and land back inside Sero's house safely; [____] made sure to check up on Shoto, before anybody else. "Shinso, thank you for carrying him all the way here."

"It's no issue on my part," Hitoshi spoke over the mumbling blond. "Now, where should I place him?"

"On the ground, if you could." Shoto was the first person to reply to him; Shinso didn't have much time to react as he was too surprised to know the guy was apparently awake the entire time.

Sero was pleased to know he wasn't going to face off other teams on his own as Shoto was standing once again. "How long have you been awake, dude?"

"For a while. I think I just enjoyed being carried like this, so I didn't intend to say much during our way back." Todoroki patted Shinso's shoulder once to show his gratitude and then looked through the bags of food to find his and Hanta's ingredients. "Bakugo, next time...You can carry me, if you'd like."

"And who the fuck said I would?!"

"I saw it through your face."

It didn't take more than a second for the ash-blond to get ticked off by Shoto's comments. "Fuck you! Next time, how about I just kill you as you sleep?! Although you're the last person to deserve a peaceful death!!"

"Hey, Blasty. Come on! There's no threatenin' involved when we're just trying to make a full course meal!" Kirishima took it as his cue to step in and pull his best friend aside to cool him off. "You and Midoriya should get started first, since it looks like your plate is gonna take the longest to prep! Come on!"

🌸💜🌸💜

"Alright! The veggies are cut! Thanks for letting me do this, instead of the baking!" [____] had to take a minute to properly thank her partner for this. There was no way he could know just how much this meant to her. She truly believed it was her who ruined her mother's kitchen, somehow.

Hitoshi nodded once without looking her way. He was still busy trying to knead and stretch the pre-made dough to perfection. "No problem. Although, I gotta say...Watching you hold a sharp knife kind of worried me."

"Come on! I'm not that much of a dummy! I can totally take care of myself around sharp objects—" As she mentioned it, she overheard Katsuki snap at one of their friends for accidentally cutting his finger while trying to slice a ball of mozzarella cheese.

"DUMBASS! How the fuck do you manage to get hurt while making a salad?!"

"Don't scream at him, Bakugo." Hanta was the first to stand up for Kaminari. "Oh, crap. Now you got blood all over my mom's favorite cutting board. But that's okay, dude. Go rinse your hand while I find a bandaid—"

Eijiro also lectured [____]'s crush as she remembered that she had carried a small first aid kit with her, on this particular night. "Oh! Sero, I can help!"

She turned to Hitoshi and asked him to start decorating the bread however he'd like while she ran upstairs to catch something, real fast.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

2 minutes and a teaspoon of blood-loss later, [____] had made it back with a band aid and a small, sealed packet of an antiseptic towelette. "Hold still, Kami! I'll clean this wound for you! Ah, crap! I accidentally dropped the wipe!"

"Fucking idiot." Her crush was the only one interested in watching her fail to do something simple. [____] had picked up the piece of moist paper she was going to use to disinfect Denki's cut and frowned at it.

"I can't use this now..Guess I'll have to go back upstairs and get another one!"

"No need." Little did anyone know that her partner for this amateur cook-off was actually carrying a first aid kit as well. He had it on the pocket of his grey hoodie that he still hadn't taken off.

He signaled her to relax and step back before cleaning Denki's wound with an alcohol-infused wipe. "You. Stay still."

Kaminari did the opposite and stomped his feet on the ground from the burning sensation on his fingertip. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!! ...Oh, this feels kind of good, actually."

He warned the golden-haired guy to keep his comments to himself and then moved aside so [____] could place the bandaid on the wound.

"There you go, Kami! You're all set!"

"Thanks, angel. But it would of been a lot easier if you just kissed it, instead."

"Hahaha, I'm not gonna do that." She was blushing a little, sure; but only because Denki could say things so casually, it would always catch her off guard.

"I'm serious. Please kiss it—"

Bakugo and Midoriya were the first to finish creating their dish; although it was still warming up in the oven. So the two of them were just waiting on that part to be over.

Midoriya was watching Todoroki add a precise measurement of vodka to their dessert batter while Bakugo took the sharpest knife he could find from the kitchen and use it to warn Kaminari to keep his mouth shut. "Hey, dumbass...Wanna get stabbed multiple times in the gut?"

"Shincchan, protect me!" Kami hid behind [____]'s partner, who was too busy decorating their pre-baked bread, as the girl had ordered minutes ago.

Hitoshi ignored the guy's presence; and the feeling of being pulled by the same guy's arms wrapping around his waist as Eijiro was trying to separate the two of them.

"Thanks for taking over real fast—" [____] took a quick look at the design he was going for and smiled. "Aw...Is it supposed to be a cat?"

"You can change it, if you want. I don't know what I'm doing, actually."

"No, no! I like it! Mind if I add some edible flowers and maybe some more veggies to resemble grass to the picture?!" The only girl in the house seemed quite excited to finish off their masterpiece; Shinso would of appreciated the look on her face a while longer if it wasn't for Kaminari, who was still begging to gain his attention.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

When the time on [____]'s phone read 5:42 am; everyone had finally completed serving eight servings of their dish and spread the bowls and plates across the kitchen counters.

"We should of picked two judges for this, but whatever." At that point; Hanta was just starting to feel a little exhausted and was ready to call it a night and crash in bed as soon as this was over with. "I guess we are all just going to have to take a vote. So what's first?"

"Salad! That means us!" Kaminari practically jolted with enthusiasm as him and Kirishima handed everyone a plate and a fork. "I volunteer to feed my angel, [____], some of our special one-of-a-kind dish—"

"I respectfully decline; thank you." [____] said, bowing her head a little before taking a bite of the caprese salad. She chewed it a little and tried gulping it down as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and made a sour face. "Hm...What's on this, exactly..?"

Katsuki was the only one not touching his food; as soon as he took a small sniff from his plate, he decided it belonged straight in the trash. Unlike the others, he wasn't gagging, coughing or asking to drink some water. "Shitty hair added his stupid protein powder on the dressing. Could smell that shit a mile away."

Eijiro was the only one laughing about that. "Can't get upset at me, I was just thinking this salad needed a bit of a manly twist—"

"— I mean," [____] really wanted to laugh his mistake off. Although the aftertaste of balsamic vinegar and whey wasn't so great, she was feeling too tired to say otherwise. "Once you go past the first few bites, it's not so bad, hahah..."

"You have no standards, not even for food." Her crush shook his head at her comment. "What would you rate this, then? Five out of five stars?"

"...Three." She replied, being generous. Her partner agreed with her on that number.

"I give it a one. I'm sure you were trying to poison me." Hanta 'bleghed' at his buddies' cooking skills. "Zero, if I could."

"You really think I can make it as a chef, Shincchan?!" Kaminari asked over Todoroki and Midoriya's answers— Which by the way, they weren't so great.

"No. I didn't say any of that." Hitoshi peeled Denki off him, all while Bakugo ultimately counted the votes and decided on his own that their dish had flopped.

"Next is yours, Suki and Izuku." [____] was feeling a little more confident, by now. At least she knew her bread wasn't going to be the worst tasting one.

Though as her childhood friends handed the rest a portion of their great looking lasagna; [____] glanced over at her creation. 'I think the edges of the bread are burnt...I hope they don't eat those parts!'

"What are you staring at, cheeks?! Try my fucking food!"

The voice of her crush cut her thoughts short and she became a little startled to see him offering a forkful of meaty pasta and cheese in front of her lips. "Um..."

"Try it. I already know it's the best, I just wanna hear you say it." With a cocky grin, Katsuki was preparing himself to be crowned the winner already.

Though, the rest of the extras were opposed to it. Midoriya was coughing, "Kacchan!! Did you add all that spice when I wasn't looking?!"

"Ah?!"

'He's right...It's already starting to burn my mouth and I haven't even chewed it yet!' The girl took this time to open her mouth and drop the food back on the plate that Bakugo was holding for her. "Milk!! I need milk!! Or ice!"

"Gross! Don't fucking do that shit in front of me!!" The blonde put the plate back on the counter and washed his hands before browsing for a cup and some milk. "I don't know why all of you idiots are tripping about this! It's perfect!"

"Blasty, you really went too far this time."

"Kacchan, my tongue feels numb!! And Todoroki is cooling himself off with his quirk!"

Kaminari was pretending to cry on the ground, claiming that Bakugo was trying to kill them, for real. "Somebody, please give me mouth to mouth. I think I am dying!"

He opened one eye and stopped acting for a second, just to see if Shinso had heard his plea.

He did, but avoided eye contact with the golden haired guy and turned his back on him as well. "...Don't mind the spice, but it overpowers the rest. I give it a two."

"Shinso, you can eat Suki's cooking?!" [____] was very impressed by his lack of reaction. Her crush handed her a cold glass of milk and she almost drank all of it at once before sighing. "...I can't do it. I can't eat this, but I know you tried your best so I am conflicted!"

"What a bunch of weak ass losers!! All of you!! I fucking quit— Stupid competition with no real purpose— I am better off watching you all die! Eat some more!!"

"Kacchan!! Don't force feed Kaminari while he's on the ground!!"

"Man..What a drama king." Hanta had finally recovered from the spice on his own and was back to his usual self. "Well...It does look nicer than the pictures on the original book. I'll give him credit for presentation and rate it a four."

[____] nodded. "I'll give you guys a solid five!"

"I don't want none of your stupid pity party!! Eat shit!"

"Blasty, you are my best friend so I'll give you a four and a half!" Eijiro pulled him back from Denki and asked him to tone it down while the rest finished eating the lasagna.

"...Four." Todoroki had made sure his body temperature was normal before going in for another bite. He started using his quirk again soon after. "This is great for practice. I will finish my plate."

"DID I ASK?!"

🌸🌸🌸🌸

[____] and Hitoshi's focaccia bread was next; Despite the girl worrying so much about how the edges of it were a little too crisp, the rest of the guys agreed it was great-tasting.

"Not as bad as Kacchan kept saying it would be!" Izuku meant to say that as a compliment.

[____] turned her head towards her crush. "You reminded him that my baking skills are that terrible?!"

"You should feel honored I even mention you at all, to others." He smugly replied.

She pouted in response; while the guys claimed their bread to be a strong four out of five.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

They all moved back to Sero's bedroom before trying the dessert.

"Ours is last. I know it has got to be good, 'cause Todoroki did most of the work!" The birthday guy mentioned shamelessly.

"You can't just say you didn't help right off the bat, dude." Eijiro expressed a little bit of disappointment with him, but not at the flavor of the tiramisu. "Whoa! This is great!"

"Such softness, rich and well blended coffee taste! I haven't had something so good in my mouth since I was a kid!"

Shinso raised both of his eyebrows at that last part, as if he disapproved this entire evening/morning all of a sudden.

"Bro...Huh??" Eijiro was the only one man enough to ask. "What are you talking about?"

"My nana made a killer karukan once."

"Oh. Nice."

"Wow, Todoroki! You outdid the rest, most definitely!" [____] took it upon herself to end the awkward discussion with a compliment to the chef. "What is your secret?"

"Hard work." At first, Shoto shrugged off this and the following compliments from his classmates. Then, after watching them devour the entire batch, he decided to mention. "Also, an entire bottle bottle of vodka."

[____] coughed in surprise, half choking on her last bite of dessert. "You put alcohol in this?! Why couldn't I taste it?!"

"Well, the recipe book said to use a different kind— But I couldn't find the right bottle in the kitchen pantry, so I substituted."

"Now I'm very concerned. Especially for Kami—" As she said this, [____] looked at their golden haired friend, who was already on the ground, laughing at the ceiling.

"Does anybody else think ceilings are funny? They're just so great, they protect us from the rain, the sunlight, a foot—"

Katsuki interrupted the rest of his drunk talk by stepping on his face and covering his mouth soon after. "Go to bed already and die."

'Oh no! Katsuki is angry drunk— But wait, he is usually angry. Maybe he isn't even drunk...The tiramisu wasn't sweet at all, still... I'm surprised he actually tried a plate or two of it...'

"Come on Blasty, leave our friend alone. He already fell asleep, see?" Kirishima tried to move his best friend away from Denki; but he was also starting to feel a little lightheaded. "...Huh. Is he actually sleeping, you guys?"

"I'll check his temperature." Sero offered to do something that nobody asked, actually. He knelt to the ground, placed a finger close to Kaminari's neck and nodded at everyone else. "Yep, no fever. Now I'm just gonna go ahead and use his stomach as a pillow..."

[____] blinked a few times, not remembering what exactly her friends were talking about before two of them went to sleep on top of Kaminari's sleeping bag.

"I think...I'm going to lie down too." Midoriya didn't eat much of the desert, unlike the others. Just two servings, but that was enough for him to start to panic over its effects. "Amacchan, are you feeling okay?"

"I am..." She moved her head side to side to make sure it didn't feel too heavy, somehow it amused her at the same time. "...I think."

"Don't worry about cheeks, I will take care of her." Katsuki's face was starting to look a tiny bit red. [____] took in the idea that he was actually drunk. "Everyone should just try to sleep— Icyhot, don't think I'll forget this. When it's all over, I will murderously murder you—! Hah?"

Shoto had followed Midoriya's words and also lied down, on his own floor mattress. He was the only one who didn't consume any of the tiramisu, and yet he soundlessly fell asleep right after Hanta and Denki.

"Kacchan...Please don't yell." Izuku was pleading for his own good. The amount of anxiety he was currently dealing with was enough to keep him distracted though. "You'll wake them up..."

"Don't think you can boss me around, Deku!"

[____] tried to stand up and get to her sleeping bag, that was across the room and still rolled up. 'Maybe if I lie down, so will he...Uuh, should I even be here, right now? This isn't right...Tonight wasn't supposed to end like this...'

The moment she struggled to take a step forward and almost fell, Shinso held on to her wrist and pulled her back to Sero's bed. He got up right after, though, making sure to keep his distance from the intoxicated girl. "You should sleep here. Do you feel safer being alone? I can also guide you back to your home, if you'd like."

"Shinso...Are you feeling alright?" Instead of taking his offer, she made sure to ask.

"For the most part, yes."

Bakugo was too busy convincing (or more like threatening) Kirishima to go to sleep before joining his crush in the conversation she was having with Hitoshi. "What's going on? Eyebags, you too, go the fuck to bed."

"You should worry more about her." He suggested. "The train stop will probably open in another hour. In the meantime, keep her company."

"I was gonna do that shit already."

"Katsuki, please don't fight." [____] was thinking that Midoriya was on the best track of mind, out of the rest. Well, Shinso also seemed quite sober. It made her want to ask him one more time. "Shinso...are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm gonna be on my way home soon. So I'm staying up for another hour. That's why I said I could guide you back to yours."

"Oh...How thoughtful..." In truth, [____] was only feeling lightheaded and a little sick. She could sense that if she focused on the second part too much, though, she could start vomiting. "I don't feel like going home, though...I want to make sure everyone else is okay."

"Even when you're vulnerable, you still think of others. The hell is wrong with you, cheeks?!" Bakugo was getting more upset by the minute. "Fucking Icyhot. That fucker is going to pay, big time!"

"I just don't want you to cause any trouble, Katsuki..." [____] blinked hard a couple of times as she said this. It felt as if it was her restart button, and everytime her eyelids would shut tight, she felt a little less drowsy. "I am feeling okay, I don't think I'm in any trouble, with you guys around..."

Shinso wasn't sure if it was the vodka or her soothing tone of voice, but he blushed a little at her words and decided then it was a good time to go downstairs and keep his distance from her and the blond; Who looked like he was ready to bite any other guy's head off. "Then...I'm going to go hang out there. Goodnight."

🌸💥🌸💥

Even though Kirishima also said goodnight to Bakugo and [____] a few minutes later, the light of day was starting to creep up outside. Hanta's window curtains hid most of it, though, so the room still looked as dim as possible.

"How are you?" Katsuki was feeling out-of-this-world tired. He made sure to not show it, however, in fear that his crush would go home without mentioning it to him.

The two of them were still in Sero's bed. He was sitting on an edge while she lied down and covered herself with Hanta's thin duvet.

"I'm feeling better..." She couldn't thank him enough for staying up with her. Although the sense of guilt wasn't unusual for her, [____] was also thinking she was the worst for even bringing up the cooking idea to the guys. "If I had just let you all do your thing and keep playing games, we wouldn't be here..."

"Shut up with that already. It was that half and half bastard who did this to us. I'm telling you, he'll pay. Revenge is something I'm great at too, you know." To keep himself awake, Katsuki was messing around on his phone.

Browsing in and out of apps would usually bore him to death, but this time around it was something he really enjoyed doing. "Anyway...Why don't you try to take a nap? I'll stay up to guard you."

"I'd feel bad if you don't sleep..."

"It's morning already, anyway. I'll just sleep when I get home after this."

[____] didn't respond for a while. She yawned and stretched her legs underneath the blanket. "Thank you for inviting me here...I had a lot of fun, despite the outcome, hahah..."

"Yeah, whatever. Just sleep."

"Katsuki?" After another minute of silence, she called his name as quietly as she could.

"Yeah?"

"Let's fall asleep together." [____] was tired to the point of no relent. Her confidence went up three extra levels just from eating some of Todoroki's special tiramisu. "I won't try to do anything with you, I promise. I'll just feel better knowing you are also resting."

"The problem isn't you doing anything to me, dumbass..." He mumbled back, knowing well that his crush wouldn't be able to catch most of that.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Never mind..I'll lie down with you, fine. But I won't be doing any sleeping." He let her know. "I'm planning on staying awake until you go home. You don't even have to wait for the train, you just have to be sober enough to use your quirk."

As he lectured her about being more careful around other guys and stuff, he laid beside her, both hands on the back of his head. [____] only half listened to him as she fell into a light slumber.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

Two hours later, [____] arouse from her nap with the driest throat she had ever dealt with. No remnants of a headache.

Her crush was soundlessly asleep beside her, his hands still kept to himself.

'He looks kind of angry, even while he's resting...' She appreciated her view for a few seconds before getting out of Sero's bed and inspecting the rest of the guys in the room.

All of them were on the floor, asleep. She tried not to wake them as she got out of the room and headed to the kitchen.

It wasn't as dark, with the sunlight illuminating part of Hanta's house and all, but [____] had a little difficult time adjusting her eyesight downstairs, in the family area of the house.

She grabbed a cold, sealed water bottle from the fridge and as soon as she closed its door, a voice startled her from behind. "[____]."

"Eeee—!! Todoroki!" She even felt chills run down her spine when she noticed the guy standing so close to her. She whispered-yell, to not wake the others up. "I thought you were a ghost! You scared me!"

"Oh. Sorry." His hair was a little messy, and he yawned out his apology while rubbing one of his eyes with a fist. "...I was just wondering if you could help me out with something important."

"Important...? What is it?"

🌸🌹🌸🌹

A few minutes later, [____] and Shoto came to an understanding and agreement of how they could both give Hanta the greatest birthday present, ever. The girl kept taking sips of cold water as she nodded. "Okay...So you are asking me to use my quirk to get us back at the store we visited a while ago?"

"I thought I kept my receipt with me, but..."

"Oh, that? Suki had it." She explained to him how he stuffed it in his pockets when they found Shoto dozing off in the store. "We should probably wake him up and ask for it..."

"I will just take it from his pocket, if it's still there. That is no issue." Todoroki was dead-set on that and as he started walking back upstairs, [____] pleaded him not to wake up Bakugo and get him in a bad mood immediately.

"Let's think of something else! Suki is probably still upset about the tiramisu incident!"

"Then I will just freeze his body except for the pocket to grab my receipt—"

'It really seems like Todoroki isn't a great listener!' [____] gulped the last of her water and then held on tightly to the empty plastic bottle. "That might work, but I still don't think it's the brightest idea—!!"

"—What the fuck are you two doing here?" Fortunately, Shoto didn't have to take an extra step to get to Katsuki; since he was standing right behind the pair of students.

"Wait!" The girl squeezed herself in between the two guys and faced her crush with pleading eyes. "Don't hurt him! Todoroki just wanted my help for something!"

💥🌸🌹

After explaining the situation to Bakugo; [____] made him promise he wouldn't put his hands on Todoroki until Sero's birthday was over.

"I'm doing this for a price, cheeks." He reminded her of this as the three of them entered her portal to get back to the same Seiyu location they visited hours ago. "You owe me two hours of your day, every day for the rest of the week. Undivided attention, you hear me?!"

"Yeah, yeah." She happily agreed in the first place because she knew this was just his way of saying he wanted to spend more time with her. Besides, the most embarrassing thing Katsuki asked for so far we're just kisses.

[____] clearly hadn't thought this deal thoroughly.

"Bakugo, I need the receipt." Shoto was walking in front of the two, leading them towards the electronic section of the store.

"Here. Don't take long getting this shit, either. Or we'll leave your ass in the store." Katsuki was confident enough to declare for him and [____].

"Don't worry, Todoroki. I won't leave you behind!" As the girl opposed to that comment, her crush pulled her to a different aisle that was still close by to just roam around and look at products together.

💥🌸💥🌸

"So...Are you getting him anything?" Katsuki muttered; making it difficult for his crush to hear him.

"Huh? Get what? What are you talking about?"

"Idiot, I'm asking if you're buying anything for soy sauce face!"

"Oh...For Sero's birthday, you mean? I'm not sure." [____] ignored his non-meaningful insult and instead, looked through a few phone accessories for herself. "...I mean, I'd like to give him something that comes from all of us. Suki...I really think you should get him a gift, though. It's why you're asking me, right?"

Her assumption was spot on; though Bakugo wasn't going to tell her that. "I guess if you say so, cheeks...I mean, if you really want me to do some shit like that...I might."

🌸🌸🌸🌸

'Katsuki really cares for our friends...He can be shy about it, though...' [____] was thinking this as the two guys managed to travel through her entryway just fine while carrying a 65" tv, still boxed; They didn't put it down until everyone stepped onto Hanta's living room.

Hitoshi was sitting on Sero's couch, playing an app game on his phone that didn't seem too interesting, at first. After telling the girl he would leave the guy's room and take an hour-long nap before the train could start running again, he decided to just stay a while longer, in case [____] changed her mind and did need someone to walk her home.

He greeted the hero course students with a 'hey'; only receiving a single spoken reply from the girl.

"Goodmorning! Did we wake you?"

"Nah." He maintained his eyes on the game. "...Been up. Anyway, what's with the box?"

"None of your fucking busine—"

"—I'm so glad you asked! Shinso, can I borrow you for a minute and have you sign your name on this card?" [____] intentionally cut her crush's sentence short to hand the folded card stock and a small pack of black ink pens to her friend. "It's for Sero. It's his birthday today, in case you didn't know."

Hitoshi was still in the middle of a ranked battle; yet he decided it was more important to follow through the kind girl's request than level up on a stupid online game.

He placed his phone face down to replace it with whatever [____] was offering to him on the spot. "Right. I'll write something for him..."

Katsuki disliked other guys sharing any sort of conversation that lasted more than 5 seconds with the girl he was fond of. Due to this, he crossed his arms and tried to ignore the pair for a while to focus, instead, at the tv Shoto was in the middle of unboxing.

"There. My handwriting is kinda sloppy, but it should be readable. I think." Of course it didn't take longer than a minute for the card to come back to its owner.

[____] took a quick peek at his note and smiled. "No...It's actually quite nice. I like it. Thank you."

Shinso nodded once, and she felt as if she wasn't clear enough the first time. "I mean, thank you so much. Really. Not just for this, but for...You know, pairing up with me, earlier. Um, I know it wasn't your choice or anything of the sort—! I had fun shopping and baking with you. Tons of it, really! So, thanks."

"I should be thanking you."

[____] denied it. "What? Hahah. No! Listen, I know we hardly talk and I know it wasn't me who invited you here and all, but...If, let's say, you couldn't of made it... I probably wouldn't have won that silly cooking comptetition. I say we make a great team, don't you think?"

"Yeah...I agree."

"—Hey. Are you seriously gonna keep wasting your time with this loser?!" Bakugo couldn't hold on to his frustration any longer and so he invited himself into the chit-chat. "Cheeks, speed it up already. Icyhot just died in the middle of reading those instructions, so it's up to you to install this shit."

[____] faltered. "Wait! Seriously?! I mean...I guess I can give it my best shot..."

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Denki Kaminari was the first guy in Sero's room to wake up. It was all thanks to a text Hitoshi sent him before leaving the place. He thanked Denki for inviting him over, despite being a bit distant from him the entire time.

"Shincchan left without a hug!!!" His cry was the thing that alarmed Hanta and the rest that it was time to wake up.

"Dude— You scared me!" The birthday guy aroused with a light headache. "What time is it?"

Kirishima checked his cell phone after carefully rubbing his eyes with a fist. "About to be one pm..."

"Man, I am thirsty." Kaminari stretched his arms, yawned and then went back to reading Shinso's text. He hugged his cell phone very tightly after a while. "He thanked me. He really enjoyed spending time with me, you guys."

"That's great, Kaminari..." Izuku was genuinely happy for the guy. "I hate to change the topic, but uh...Where is Ama— I mean, where are the rest?"

"Probably downstairs. I see Blasty's things are still here." Eijiro pointed at the neatly packed sleeping bag his best friend had brought to the sleepover.

"Hey." Denki sniffed pretty hard a few times. "...Does anyone else smell coffee and bacon?"

🖤🖤🖤🖤

The four guys rushed down as fast as they could to be greeted by a breakfast feast they assumed was all courtesy of the cute girl, since she was in the kitchen, washing dishes that didn't belong to her or her family.

"Is this a dream? Are we all seeing this?" Kaminari, unlike the other guys, didn't care if the food was edible or not. He sat down on a dining chair and indulged in the sweet aromas and his view.

"Goodmorning! Or is it more like...Good afternoon?" [____] finished drying her hands with a paper towel and faced her friends, who looked like they were in a trance.

'Strange...No answer. Maybe they're still sleepy.' She thought as the moment seemed to drag longer.

"Uhh...Maybe you guys wanna sit down and eat? I wish I could take credit for it, but I didn't make any of this— It was all Katsuki."

Upon hearing this, Kirishima snapped out of his confusion and sat down next to Kaminari. "If Blasty made this, then it should be good!"

"So we're safe. That's great, unless he added something in here that's unbelievably spicy. Even then, I assume it's better than what we all had in mind—" Sero began to try taste everything on the table as he said this.

'So sad! The guys really think my cooking is the worst...' While [____] tried not to frown about it, her crush practically kicked open the front door and held on to a bag of drinks with one hand. "Katsuki, you're back! Where is Todoroki?"

"Who cares?! I left him behind."

"You did?!" She was relieved to see her other classmate walking behind him and closing the door he left open. "Ah, you didn't..."

"I was trying to."

"Blasty! Bro!! Is it true you made all of this for us?! Your cooking is amazing!" Eijiro complimented Katsuki as the blond tossed the bag on the floor, just to have the guys reach down to pick their favorites. "You're ready to be a housewife, Kacchan!"

"Wanna dig your own grave, shitty hair?! Quit callin' me that!!"

Shoto also brought another bag with him from the nearest gas station that he visited with his classmate. Though, unlike him, he pulled out the contents of it one by one, placing each box of pocky in front of his friends and bowing his head to them as a form of apology.

"Oh? Is this about the tiramisu, Todoroki?" Deku watched his friend nod his head once and laughed it off. "Don't worry about it. I forgive you. It's not like it was your intention, in the first place. Right, guys?"

"Yeah, I don't care anymore, bro. But thanks for this." Kirishima agreed.

The birthday guy shrugged. "It was a weird experience, but sort of funny I guess."

"There is no used in sighing over spilled silk!" Kaminari used an expression wrong and nobody bothered to correct him.

When Shoto handed [____] a blind box along with the strawberry-flavored pocky, she forgave him as well. "It's okay, Todoroki. I'm not mad, either."

Bakugo was the only one who didn't receive an apology gift, although he claimed not to care about it.

Even then, it still wouldn't of changed the fact that he believed pay-back was necessary. But he had yet to show him that.

🖤EXTRA BIT🖤
'birthday gifts'

Sero, down to his knees, praised Todoroki for his gift. "A new tv?!! Marry me!!"

"We are still minors..."

"I forget how seriously you take my jokes, my bad..."

"Now we can come hang out even more at your place, bro! Right, Blasty?!" Eijiro acted just as excited as the birthday guy and wrapped his arm around Katsuki's shoulder.

His best friend didn't respond, instead he glared at his crush who was encouraging him through hand signals to give Sero the present the two of them had talked about earlier.

Kirishima noticed the two of them communicating with facial expressions, so he let go of his buddy, but not before pushing him towards [____] so they could use their words.

"Don't forget to tell him you're sorry!" The girl exclaimed in a whisper.

"Fuck no. I ain't saying that." Her crush aggressively whispered back.

"Come on! We agreed! 2 hours of my time, everyday for a week. A deal is a deal, Suki!"

It was probably that annoying-ass sparkle in her eyes that could sometimes turn Bakugo into an obedient child that did the job; And he angrily pushed a brand new console remote against Hanta's chest, making the tall guy lose his breath for a second.

"Bakugo, ouch, man. What's this? For me?"

"No, for your grandma— Of course it's for you, fucking idiot. This is why I don't give you shit."

He kept complaining as the birthday guy inspected the unwrapped box, read some of the manufacturers words at the bottom of it and thought of the right ones to express gratitude for his team leader.

"Wow, Bakugo. I wasn't expecting this from you. I'm touched, dude. I really am..."

"...—ry that I broke your other one." Katsuki grit his teeth so most of it wasn't comprehensive, but [____] knew he meant to apologize and she was ready to explain that to the rest of their friends in case they asked.

Though Sero could also tell what he meant to say, he took it regardless if it was a great one or not. (It wasn't) "That's alright, Bakudaddy, I forgave you months ago."

"Good. Don't call me that again."

"It's my birthday, I get to call you whatever I'd like, actually."

💖EXTRA BIT💖
'Promise me!'

"And then what else happened?!" Mina asked [____] through a pay phone, later on the same Tuesday evening.

"Not much that I can remember...I got Sero a gift card with 30,000 yen and put all of our names in the birthday note, even yours. And after we finished eating and stuff, we all went home and I practically passed out for hours. Now my sleep schedule will be all over the place, thanks to that."

"Aw, shucks fow you, baby panties." Her friend baby-talked her way out of that one. "But did you get to see any hot moments with the guys?!"

"Hot moments..?" [____] was a little confused by her question. "...Um, I mean...Kiri took off his shirt in front of me—"

"—That's not new. He does that all the time." Mina interrupted.

"Then no, not really..."

"Haaa....shucks for me. Well, at least promise me that next time something like this happens, you'll feel some of their muscles for me."

"I don't know if I can promise you that, I—"

"—MINA!! THERE YOU ARE AGAIN!" This time, a guy's voice broke up their conversation. [____] could only hear him from afar. "YOU'RE COMING HOME RIGHT NOW!!"

"Ahhh! It's my brother again, [____]!!" Her friend cleared that suspicion up for her. "I'll call you as soon as I get my phone back, okay?! Thanks for telling me everything that happened! I totally owe Sero a kiss for his birthday! Let him know I said this so he could be prepared!!"

[____] had little to no time to react. "Uh, oka—!"

"—I LOVE YOU BABY PANTIES! MUAH KISSES WITH TONGUE, BYE!!"

"With tongue?!"

"PANTIES?! Seriously, who the hell are you talking to?!" Mina's brother was as concerned for her just as scarred from the nickname.

It was the last thing [____] heard before the call was cut short. The girl sighed once, then stared at her house phone for a minute or two. 'I guess I should order takeout for dinner...'

A sudden knock on her bedroom door startled her, and she got up from her bed to answer it. "Yes?"

Her mother's butler was on-duty. He bowed his head to the young lady and offered her a sealed envelope with Himeko's company hanko stamp.

"Miss [____], now that you are awake and I presume not busy. Perhaps it's a good time to tell you that, you have received an important letter from your mother in the mail, today."

"My mom..?" She repeated while opening the envelope and pulling out a folded note, along with two- what appeared to be, plane tickets. "This is odd..."

🌸

To be continued in Mina's birthday special...

🖤💖🖤💖🖤💖🖤💖🖤💖🖤💖🖤💖

[an; sorry I've been really really nauseous and sick lately bc of this pregnancy so far which is why I haven't been online. But I am fine I am dealing through this just fine and I love u guys so much for being patient with me thank you❤️

TODAY I OFFER YOU THIS. AND TOMORROW? Hopefully another update. I am doing Mina's special next I'm super excited for hers bc it's the LAST ONE I'll write in a while before going back to the story (yes I promise it is I am FR this time) also like I said I put a lot of thought into them so they can be both connected in a way

Sorry for mistakes

ANYWAY I hope your day is going well <3 I'll see you soon I am crying bc you guys took your time to actually read my shit and I know it takes y'all minutes to read one chapter while it takes me hours to edit them and write with my lack of English but like I FREAKING LOVE YOU GUYS SO DAMN MUCH

You are all so inspiring and every little comment I read from y'all makes me smile even the "HDJDJFHF" ones I do that shit too let's HDJSNDHDJF. our way out of this chapter

BDJSNDBDJF

JSUS

DHDISKWBDHF

HDISNDBiloveyousomuchHDKANDBF🌸]