Ch. 20- Get in Losers, We're Going Shopping Pt. 2
Bakugou's POV
"I still can't fucking believe you dragged me out here..."
"Kats... No matter what you think, we need this... Especially you, with what we've been through..." Eiji squeezes my hand a bit tighter, a wavering smile on his face and a friendly but worried glint in his eye. Is he pitying me??
"I'm fucking fine Ei, you don't need to worry... or pity me..." I spat out the last bit as a mutter under my breath. But rather than backing down, Ei gripped my hand tighter.
"Katsuki, I'm sorry, but you look like you literally crawled out of hell. Also, you can't even look at fire without freaking out! You think I haven't noticed how panicked you get?? You're trying your hardest to be a hero, but now you can barely even look at your quirk without seizing up!" He says sternly right next to me, stroking the huge ass scar that is my arm.
"I do no-!" I start but before I can finish, out of the corner of my eye I see the roaring flame of a hibachi display through a restaurant window. The flames grow taller... and taller... people are yelling and cheering and it's so much... the loud ringing starts, my throats all clogged up and everything runs cold and tense. I'm frozen, and shaking.
"Katsuki... Katsuki hey..." my head snaps next to me to see a blurry Eijirou. Whether he was blurry because my eyes were teary, or because I was slowly losing consciousness, I couldn't tell. Before I could even process, I was being led over to... somewhere, then we sat down, and my head was laid across probably Eiji's lap.
He stroked my hair gently and whispered to me... they were too incoherent to make out, but it was still soothing.
Breathe... breathe...
After a little while (I have no idea how long) of just breathing and Eijirou comforting me, my vision clears up, and my throat empties. I take a large gasp of breath in, feeling like I almost drowned.
"Are you okay Katsu?" Eijirou says softly while looking down at me. I wipe my eyes and look up at him, embarrassed.
"Yeah... I'm fucking... ok.." I look off to the side, absentmindedly rubbing at my completely charred arm and reminding myself of the attack that night. I feel Eijirou's soft and warm hand intertwine with my own to stop me.
"It's ok if you feel vulnerable."
"...it's not... it's really fucking not. I'm supposed to be the strongest fucking one in our class! Now look at me! I'm goddamn pathetic!" I start to yell to the side, my voice breaking slightly and my eyes started to sting, tears threatening to fall. But, Eijirou just moves my head to look at him with his other hand, revealing that he was smiling warmly down at me.
"See? I told you we needed to take your mind off of this." He chuckled.
"Fuck. Off."
"Sorry, Sorry, but really... we should really go! It can be like... our first unofficial date!"
"With everyone else there??"
"...I can tell all of them to leave us alone for the night...?"
"...they'd probably listen to you... fuckin morons..." I sigh.
"Alright, fine. I'll go to the stupid dance with you."
"Yay!"
"Yeah yeah... you're fucking lucky I love you..." I keep back a smile and lean up to kiss him. He jumps up slightly but happily kisses me back. We continue for a few seconds before pulling away, content.
"I know I said I'd go with you... but do we really fucking have to buy new suits?"
"Hm... I can just say we bought new suits? My family always liked me to be more formal, so I have a surprising amount of suits that you can choose from!"
"...are they cool enough..?"
"Well, am I cool?" He says proudly.
"Hm, nah."
"Wha- wh- Katsuki! That wasn't very manly of you!" He glares down at me with puffed up cheeks. For the first time in what felt like forever, I smile genuinely and brightly up at him, laughing. His face completely flushes.
"D...Did I just make you laugh?" He lights up. My face immediately turns into a deadpan.
"I don't know, maybe." I stick my tongue out at him and he rolls his eyes.
"Yeah yeah... so we're just going to hang out here until we have to leave?"
"Yep."
"...but I'm tired, so I'll just sleep on you."
"Okay then. Goodnight." Ei says and leans against the arm of the bench we were laying on, I close my eyes and fold my hands on my stomach, drifting off into a surprisingly peaceful sleep with Eijirou right next to me.
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Satou's POV
"This is the place, yeah Ko?"
Kouda gives me a thumbs up and a bright smile. I smile and peck him quickly on the cheek as we walk into his favorite flower shop.
He told me that, back in Iwate, there was a famous flower shop that he would love to go to after school, it was very homey to him. And there was a mini-version of it in the mall. He also comes here a lot when he's feeling homesick, or lonely, since he's apparently good friends with the staff.
We walk in, and the store was so... welcoming, and warm. The walls were a soft pink, and the floor was made of white wood. Fairy lights hung from the ceiling, and colored ones were hung around displays of specific flowers to correspond to their colors. Every flower and plant looked so healthy and luminescent because of how bright the colors were, the smell was also incredible, like honey, flowers (obviously) and vanilla. Then, a girl in a gardening apron and overalls walked up to us.
"Good afternoon sirs! How may- oh, hey Kouda! It's been a while, how've you been?" She lights up and smiles at him. He blushes pulls his hand from mine to sign "I'm doing good. You?"
"Great thanks! Oh.. is this..." her eyes flicker over to look at me. She has an almost malicious glint in her eye. Kouda jumps up and waves his hands in front of him, panicked. She chuckles and pats him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry! I know he is!" She winks.
"Uhm... what are you talking about...?" I laugh and smile nervously, looking down at her.
"Oh, I'm talking about you being his boyfriend. When Kouda comes in here, he just talks and talks non-stop to us about how amazing you are!" She giggles and Kouda covers his face. I can tell that I'm probably redder than a tomato, my face is warming up quickly.
"Sorry for embarrassing you two," She laughs, scratching the back of her head guiltily "but really, is there anything you need help finding?" She regains a semi-formal and friendly composure. Kouda, with shaking hands and a red face, signs "Have any flower suggestions to make corsages?"
"Yep! Actually, everything you'll need to find is in section 4!" Kouda nods quickly and grabs my hand again, waving her goodbye as a thank you while he lead me over to section 4.
"She seemed nice..." I chuckle quietly. Kouda shrugs and laughs with me. He soon branches off and looks closely through the flowers. It was an important and careful process to him. I stay close to him, admiring some other flowers nearby.
"So what colors are you thinking?" I smile back at him as he feels a flower's petals.
"Orange, red and yellow." He said quietly, smiling a little and picking a small bouquet of yellow flowers. He picked up a small basket next to the flower stand and set the bouquet inside.
Soon, with the help of ants Kouda found around the store, he found the perfect flowers to make our corsages and we left after paying quickly, some of the staff teasing the both of us as we held hands and walked out.
"How long will it take for you to make the corsages?"
"I have experience.. so about 15-30 minutes each." He says quietly and gives me a thumbs up.
"Cool! Well, I'm a little hungry, wanna grab a bite to eat?"
"Oh, yeah! There's a small bakery around here in the mall I think. I go there sometimes because they have good carrot cake for my bunny. Let's go there." He kisses me and leads the way. I cover my pink face with my other hand as he leads me slowly through the crowds of the mall.
"It's just here." He nearly whispers and I look up at the bakery... I recognize the name... oh no...
Kouda was just about to walk inside before I tug him back.
"Ko, we have to go, this place isn-"
"Rikidou??? Is that you?!" I hear a woman scream and jump on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. Kouda looks at me with confusion, surprise and fear.
"It's been so long, little bro! How've you been??? Who's this???" My older sister detaches herself from me to look at Kouda, ruffling my hair despite being 4 inches smaller than me.
"Hey sis... this is my boyfriend... Kouda." I say slowly and gesture to him. Kouda waves shyly, a little tense. "Don't be... yourself around him. He gets nervous really easily."
"Aww, I knew you'd find the right guy Riki." She pats me on the head again and holds out her hand to Kouda for a handshake. He grabs her hand slowly and they shake.
"Hey Kouda! My name's Satou Rikako. It's great to meet you." She smiles brightly at him and he nods, pulling his hand away.
"Did you two want something to eat?"
"Uh, Yeah, why else would we come here?"
"To see your darling sister~"
"Nice joke."
"You're mean."
My sister and I laugh together. I hold Kouda's hand and have him keep up with us so he doesn't feel left out. We wait at the counter together once my sister goes to the back to grab us something to eat.
"...sorry you had to meet my sister like that. She's... a lot to handle."
"It's alright... she seems nice enough."
"Yeah, that's because you just met her."
We laugh quietly together and then we're both startled by a loud slam on the counter. We look over and it's just my sister with a carton of cupcakes.
"You can have these on the house." She winks and slides it over to us. Kouda's eyes widen and he quickly rifles through his pockets for his wallet. He hates being given stuff for free, it makes him feel guilty.
"Hey, Kouda, you really don't have to pay. It's alright." My sister's loud tone of voice disks done to a softer one. Kouda shakes his head, pulling out his wallet. He quickly signs to me "does she understand sign language?" I'm about to answer before she interrupts.
"Yep! I do!" She smiles at him.
"Good, how much does it cost?"
She sighs, realizing he wasn't going to give up. "Man, you're persistent. ¥660! ($6)" She says quickly and he hands her the exact amount. She thanks him quickly and I grab the cupcakes. Before leaving, I quickly whispered to her.
"I thought it was ¥1,320? ($12)"
"It is. I halved it for you." She winks and I roll my eyes.
"Well, bye sis."
"Bye!"
"See you at your wedding!"
"Shut up!"
I sigh as I walk out with Kouda.
"She's just too much sometimes..."
"I like her!"
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Tokoyami's POV
"Shouji, I'm telling you, these are two completely different shades of black."
"Tokoyami, no two things will always be the same."
"Blasphemy. They should have at least two of the same shades of black for shirts and pants. Turns out I shall confide my hopes elsewhere."
"You're such a drama queen."
"You love me."
"I know. That's the worst part."
I smile smugly back at Shouji while he holds his suit in his arms. It only took him about 5 minutes to pick a suit considering he doesn't have any standards apparently.
I place the off-black pants back on their rack and continue to trifle through for the correct shade to match my obsidian-black tie and pure white dress shirt. I can feel the radiant judgement coming from Shouji behind me.
"We've been in the same store for 30 minutes already... let's just go to a different one and see if they have better pants, and better ties. That one's a little plain for you." He suggests and I stop momentarily to think before nodding and turning to face him after setting the bow back. He heaves a sigh of relief as we walk to the register.
"If you take less than 30 minutes in the next store, I will personally buy your pants, shoes, socks, whatever for you."
"Perfect. I'll be sure to find the most expensive items possible." He rolls his eyes but I could see he was smiling under his mask.
We get to the register and I pay for my shirt and half of his clothes respectively out of pure generosity. We reach out to take our bag (we had only a little bit of stuff so we got one) but end up doing the oh-so-cliché hand touch with mine on top of his.
For a second, all sense of stability escapes me. My feathers ruffle up around my cheeks and I can feel the heat formulate all over my body. Just when I think I've gotten over this... it returns just to terrorize me. It feels almost like it's haunting me. We both stand for about 5 minutes before we're snapped back to reality by... Dark Shadow.
"Hey! Love birds! You can canoodle later, but you're holding up the line!" He yells and I reach out to smack him but he disapparates before I'm able to reach him. Shouji clears his throat and grabs the bag from under my hand. From what I can tell, his face is slightly pink, and I can basically feel the heat radiate from his body from here.
"Y-Yes, We should go.." he says quietly and leads me out of the store. I cross my arms and bunch up my sleeves in my fists, trying to shake off my feelings from before, but they only continue to fester, like an infectious disease.
We walk silently to the closest store, not daring to even look at eachother, or even breathe too loudly (as weird as it sounds). Walking into the store stiffly, I scout around in the darkest section of clothes I could find, on one hand to of course just find a suit, and also to get my mind off of the... previous events.
While blindly looking through the clothes, I tap my foot and tug my feathers gently, almost like grooming them. I'm thinking... should I confess today? How would Shouji react? Would he still consider me a friend afterwards if I confessed and he didn't feel the same??? What if he secretly didn't like me this entire time??!
...Okay, that last one's a bit of a stretch, but it could still be possible?
I sigh and think to myself, I'm going to do it today, no matter how he reacts, I need to get this off of my chest. It's killing me.
While almost completely distracted and only going through the motions of swiping through clothes on the rack, my eye is caught by....
OH!
I take the matching set of a suit jacket, pants and tie from the rack and look around to find Shouji. No matter how much I don't want to see him right now, I have to show him th-
OH IT'S GOTTEN BETTER!!
I take an entire suit and shirt set from the same rack and run around the store, scanning every section for Shouji, I finally catch him looking in the jewelry section.
"Shouji! Look what I've found!" I rush up to him and he turns quickly to look at me, his eyes widening just slightly once he sees what I'm holding.
For myself, the first suit set I picked up, is a perfect copy of Jack Skellington's suit- bat tie and all.
And in my other hand, a suit set for himself. A matching one to mine, it's a suit designed after Sally's dress. The jacket and pants had her dress design, but the dress shirt that came along with it was pitch black.
"I'm just surprised you managed to find that in my size." Shouji jokes.
"Honestly, me too." I joke back to him and he shakes his head.
"I would, but I already bought a suit-"
"Too bad I'm buying this one for you."
"Wait no, at least let me pay half."
"Alright, besides, we can use the other suit for something else later."
Shouji blushes lightly at the last statement, taking the Sally suit and looking back at the jewelery and accessories.
"actually, give me a second." he says and picks out two (hair) bows and a pair of earrings.
"alright, now let's go." he deadpans and walks past me to the register. I follow quickly behind him and get a better look at the stuff he got. The bows were both styled like Sally and Jack, but the earrings were just... Tentacles. Judging from the look of them, they weren't that long at the bottom, only meant to dangle a little bit, but the rest of the tentacle is a wrap that curls around the ear. My eyes drift over to the bows he picked and I examine them closer.... The Jack bow is a clip on, but the Sally bow is a hair tie...
Soon I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Shouji tapping me lightly on the shoulder.
"You okay? You're pretty spaced out." He says with concern laced in his tone. I shake my head quickly.
"I'm alright, just thinking." I say truthfully. He nods understandingly and goes up to the register. I follow him and once all of our items were placed on the counter, we pull out our wallets and split the price evenly.
After paying and getting the bags, thankfully we got two this time, we walk out quickly and I come up with a plan of how to confess to him quickly. Should I go with a cheesy confession over lunch? It should be a fancy lunch... right? Should I have the waiter/waitress in on it???? Once never dated before, nor had a crush, someone please help me.
I shake my head subtly and look up the restaurants inside the mall. I see there's a fairly fancy one but it isn't incredibly expensive. It's actually part of the food court, just more off to the side, and a much bigger facility.
So... that decides where we'll eat... maybe I'll just figure out what to do once we get into the restaurant? Once I meet the waiter/waitress I should get an idea of what to do.
Okay Fumikage... say something to him... just ask him if he wants to eat, but not in a date way. Just... say something, and take a deep breath.
I do as I instruct myself and breathe in deeply to calm the pounding of my heart, and, doing my best to ignore it, I look over and speak before I can allow myself to think.
"Would you like to get something to eat? Apparently there's a pretty good restaurant down in the food court... fancy but not expensive."
"Hm... what kind of food to they sell?"
"Oh, uh," I glance down at my phone quickly. "Exotic and natural teas and... cakes, to keep it short." I look back up to him and he nods.
"Alright, let's go."
"I'll pay for us."
"Oh, no I can't-"
"I insist."
"...I will pay you back after this, just watch me."
"Then watch me not accept it."
We continued to bicker back and forth, but all in good fun. The more I joked around with him, the less I felt worried about my near death. How ironic... the sole reason for my panic, is also the only person able to distract me from said panic.
I shake my head as we stand in line for the restaurant, my heart beats faster and louder, and I can nearly feel it pound against my rib cage.
"How about you tell me what cake you want and I'll get the food while you look for a table for us? I already know you want a green tea with lemon." I propose and he shrugs and laughs.
"You know me too well, but sounds good to me." He says and makes a duplicate eye, stretching it out to get a better look at the board.
"Uhm... just get me the cheapest thing on here, I don't mind." He says after a short while.
"If you say so." I shrug, now having the full intent of buying him the most expensive item on the menu.
"Alright thanks, see you in a bit." He waves bye to me and goes to look for a table. As soon as he's out of sight, I let out a heavy breath I'd apparently been holding in.
"Fumi, you're such a disaster." Dark Shadow materializes and shakes his head like a dissappointed mother. I give him a tired glare and attempt to ignore him from then on until it was my turn to order.
"All I'm saying is I'm happy you decided to finally tell him!"
"Hush, it's my turn in line. You can stay out just don't annoy me or the cashier." I scold him quickly and he solutes me, saying a quick "yessir."
"Good evening, sir, how can I help y- oh my god, Tokoyami Fumikage?" The young man, maybe my age, beams at me.
"Uhm, yes, that's me."
"I saw you in the Sports Festival! You were my favorite contestant!" I feel my face heat up and my feathers rise just slightly at that. I gained fans from the sports festival? I feel appreciated, wow.
"Oh, um, thank you so much." I try to say as sincerely as I could without falling apart. I have no idea how to confront this kind of situation.
"No problem, now, what can I get you?"
"A white tea and a small apple crisp, a green tea with lemon and... a slice of both coffee and tres leches cake." I say slowly and he rings it up immediately.
"Alright, give me a second to get everything together for you!" He says and goes into the back. While he's gone, I grab a quick napkin from the counter and a pen from my pocket. I know what to do.
I'm going to write my confession on this note and ask the cashier to give it to Shouji once I give him a signal to. This should work hopefully...
With the neatest handwriting I could muster, I write the note:
Shouji,
If you're confused, I understand. I asked the cashier to give this to you in order to explain something to you that I simply cannot just by speaking.
I've gained... feelings, for you. Feelings that are quite unfamiliar and, frankly, terrifying. The way you make me feel while I'm around you is equally as amazing as it is awful. You're just so beautiful to me in ways that words cannot describe, and it scares me that you have such an affect on me.
In short, I'm sorry if this comes on as strong but, You're perfect. And I love you. If you don't feel the same, then I'm sorry for wasting your time.
~ Forever yours, Tokoyami Fumikage.
I heave a sigh as I finish and fold it up. Perfect timing too, the kid from before comes out with the drinks and cakes on hand. Dark Shadow takes the whole tray from him quickly and I pay the specific amount of money in a flash.
"Uhm, before I leave, do you think you could do me a favor?" I look at him and he perks up.
"Well, what is it?" He asks and I hand him the note.
"This is a love letter... to a dear friend of mine. I can't confess myself, so I'd like for you to come by and give it to them once I signal you. I'll signal you just by raising my hand in your direction." I explain in an uncharacteristically shy voice. He nods understandingly.
"So... who's the lucky guy or girl? I don't judge."
"...Shouji Mezou, a classmate of mine. You may have also seen him in the Sports Festival."
"Oh! I did actually! I thought he was really good too! But don't worry, I've got your back." He winks at me and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you so much." I say simply and walk off, waving by to him.
"I can't believe you actually did it Fumi!"
"Hush... but.. thank you I guess." I say while looking for Shouji. I then see a large figure wave over at me, sure enough, it's him, and it couldn't be in a more convenient spot. The cashier should be able to see my perfectly clear from here. I walk over to the table quickly and sit down across from Shouji.
"That took you a little while, but thank you." He says, a smile heard in his voice as he grabs his plate and tea cup, forming a duplicate mouth and beginning to feed it with a duplicate hand.
"Anytime, Shouji." I say simply and sip my tea through a straw. We sit in a semi-comfortable silence for only a while, eating our food quickly and enjoying each other's calming presences. For some odd reason, it gave me a sense of reassurance. A sense that... even when he doesn't share my feelings... everything will still be ok.
We begin to talk more, but honestly, I can barely hear myself, I can barely hear him. Everything is blocked out in the world except for my view of him. I feel myself talking, and it seems that I'm doing good since he's laughing... he's laughing, and it makes me feel so soft. From this angle, when I'm not a literal foot shorter than him, he's...incredible.
"Well, I think we should head back to Edgeshot and Kamui, don't you?" He smiles. My heart stops for a second before beating rapidly. Still, I maintain my composure, and raise my hand in the direction of the cashier.
"Actually, I want to sit here for a little longer. Just to enjoy the time we have to ourselves." I say and subtly avert my eyes to look in the direction of the restaurant. He's coming over. My note in hand.
"Sounds fine to me." Shouji shrugs. I sigh a little bit.
"Actually, there's something I'd also like to talk to you about." I say and look down at my hands while I play with my thumbs.
"Oh? And what's that?" He says, but it's followed quickly by the voice from the cashier.
"Excuse me, I believe this is for you." I look up slightly and see him holding out the note to Shouji. After Shouji takes it, he winks at me subtly before walking back to his station.
"That." I point to the note.
Shouji looks quizzically at me before opening the note and scanning over it at a moderate pace, his face remaining stoic throughout the entire note. I think he also went back and read a few lines. I lay my head down in my arms on the table. This was probably a stupid idea, now he hates me, he'll always hate m-
"Tokoyami, look at me please." He says with his regular tone of voice, making him unreadable. I lift my head up to look at him directly, but I'm met quickly with a kiss to the cheek by one of his duplicate mouths. Nearly my entire face fluffs up as I look at the bright smile the mouth is wearing.
"You know, for being so smart, you're really oblivious sometimes." He says with his real mouth, laughing quietly.
"I've liked you for so long now..."
"...I have as well."
"Then I guess we're both oblivious." He laughs again, leaning closer against the table.
"...I meant it when I said I love you." I say quietly, leaning closer to him from across the table. Then, he pulled down his mask and kissed me gently on the beak with what little lips he had.
"I know."
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(A/N: I'M BACK BITCHES! I'M SORRY!)
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