Caramel Blondie

5- nightshade

1750 hours, dowtown Tokyo

"Has anyone ever told you you have expressive eyes?"
Kirishima looked up, breaking the intense eye contact he had been making with his coffee cup.
It had just begun to rain, and passersby could be seen sticking close to the the shop awnings over the footpath, as water droplets lashed the glass separating the pair from the street, and battered the pavement beyond.
The evening was now starting to settle in, and the light was beginning to fade.
Kirishima had chosen a table by the window. There was a dense fog which had settled against the glass, so that it became more and more difficult to see the street outside by the minute. Between the two of them lie a small vase with yellow flowers resting in it.
He looked up into Katsuki's face, blinked.
"What?"
"It's... nevermind." Katsuki was looking away from him now.
They hadn't said much since they made it into the café. They had both been enjoying their coffees in relative silence.
"You think my eyes are... expressive?" Kirishima couldn't believe his ears, to be honest. He was touched.
The blond was looking fixedly out the foggy window. He didn't respond.
Kirishima leaned forward, and wrapped his fingers around Bakugo's hand, which was closed around his coffee cup.
Bakugo looked back at him, finally.
"It's stupid, forget I said it."
"It's not stupid, I... it was actually really sweet," Kirishima smiled very genuinely at him, and Bakugo's cheekbones grew pinker. "Are you blushing?" Kirishima chuckled. Bakugo turned his head and tried to hide his face, but only with one hand because Kirishima was still holding onto his other one.
"Shut the fuck up," Katsuki murmured. His skin was warm and soft beneath his fingertips, smooth as the pages of a book.
Kirishima picked his coffee up with his free hand and took a sip.
His heart was hammering in his chest. There was a ticklish, fluttery feeling in his solar plexis.
He watched Katsuki for a few moments, and had to resist the urge to run his fingers through his hair. It looked so fluffy.
Kirishima wanted to know what it felt like.
Bakugo continued to avoid eye contact, but he moved his hand and linked Kirishima's fingers with his, so Kirishima wasn't complaining. Actually, he was very cute like this, and his profile was as attractive as ever, especially with the way his eyes reflected the light.
The rain was falling in torrents, now- except when intermittently, it was checked by a violent gust of wind. Some better prepared people beyond the fog-pressed glass could be seen with umbrellas, others fled into the buildings on either side. A few more patrons piled into the café, each more weather battered than the last. It had been quiet and sleepy in here just moments ago, but now it felt a-bustle. It wasn't so much that it was noisy, but that there were simply a few too many bodies packed inside the small space.
It was sort of suffocating.
Kirishima picked up his coffee and downed a few mouthfuls quickly. Katsuki followed suit, and they drained their cups in record time.
They rose together, and only let go of one another once they made it to the door, where Katsuki held it for him. Kirishima passed through the doorway and into the street.
He imagined they would be no more soaked through if they were on the deck of a listing ship during a storm.
The ferocity of the weather was such that even here, under the awning, he was recieving as much a battering as the street beyond, because the wind was so strong that the water was swept up and thrown against the wall behind him.
"Fuck-" he heard Katsuki exclaim behind him, as a particularly strong sheet of rain hit them. Kirishima wondered if Katsuki was even any warmer than himself, despite the fact that Katsuki had a shirt where his chest was bare.
He only waited for long enough for Katsuki to come out behind him, before he braced himself and ran out into the rain, towards the Dodge.
They had parked it in the street, and it was a fairly clear run to it, because most everyone had disappeared into the buildings on either side at the absolutely torrential downpour.
The heavens had truly opened.
He made it to the car, and Katsuki had already pressed the unlock button, so he opened the passenger side door and ducked inside as fast as he could, closing the door quickly. It was far better inside than out, and Katsuki joined him moments later.
"Jesus fuck, that's a storm! Are we sure there's not a hurricane warning?" The blond's teeth chattered. Kirishima shivered in his seat.
"I don't think there was," he murmured. Katsuki turned over the key in the ignition, and the Dodge purred to life beneath them. Katsuki turned the windscreen wipers on as hard as they would go, but it was still difficult to see the road.
Here, with the heater on them, the two were able to stop trembling. Kirishima was feeling quite uncomfortable still though, his pants stuck to his skin with the wet.
"We'll have to take it slow," Katsuki carefully pulled out into the street and they began to drive back to the agency.
It was partway through their trip that Bakugo's phone went off in the centre console.
"Can you get that?" Katsuki glanced towards Kirishima.
He reached for the phone and turned it over, to see it was Todoroki calling. They were almost to the agency. Kirishima pressed the recieve button and placed the phone against his ear.
"Hello?"
Todoroki, "Hey, Kirishima? Where are you and Bakugo?"
Kirishima, "Just around the corner from the agency. Is something wrong?"
"The short answer to that is yes," Todoroki replied, then added, "Go to the police station instead of the agency."
"Katsuki, he says to go to the police station," Kirishima glanced at Bakugo, and the blond wheeled them around to go back the other way. "What's happened?" The red head asked.
"I'll explain when you get here. See you in a couple of minutes."
The call cut.
Kirishima gently placed Bakugo's silver phone back in the centre console.
"What's happening?" Bakugo queried.
"I don't know, he just said to get to the police station and that he'd clue us in when we arrived," he said.
"I knew it was a bad idea handing them off to Deku- if he's lost them-" smoke rose from Bakugo's skin.
Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder softly.
"You're smoking," he muttered.
Bakugo seemed to gather himself for a few moments, and the smoke snuffed out. Katsuki let out a soft laugh.
"What kind of pick up line is that?" He laughed.
Kirishima chuckled too, "that's better. I like you best when you're calm." He moved his hand from Katsuki's shoulder, to his blond hair. Before he could second guess himself, he was stroking his hair gently. It might have been pleasant if it wasn't soaking wet. He sort of felt out of place, doing it. The usually discontented man was just sitting there and calmly letting him pet him.
It was quite the situation, if Kirishima was honest, and by the time they got to the police station he was feeling a little embarrassed, but mostly happy. He didn't think Bakugo would be open to that kind of affection, but he seemed to be.
They pulled up and Katsuki turned the car off. Kirishima had managed to momentarily forget how wet he was, but now it was glaringly obvious once more, as he prepared himself to run from the car into the station through the rain.
Not ten seconds later, the pair were inside the front door of the station. The cold was setting in again, and Kirishima was feeling mighty uncomfortable.
Katsuki led the way down the short stretch of hallway and up to the front desk. The blonde woman standing behind the desk saw them and immediately called over her shoulder,
"Shoto, they're here."
Moments later, Todoroki was walking out to see them, and he had a very solemn look on his face. He led the way into another room, in which there was a large table and a projector screen, and lots of chairs. Deku was in there already, and he looked very flustered.
"What the hell happened, Midoriya?" Katsuki's tone was one of deadly calm.
Deku twisted his hands together in front of him. He began to mutter incoherently.
"The POIs were dead on arrival," Todoroki informed them in his clear voice. "Cyanide pills. We're still looking into how exactly this was allowed to happen, but looking at it from face value, there wasn't anything much we could have done differently." He leaned up against the table, "this isn't a matter of misconduct."
Bakugo looked between Deku and Todoroki a few times.
"I know this is frustrating, but we're hoping we can get new leads from the autopsies and search of the apartment. Hold out hope for that," Shoto's mismatched eyes were still focused on Bakugo, whose expression was one of utter defeat.
Quietly, wordlessly, Katsuki moved to the table and took a seat, seemingly trying to process it.
Kirishima took a seat near him, and kept an eye on him out of the corners of his vision. Todoroki ushered Deku out of the room, the door closed behind them with a snap.
There was only the sound of the analogue clock on the wall, now. 'tick, tick, tick, tick...'
Katsuki was staring off at a point in middle distance, clearly lost in thought. Kirishima sighed softly and scratched his leg, which was itchy because of his wet pants.
What a rough day.

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*this chapter published 09/07/2021