“Girl, are you okay?” Mina asked Jirou. Her brows were drawn with concern.
Jirou nodded, smiling a little goofily. Hmmm...maybe she was a little more drunk than she originally thought. “Yeah, I’m good. What’s up?”
“Well...I was under the impression you were pissed at Bakugou. Are you guys okay now or something? You didn’t tell me he apologized.” Mina put a hand on Jirou’s shoulder.
“Thanks for lookin’ out, love, but I honestly have no clue,” Jirou answered with a tinge of warmth, touched by the care of her friend. “He hasn’t said anything about what happened, and I wasn’t really thinking about it. I kind of just...went with it?” She finished, an embarrassed look on her face.
“Hmmm, okay. Well-”
Mina paused mid sentence as Kirshima appeared before them both quite suddenly, cocktail in hand.
“Hey, babe. Can I talk to you for a sec?” He seemed antsy, eyes darting over to where Bakugou was standing, so she reluctantly acquiesced.
“Uh, okay. I guess this can’t wait. Sorry, girl. Brb!” Mina said, pulling Kiri further onto the dance floor so they could chat.
Jirou just shrugged, unperturbed. The song changed into one with a heavier tempo, and she happily began dancing on her own.
----
Bakugou saw Kirishima apparently come to his rescue and seized the opportunity to swoop back in. He approached Jirou from behind, wrapping his arms around her svelte waist. She leaned back into him almost immediately.
“Hey, welcome back,” she said, tilting her head up and smiling at him.
He gave a small, genuine smile in return, gazing down at her. “Thanks. Did you miss me?”
“Well…” she said, teasingly leaving her statement open.
“Hey!” he said, pretending to be offended. He tickled her sides a little, and she let out a laugh that did funny things to his stomach.
“You have a cute laugh,” he complimented her, unknowingly mirroring her comment to him the other day.
She blushed sweetly, uttering a barely audible ‘thanks’ as he tucked her head beneath his chin, his body following Jirou’s movements to the beat.
He didn’t know why he said that. He wasn’t normally complimentary to anyone, not even his closest friends and family. Compliments had always seemed rather empty and pointless to him, like blowing smoke up someone’s ass for no reason. With Jirou, however, everything he had once thought mushy and ingenuine just seemed...natural. All of the puzzle pieces that had never quite found a home in him suddenly fit just right. His chest felt warm and glowy whenever he was around her, and as cheesy as that sounds, he relished in it. Fuck him for being such a dick to her, honestly. She didn’t deserve that from anyone, especially from a bastard like him.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m...sorry I didn’t text you back when I said I would.” He stepped back a little as he felt Jirou twist around to face him.
“Yeah, that was not very ‘Plus Ultra’ of you, Bakugou!” She said, poking a finger into his chest, but she was still smiling slightly. He could tell though, despite the mood boost the alcohol was giving her, that she was hurt underneath her happy pretense.
