Chapter 13

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Katsuki had expertly prepared them both breakfast, whipping up in an astonishingly small amount of time a meal worthy of a specialty cooking show.  The picture perfect breakfast of oyakodon with a side of miso soup was many leagues above Jirou’s usual buttered bagel and black coffee, and she made sure to make that known. Katsuki however, much to her chagrin, ignored her feeble protests and simply insisted that they needed a healthy breakfast if they were going to spar later, to which Jirou reluctantly agreed. She did win the coffee battle though, Katsuki glowering behind her the entire time she brewed her cup. He clearly did not approve of her addiction to caffeine.  Hands warm around her favorite porcelain mug (it depicted a watercolor scene of a mountain view her mom painted), she sat dutifully down on one of the kitchen bar stools as Katsuki served up the piping hot food. The steam from the coffee and breakfast combined caused Jirou’s glasses to fog up, and Katsuki, of course, teased her about it while she blushed.

They ate in relative silence, as they both weren’t really that talkative, nor did they feel the need to fill the quiet with needless chatter.  It was unusual...but nice. Really nice, actually, they both thought. Thankfully, it was also way too early for anyone else to be up yet, so they enjoyed their private little morning meal in peace without the badgering questions their friends were sure to ask once they put two and two together.  Or rather, one and one together, as in Jirou and Katsuki being an item.

After they finished their meal, Jirou quietly thanked her now...boyfriend? Lover? What were they? Maybe she would work up the courage to ask later. En lieu of asking at that moment, however, she bit her lip instead and opted to help Katsuki wash the dishes.  Their fingers brushed a few times while dipping bowls and chopsticks in the dishwater, and they blushed deeper each time. Once finished cleaning up, she expressed her gratitude to Katsuki for the meal and went to head up to her room to shower, but before she could leave, he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a kiss.  Shocked, she stiffened a bit before closing her eyes and melting into him. He pulled away from the kiss after a few moments to ruffle her hair affectionately, to which she playfully scowled. They departed from the kitchen then to return to their respective rooms, both with small smiles on their faces.

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A little later that day, Katsuki couldn’t fully concentrate on his workout routine, and that was highly unlike him.  He could usually tune anything out with just some physical activity, as a little adrenaline went a long way for him, especially when trying to combat his less than cooperative - and rather volatile - emotions.  This time, as he landed another solid punch to a punching bag, his mind ran a mile a minute with thoughts of something, or rather, someone else.  He couldn’t get her out of his head: the deep, warm honey of her laugh...the crinkle around her eyes when she smiled...it was really starting to piss him off.  Sure, he had no intention of pulling away from the lady of his infatuation and taking his frustrations out on her, but he was getting pretty upset with himself for not being able to control his emotions and be the master of his own mind.  He could keep himself from throttling shitty Deku every 5 seconds, but he couldn’t corral his focus onto anything else other than a simple crush? His treacherous body and mind were acting like a lovesick puppy, and he was totally unused to his thoughts wandering from his daily routine that much at all.  It irked him. However, after a few more hard punches to a punching bag and some time to ponder, he realized he was mostly worried because he didn’t want Jirou to see him slip up and think of him as desperate or lame.

‘Tch, pathetic!’ Inner Katsuki scolded.  Outer Katsuki, well...he scowled.  

A vibration in his back pocket alerted him to his phone alarm, and the time. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the towel around his neck. Only 10 minutes until he had to go meet Jirou in the gymnasium for their fight. He shrugged, scowl deepening. He might as well head over there now to stretch and warm up. At least he wasn’t distracted enough to forgo being punctual.  Lateness would not be tolerated now...or ever.

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