The Tinker

Chapter 87 - Down Payment

Somehow, Bakugou and Y/N got saddled with clean up.

Probably because everyone else was passed out in their beds.

"I'm always cleaning up after those shitheads," Kat grumbled. He swooped down to pick up the remaining cans on the floor so that Y/N could continue with her vacuuming.

"We don't drink and then we have to clean up? They owe us big time," She added.

Bakugou grunted in agreement and threw the cans in his arms into the ever-growing bag of trash. "Any other cans? Imma take this out."

"Nope." Y/N turned off the vacuum and wound up the cord before slumping onto the couch as the door shut behind Katsuki. It had been a fun night. The music, the friends, the games... but there was an underlying bittersweet feeling to the entire evening. How many more of these nights would she get? Would everybody stay in touch now that graduation was over? Her heart sank at the thought.

Katsuki opening the door again shook her from her train of thought and she turned to look at him. When he caught her staring, he tilted his head in suspicion. "What?"

"I'm leaving next week."

"Huh? Leaving where?"

"America."

Bakugou had been walking towards her on the couch, but he stopped. "You're... what? Next week?" That couldn't be right. "No. No, you can't leave. What about uh... don't you have shit to do here? Like, work?"

"The semester's over. I don't work for the school anymore," She said. Why is he acting like this?

"But there's shit to do with the agency. Our Agency. I even finished the paperwork. We're gonna tour the building next week, we gotta–" He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Can't you wait?"

"I can't change my flight times, this was the only one I could afford," Y/N protested. "It'll be fine, I–"

"Are you bailing? Do you not wanna do this? If–"

"Kat–"

"Listen, I can talk to Kiri, just... just don't go, okay? I can–"

"Katsuki!" Y/N yelled.

He finally stopped. When Y/N looked at him she could tell he was panicking. His eyes were big with concern and his hand hadn't left the clump of hair he was pulling on. His chest rose and fall with his heavy breathing and her chest felt warm at his reaction. He thinks I'm leaving for good.

"I just have to get my things," She said softly. "If I want to live here, I need my shit with me. Plus I need to find a place to stay. The most I'll be gone is a few weeks, just until I can find somewhere cheap."

Bakugou felt wildly embarassed at misunderstanding. Why had he acted like that? Why was his heart going berserk? He took a deep breath to try and shut down the uncomfortable sensations. "A few weeks is a long ass time, Tinkerbell."

"A few weeks at the most. I wanna make sure I'm not saddled with a roommate I hate. It would suck ass to come back to Japan to some stranger who wants to make my life hell. I need to do proper research and shit." Y/N stood up and took a few steps toward her upset boyfriend before crossing her arms. "I don't wanna be gone that long either."

Bakugou blurted it out before he could stop himself: "Stay with me."

A pause.

"Kat, I gotta–"

"I mean like, in my apartment. When you... when you come back." His hands dropped to his sides and he stared at her expectantly. She tried reading his facial expression, but he was stoic. Serious.

"Stay in your apartment? For... How long?"

Was he really saying this? "Uh... as long as you want to." He could barely believe the words coming out of his mouth. What was he thinking? Did he... really mean that? Bakugou stood before her as his internal dialogue sped up, trying not to move a muscle.

Y/N didn't seem to be processing what he meant yet. "What about my stuff?"

"You bring that too, dumbass." His heart started racing again. Yeah, he was doing this.

Y/N looked up for a moment, seemingly deciding if she should say something. "Like... like, move in with you?" She asked, still not looking him in the eye. Her cheeks felt warm, and now her heart was racing, too.

"Yes." Yes, he did want this. He did mean this. In fact, he had never wanted anything more than this.

"Okay." Her response was soft, but Bakugou could tell she was... excited. The blush on her cheeks made him even more sure of his decision.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll move in with you." Her smile fell a bit as she paused. "Hang on, is there enough room for me?"

Oh. Shit. He hadn't really thought of that. His hand reached back up and he scratched the back of his head. "It's uh, one bed one bath." Now he was actually beginning to think logistically– would they get two beds? Or would she want to share his bed? With him? His heart continued to pound violently. "I've got a king bed but I can like... get rid of it. If we want room for uh, two beds."

"You don't have to get rid of your bed."

Bakugou stared at her a moment before processing. Oh. Oh. So she did want to share. His body betrayed him and he felt his cheeks getting warm, matching hers.

"Unless you don't want that?"

"No!" He said, far too quickly and wishing he'd waited a bit to sound less eager. "No, that's fine. Whatever. I don't care."

"You don't care, huh?" Y/N questioned. She could read him easily. "Hmm... if you don't care, then maybe we should get seperate beds. Wouldn't want you suddenly caring and wanting me gone halfway through our arrangement. Best to prepare for any outcome, right?" She said with a playful lilt.

No. He didn't want that. God, he hated when she saw right through him like this. She knew exactly how to get him to cave, exactly where his pressure points were, exactly how to make him fall harder and harder. Shit. He had no idea how to respond. Why did he always put himself in these situations? "Actually, there's not room for two beds," he lied.

"Oh, really? Maybe I should get a cot for the kitchen..." She put a finger on her chin to feign thinking.

"No room in the kitchen," he lied again. Stop it. You're digging a hole for yourself, He thought. He took a step towards her.

"Oh dear. What's a girl to do?" Y/N sighed. "The living room, maybe?"

He hated when she teased him like this.

Actually, no he didn't. He loved it. He took another step towards her, now barely a foot of space between them. "No room there, either."

"Seems your apartment is pretty full. You sure there's room for me?"

Bakugou put his hand under her chin and turned her to look at him. His chest was nearly pressed to hers now. "Guess you'll have to stay in my bed." His words were slow... methodical.

Y/N felt a chill run up her spine at his words. "I don't have money to pay rent yet." It came out as a whisper. There wasn't much room to talk normally now... he was getting so close. So, so close.

"Guess you'll have to pay me another way. I'm flexible." He leaned in slowly and Y/N expected a kiss, closing her eyes for it, but he tiled her head to the side and put his lips right by her ear. "Hmm... I think the down payment is due."