Cold Case

A Better Mindset

BAKUGO'S POV

"What's more important then, honesty or loyalty?" I asked while slowly sipping on my beer.

"When it comes to a partner for work, honesty." He shrugged simply. "Without honesty, there isn't any trust. I can't work with someone I can't trust because they're not honest." He explained. "Loyalty is important too, but I would rather have a partner I trust to be safe and smart than someone so loyal they do stupid stuff."

"Do you have that with your team?" I asked. "Honesty, loyalty, trust, all of it?"

"Yeah," He smiled, but it wasn't as bright as it usually is. Maybe he's missing his team as much as I'm missing mine. "My time isn't perfect, but we tried."

He picked up his beer and swirled it around for a minute. He was torn on something. That much was obvious. When he's thinking like this, he does this thing where he furrows and unfurrows his eyebrows repeatedly.

"Can I admit something to you?" He asked nervously. He was still torn, so I didn't want to scare him into being quiet again.

"Well, the whole point of this night is to get to know each other better, so go for it." I shrugged. I didn't want him to feel like this was a big deal, even if it was to me. I've noticed he tends to shut down if I make something a bigger deal than it really is.

"When you told me that I need to be more firm with my time and be their boss, it hit a nerve." Obviously, I already knew that. We wouldn't be sitting here if we both didn't know that. I stayed silent as he continued.

"It hit a nerve because you were right." He admitted. "It was something I didn't want to admit, but you were right. I've been struggling with it for a while." He brought his glass to his lips and finished his beer before setting it back on the table. I raised my hand and grabbed the bartender's attention. Our pitcher was empty, so we needed another one.

"Every one of my team members is versatile. They can do just about anything, but they have their favorite tasks."

"And getting them to do anything other than those tasks is a pain in the ass?" I guessed. I had the same problem a few years ago while assembling my team.

"Yeah," He confirmed as a new pitcher of beer was set on the table. We both took a minute to fill our cups before continuing our conversation.

"I had that problem, too, you know." I sighed. I didn't like admitting my faults or problems as much as the next person, but I wanted him to know that he wasn't alone.

"How did you fix it?" He frowned. "Because I am fresh out of ideas. My boss keeps telling me that I need to figure out what works for me, but I can't." He groaned loudly while putting his glass to his lips again.

"I reminded them who was in charge. When they said no, I punished them. Usually, it was by making them stay at the office and catch up on paperwork, but sometimes, I made them the errand person for a week. I made them do whatever they hated the most. Eventually, they realized that they would rather do something they don't like to do for a couple of hours than do something they hate for a week or two." I informed. "What worked for my team and me might not work for you and your team, though."

"I have to try something when I go back. I love them, but I can't stand when a job takes twice as long because they don't listen." He groaned. I understood that feeling all too well.

"Well, we'll talk more about it over the next year." I shrugged. I could see his mood dropping, and I didn't want that. I wanted us to have a fun night. I need a distraction from the fact that we have to close Leigh's case until we can find her father, who possibly killed her.

"What else do you want to work on through the year?" He asked.

"I'm not sure yet," I shrugged. "Can we revisit this topic later?" I asked.

"Need something a little happier after today?" I nodded while he refilled his empty glass. I don't want to know how frequently he drinks because he's not even slightly tipsy after five or six glasses.

"Tell me about your hobbies." He didn't hesitate to change the subject without asking me more about how I felt. I'm glad because I barely know how I'm feeling. There's no way I would be able to describe it.

"I barely have time for hobbies." I scoffed playfully. "With how draining work is and how much time I spend with my team after work, I barely have time to think to myself."

"You don't watch T.V., read books, play video games, do projects, write, anything?" He asked with a cocked brow.

"After I get home, I watch movies until I fall asleep. Usually horror movies."

"You're one of those psychopaths who can watch horror movies and go to bed directly after?" He chuckled.

"I'll fall asleep in the middle of a horror movie." I laughed.

"What about your days off?" He asked.

"Usually, I spend it cooking a shit-ton of food, so I don't have to throughout my work week. Other than that, I clean up my mess from the entire week." I explained.

"Ahh, a catch-up day. My day off is usually like that too. Every other week, I try to see my mom, but I have to cancel because of work." He explained. God, I should see my parents. I haven't seen them in months. It's not that I didn't want to. I just didn't have the time. When my days off were spent cleaning, cooking, and resting, I didn't have time for much else.

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? What would you do?" He asked. I thought about the question for a moment. Where would I go? Most people dream of going to cities and seeing all the museums and stuff, but I don't. I live in a city that is a pain in the ass. I would love to get the hell away from here.

"I think I would want to get out of the city. Rent a cabin somewhere where I'm not by a lot of people. Do some hiking, maybe go to the beach. Just fucking relax and do something for me." I shrugged. I've never thought about it. My life is always so consumed by work. "What about you?" I asked.

"Same concept." He shrugged. "Except, I would definitely read a lot and maybe go to some small-town festivals."

"Small-town festivals?" I asked while picking up my glass from the table and finishing my beer before pouring a new cup.

"Have you ever been to a craft fair? A baking festival? Anything small like that?" He asked.

I shook my head, slightly embarrassed to be admitting this. "I've lived in the city my entire life, and I can count on two hands all the times I have left it." He flashed me a sad smile while pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Well, maybe we can change that. We're off tomorrow. If you don't have plans other than cooking and cleaning, I would love to get you out of this city for a while." Even though I had a lot to clean and prep my meals for the week, I want to say yes.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," He shrugged. "I'll look around and see what's going on outside of the city."

"Sounds like a plan to me." I took another drink of my beer. When we first got assigned to cold cases, I thought it would be the worst year of my life. Now, I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.