Latibule

34 - ʟᴜɴᴄʜ

Previously on Latibule:

"O-Oh," I stammered before nodding. "It should be fine, yes. I'll just text my mom that I won't be back until after lunch."

"Good," Bakugou said before starting to walk. As soon as he realized that I wasn't following, he stopped. "Are you coming or what?"

I quickly pressed send and pocketed my phone before catching up with the blond. Just like that, I was walking to the house of the boy I may or may not have had a crush on.

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Latibule — Chapter 34///Lunch

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The Bakugous' home was a very modern-looking house. The lawn and the part of the sidewalk which belonged to the family but was situated behind their fence were both well-cared for and the house itself had many windows, which led me to believe that there must've been a lot of natural light inside.

"Come on," Bakugou said, walking a few paces ahead of me. "You don't have to be nervous or anything."

"I'm not," I lied. But I was. And from the air I could tell that he was, too.

Bakugou pushed open the door and stepped in, holding the door for me before closing it behind us. "We're here," he called out, his voice carrying a bored and somewhat monotone note as he took off his shoes and placed them on the shoe rack. I followed his actions, looking around the place a bit awkwardly.

The air shifted, taking on a happy note as a pair of footsteps approached the small front room area Bakugou and I were in.

"There you two are!" a happy voice exclaimed, its owner rounding the corner. I took the moment to observe her, who was most obviously Bakugou's mother — she had the same hair, the same eyes, and, as much as I'd seen Bakugou smile, the same smile, too. "My name is Mitsuki, don't bother with anything more formal," she beamed, putting a hand out for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you," I said politely, a bit taken aback by the cheery attitude, for I'd expected something more... brusque, given the way Bakugou usually communicated.

Mitsuki turned to her son, frowning. "Come on, don't just stand there! Show her around."

I smiled a bit at the familiar tone. There it is.

Bakugou scoffed but grabbed onto my arm, dragging me away from the woman who was looking at me kindly once again. "Come on," the boy grumbled, leading me out of the front room and beside the staircase before letting go.

I watched as he looked off towards a very modern-looking room with a bunch of bookshelves before sighing and raising his hands to gesture around as he spoke. "There's the living room and the kitchen's right behind it. The bathroom is down the hallway on the left and all the bedrooms are upstairs. The office is also upstairs but I don't go there much."

"So your parents work from home?" I inquired, trying to keep the conversation going.

Bakugou shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Yes. They're annoying like that."

I shrugged, disagreeing. "Maybe, but I can't say I know what you feel. My father's away for work for weeks, sometimes months. Mom should be, too, but she usually stays home because of me. It must be nice being able to see your parents whenever you want to."

Bakugou shrugged again and I caught myself thinking that our shoulders did most of the talking at this point. "If you say so."

Before I could ask — or even think of — another question, Bakugou's mom's voice rang through the air. "Come to eat!"

"C'mon," Bakugou said, taking my arm again as he led me to the kitchen-slash-dining room.

When we arrived there was Bakugou's mother and a man, who I assumed to be Bakugou's father even though they didn't look too much alike. I gave him a polite smile. "Hello."

The man nodded back. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Finally? I thought, the word sounding odd as it fell on my ears.

"Katsuki has mentioned you quite a few times," Mitsuki cut in before I could even ask the question.

The boy beside me tensed up, the air flaring with embarrassment that he masked with anger. "Shut up," he hissed at his mother who just gave him a beaming smile as if nothing was wrong in the world.

Bakugou dragged me to the other side of the table, pulling out a chair before plopping on the one next to it with an ever-grumpy expression. I sat on the chair he'd pulled out, trying to make sense of the energy in the room. Bakugou looked grumpy but I could tell he was more embarrassed than angry. His mother radiated kindness and joy with a tinge of annoyance at his son's behavior. Bakugou's father just sat, the air around him so still with calmness that if it hadn't been obvious that he was still breathing, I would've thought him dead.

Bakugou's mother went on to serve each of us before she, too, sat down and we all said our thanks before starting to eat.

"So, L/n," Mitsuki started, her eyes glimmering with mischief. "How do you put up with Katsuki over here?"

I ignored the irritation that rolled off of the boy beside me and offered his parents a smile. "He's not as bad as everyone makes him out to be."

Bakugou's parents shared a glance which I couldn't quite understand. I brushed it off, biting into my food. The taste seemed to melt on my tongue and my eyes widened. "This is so good," I complimented. I swallowed first, of course, remembering my manners.

"Thank you," Mitsuki nodded, giving me her ever-present smile.

The rest of lunch passed in small talk — the adults asking me how I was doing with school and such while Bakugou mostly stayed silent. I offered to help clean up after but Mitsuki insisted I'd leave it to her so, soon, Bakugou and I were in the front room again.

"And remember — you're welcome here anytime," Bakugou's mother reminded for the tenth time, at least.

I nodded with a smile, standing at the front door, watching Bakugou put his shoes on (as I had mine on already, I had to wait for him). In a minute, we left.

Walking out of the yard, I felt the need to start a conversation. "I should probably get home soon."

Bakugou nodded in understanding. "I'll walk you."

"No, you don't have to," I said quickly. "You don't have to babysit me or anything."

"Who said I have to?" the boy asked. "I want to."

My cheeks heated up and I cast my eyes around, looking anywhere but at the face of the person who made me feel a little weird. "O— Oh."

I didn't argue further and let Bakugou walk me home even though I had to lead because he didn't know where I lived. After saying our goodbyes, I closed the front door and leaned against it, heaving a sigh. My heart was pounding in my ears and energy was pulsing through my veins, itching to be released.

I headed for the bathroom, thinking about my quirk. It had been calmer lately and my endurance was a lot higher than it had been.

Still, I felt a little funny. I looked at myself in the mirror, wondering if the cause was just my feelings acting up because of a certain boy.

And then, for the shortest moment, I saw a pink cloud around me.