PAPER FLOWERS ( k. bakugou )

chapter 40

' the sun and the stars '

━━━━━

Katsuki Katsuki Katsuki. His name is like a drug and even after months of dating, trying to act like a lovey-dovey boyfriend and girlfriend only ending up acting like a married couple headed straight to divorce, she still feels utterly and inexpressibly addicted the way the name rolls off her tongue.

"I swear that solution they have is all wrong," Kaede says, a cherry lollipop propped on her lips and colors her tongue with a dark shade of red. "And that's coming from the fifth best student in class."

"You Business Course extras are shit," Katsuki says, head leaning against his hands as he looks at her with those crimson eyes.

Kaede rolls her eyes, an action that she's never going to remove from her expansive repertoire of habits. "Well sorry to inform you, Mr. Katsuki Bakuhoe, but you're courting shit."

He tsked lightly, steals the bowl of popcorn propped on her lap, stuffing his mouth with the treat.

"I love how you don't have a comeback for that," she says, laughs lightly, hands gripping the popcorn bowl, "but sorry to say this, the popcorn's mine." And there, Kaede snatches the bag of popcorn, sending minute portions scattered on his bedroom floor.

"I paid for half of that," he says, glares at her whose eyes are keenly watching the movie streaming on the laptop two paces away from them. "Look at me, dipshit."

"You know," Kaede says after she swallows a large portion of the popcorn. "I thought that there would never come a time when I'd miss"—makes imaginary quotation marks with her fingers— "dumbass. You do wonders, Katsuki. You do wonders."

"I could do more if you just said yes," he says, and she zips her mouth at that. For months now— excuse me— three months, one week, six days, ten hours, five minutes, thirty one and counting (according to Katsuki's count, not hers), she's been constantly rejecting his advances to become her boyfriend. Months ago, naïve months filled with heartache, Kaede would have wanted nothing than that, but after spending one year and six months in that prison cell, sorting her priorities (and reading educational books, subsequently getting astigmatism), Kaede realized that there were more pressing matters she had to attend to.

After being released from prison, she immediately took it upon herself to find a way to provide for herself (she immediately accessed the account All For One made for her, used all the money to build a foundation dedicated to helping children abandoned on the streets and present them with education and aspirations, so there was no money left for her. Just a couple of bills for train fares and food that would last her a week. That money was gained by illegal means, so it would be selfish to use it all on herself), so when she came upon a vacant position at the Noodle House, she prepared the papers, had it signed by her legal guardian— Recovery Girl— and applied for the job.

With shifts only accessible on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting at seven in the evening and ending at eleven, Kaede used Tuesdays and Thursdays helping Recovery Girl. Saturdays and Sundays burying her head on those thick Accountancy books.

She pays for half of her tuition since the other half is provided by Recovery Girl saying that it's the least she could do, took accelerated classes and attended third year in U.A. under the Business Course.

"The cinematography in this scene is terrible," Kaede says, refrains from throwing popcorn on the screen since it's her laptop and all. "It steals the magic from the whole kissing scene. Like if they only—" Her speech is interrupted when Katsuki shoves a popcorn in her mouth.