White Lies, Red Velvet

Two

One year ago

"Kiri! It's been ages!" Kirishima looked up from his lunch, which he was eating on a bench in the park, to see a familiar head of pink hair.
"Mina!" He waved, putting down his sandwich.
"Dude, we haven't seen you since graduation...I mean, we've seen you in the news, but you never call." Mina sat down beside him, setting her shopping bags at her feet.
"I've been busy." Kirishima lied. The reason he didn't try to contact any of his classmates since graduation was because he didn't want to face what had happened that day.
"Damn. Too busy for friends? You MUST be swamped."
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"Have you been hanging out with Bakugou at all?"
Kirishima swallowed. "I...no."
"Really? But you were going to confess to him that day!"
"I was...but I chickened out." Kirishima shrugged. "It wouldn't have worked out anyway. We work pretty far from each other."
"Damn. I was hoping you two were just keeping it on the down low."
"Sorry to burst your bubble."
"Are you enjoying your work, at least?"
"It has its ups and downs." Kirishima shrugged. Things were quiet in this city. Occasionally, a villain would appear, but they were mostly thugs that took no time to overpower. Kirishima hadn't gone full throttle in years.
"You should call more. Kaminari thinks you're mad at us for some reason."
"I will. How are they all doing, anyway?"
"Kaminari and Jiro are engaged. I'll get them to send an invitation if you want."
"Yeah! Sure!" He wasn't sure if he would actually attend. He had been to a wedding since, Mirio and Tamaki's, to be exact. But he had spent the whole time miserable and alone.
"So...if you haven't been dating Bakugou behind the media's back, has there been anybody else?"
"No. I haven't really had much luck. It's hard to date as a hero..." Kirishima shrugged, "everybody I've tried to date just thinks of me as Red Riot. They don't even care about Eijirou, ya know?"
"Oof. I do know." Mina nodded. "Wanna do that thing where if we're not married by the time we're forty, we just marry each other?"
Kirishima laughed. "No thanks. I'd rather be single than have a pity marriage."
"It's not a pity marriage! It's an alliance marriage!"
"I'm sure you'll find somebody soon anyway." Kirishima insisted. She was pretty and fun to be around. Kirishima would be lying if he said he didn't have a little crush on her back in middle school. But all that was gone now. He just couldn't imagine being with her anymore.
"You too, Kiri."
"Doubt it," Kirishima shrugged. "What's Sero up to these days?"
"He's working with some American guy with a similar quirk to his...spider dude or something?"
"Is he still in Japan?"
"He bounces back and fourth."
"And you?"
"Working a little with Pop *insert star* Step. She's just a vigilante but her dance moves are on point."
Kirishima smirked. "That sounds like you."
"So, you're still with Fatgum?"
"Yeah and- oh shit. My lunch break is over. I've got to get back to the office." Kirishima wrapped his half eaten sandwich back up and stood. "Sorry. See ya around?"
"Yeah. See ya around."

Why do we call them Friendship Bracelets instead of Brocelets?