au where kirishima, an art student, has hit a block — but whenever he visits this angry blond guy's bakery he starts sketching him out on tissue papers

the bakery is a quiet, calm place a few blocks off campus. there's pastries on display, a small string piano in the corner and tall polished tables.

and the owner is gorgeous

of course there's nothing extra to it. kirishima just thinks the guy is pretty, and manly too - with the way he twists bread dough, his sleeves rolled up and forearms on display, his face twisted into a scowl of concentration

he's just. pretty

kirishima orders the same strawberry shortcake and wedge of multigrain bread, and changes in and out different kinds of coffees and shakes.

and he sits on one of the tables with the trimmed french windows and watches as bakugou bakes bread

the sunlight tilts through the windows, filters into the bakery, and carves pretty shadows across bakugou's face. his corn silk hair glows golden in the light.

and kirishima sketches out small studies on a napkin: the way the light falls on his cheekbones, the triangle of a shadow beside his nose and the blackness nestled under his adams apple

on his way out, kirishima always likes to thank the guy. i mean, he is kind of grumpy with his bared teeth and annoyedly flashing red eyes -

but hey, kirishima appreciates art when he sees it: his cakes and pastries are perfect works of art, with cut out fondant pieces and cherries and piping bags swirling out decorations

so he offers compliments every day, and kirishima catches the way his ears turn red. in his studies on napkins, kirishima sketches out the shell of an ear, and glances soft lines for the rosy blush

+

the waitress there is uraraka, and she's juggling busy with a physics major, a baby sitting job and being a waitress - and she and kirishima end up hitting it off though: uraraka makes up names for bakugou, immitates the angry way in which he scolds her when she comes in late

and kirishima learns things about bakugou throw uraraka - the bakery is doing well, especially for a twenty two year old - and it not even being a legacy family shop - and the ratings are doing well, but he wants to expand and do better to compete with an izuku midoriya

"he pushes himself pretty hard," she says, with a small frown. "it's not very healthy."

"don't you have two jobs /and/ go to keio university," kirishima comments.

she rolls her eyes, points at bakugou. "but he needs to get a life and get /hammered/ sometime, for real.

"i offered that we go to some -" she waves a hand, vaguely - "bar or whatever, with my girlfriend, deku and todoroki..."

she pauses here, smiles at kirishima.

"what?"

"my girlfriend," she echoes, eyes shining. kirishima laughs, pats her on the shoulder, grinning.

"i still owe you for setting me up with mina," she says.

"tell bakugou to give me free pastries, maybe."

she gasps. "i can't do that! he would never!"

"never what," a third voice cuts in.

kirishima immediately turns to the sound of the low baritone, a sound and timbre he has memorised with the gruff "thanks" he mutters everytime kirishima compliments his cakes.

"never offer free pastries," uraraka says.

bakugou has a tea towel in his hand, and his grip tightens around it. "the fucker already pays half the price, why would i decrease it more."

kirishima blinks. "i do?"

and there it is again, the red blush in bakugou's ears, but this time it spreads out to his cheeks. "you're a regular. you buy the same fuckin' cake. i bake one separately for you, anyway." bakugou stops, and then barks out, voice rising, "does it fucking matter?"

guess not.