They slept deep and without interruption. Kirishima was the first to stir, the weight of something warm pushing against his chest. Eyes still closed, everything from the previous night came flooding back as he remembered where he was and everything that happened. His arms were draped around Ryuko protectively, her head underneath his chin, legs folded up into each other like a quilt pattern. Very slowly he untangled their limbs, gingerly easing up from the bed to avoiding waking up his girlfriend turned lover. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he looked down at her sleeping silhouette under the sheets, serenity etched in her features. He tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the living room, grabbing the phone he set aside the previous night and walked into the bathroom.

Scrolling through his phone to check for any missed calls or messages something caught his eye. It took him a minute to read through the e-mail and register what all it said before running out of the bathroom - nearly tripping over Ghost in the process - and shaking Ryuko awake.

"Hey, hey wake up!" She jumped as his hands shook her shoulders a little too enthusiastically, eyes bleary from being awoken so suddenly.

"Wh-what?! What's wrong?" But the beaming smile on his face left her confused.

"I got it! I got the job!" he screetched. She was still confused.

She yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and squinting at the bright sunlight coming in through the window. "What job?" His eyebrows knit together until he nearly slapped himself in the face.

"Oh shit, I never told you! OK so you know I've been applying to a bunch of places for a long time right?" he asked as she sleepily nodded in acknowledgment. "I sent one out a while back but then totally forgot about it and I got an e-mail this morning saying they'd like me to start training soon!" She was mostly awake now - even if it was by force - but his excitement transferred over as her hands came up to cup his cheeks.

"Eijiro that's great! But you still haven't said what the job is."

He groaned, too excited to realize he'd literally told her nothing. "Shit, sorry. I applied to the fire department. I want to help people if I can." The sleepy smile on her face fell a fraction, and it didn't go unnoticed. "What's wrong…? Do you not want me to take the job?" he asked, brows furrowed.

Ryuko shook her head, hair falling messily into her tired face. "No, no that's not it. I know you've been trying for a long time to move up, and I'm glad they're giving you a proper chance. It's just…it's dangerous, right? I don't want you to get hurt." She was concerned about his safety. Being a fire fighter could indeed be a dangerous job with very real health risks. Now the protection roles were reversed once, again. "If this is really what you wanna do I'm going to support you in whatever way I can…but you better come back everyday in one piece, I mean it." Her forehead rested against his, fingers tangling in his intense bedhead that - still - looked pretty good. "You'd be so good at helping people, you'll do great." A sigh of relief spread over him when he realized she was just nervous for his safety, but wasn't going to hold him back from this. It was a positive step forward, something that he was excited about. Things were finally starting to go his way.

"Thank you. I promise I'll be safe." He kissed her. "Thank you." He kissed her again, happiness spreading over him. "I love you." He pulled her back down into the bed and enveloped her in his arms. They made love once more, quicker but no less passionate and full of affection than the night before.

"We need to go…and get more condoms at this rate," she laughed, out of breath as she came down from the high of morning sex. His hands ghosted over her body, reveling in how soft her skin felt against his fingers.

"Can we get lunch first? My treat. Making you scream my name works up an appetite," he laughed out. Her hand snaked down to the dip in his pelvis where she'd found one of his ticklish spots. It wasn't a mistake that she brushed against his sensitive cock as he jerked away biting his lip. "No you don't!" He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up onto his shoulder as he stood up off the bed, her legs dangling in front as he walked to the bathroom, a hand firmly gripped on her ass to keep her from falling as she gasped. "An extra cold shower for you!"

"YOU BETTER NOT YOU SHIT!" He just laughed as he shut the bathroom door behind them and started up another shower.

They decided to continue the trend of comfortable laziness and had some lunch delivered.

"You should just bring a change of clothes to keep here at this point and some overnight stuff," she said, taking a sip of water. "Not that I mind you laying around in your underwear or anything…" Indeed, he sat there eating lunch in his boxers considering the rest of his clothes were still hanging up and needed to be properly washed and pressed after being rained on. She wore a baggy band t-shirt and clean underwear.

"Mm, yeah you're right. I'll pack an overnight bag for next time." His phone buzzed, Kirishima reading the text preview on the screen before swallowing. His eyebrows shot up.

B: "so? did you tell her finally or chicken out?"

K: "i'm no chicken! And it went great, she feels the same :)"

B: "about damn time. And if she does anything stupid i'll kick her ass"

K: "lol yes I know you will but she'll kick yours right back"

B: "she can fuckin' try"

B: "also"

B: "invite her to dinner tonight. To MAKE PEACE or whatever the fuck" Kirishima's eyebrows shot up at that.

"Ooh…hm. Interesting," he said, swallowing another bite of food.

"What's interesting?"

"Bakugou texted me. He's inviting you over for dinner tonight if you want." This made her stop chewing and look at Kirishima with a skeptical expression. "I think this is his attempt at an apology."

"An apology, huh?" The idea rolled around in her mind as she continued to eat lunch. He'd been a total asshole to her and honestly she did deserve one at this point. If he was offering, she might as well indulge him; if he decided to show his ass or do something reckless she'd be there to back up Kirishima if need be. "Yeah, OK. I'll see if he's as good a cook as you claim he is."

"I'll let him know. And I promise I didn't put him up to this, it's totally him making the initiative." She squinted at that comment.

"Hmm…I hadn't considered that until you said it just now." A shiver ran down his spine at the look she gave him. She could appear very intimidating with little effort.

He held up his hands defensively. "I mean! I just told him to apologize to you, and he said he was working on it, so it's still his idea."

"So he wouldn't have done it on his own then is what you're saying."

"I think he would have, but he'd take his sweet time with it. He's the most stubborn person I know and hates admitting he's wrong about anything. I'm just giving him a push because you deserve an apology sooner rather than later." She nodded, appeased by his explanation.

"You're right, I do. He apologized to you at least, and from what you've told me he's trying to move forward. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt." A lazy finger poked the nose of the red dragon gift now sitting on the kitchen table. "I just want to put this behind us and move forward, too." Kirishima put down his phone to look at his girlfriend across the table.

"I know. It'll be fine, I promise." Somehow she couldn't come to doubt his optimism. If anything else attempted to cause trouble, they could deal with it together.

They walked from the train station towards Kirishima's apartment, the evening sun starting to set casting an orange haze over the city.

"Did he say what he's making? I'm not really picky but I'm curious."

"Mmm no, he didn't say. I'll just caution he sometimes makes stuff too spicy because he's somehow unfazed by toxic levels of hot food. Oh, one thing though. I think we should…keep any PDA to a minimum, since he's still figuring things out."

"Ok I'll refrain from sitting in your lap and grabbing your butt. Deal?"

"Just hold onto those ideas for another day and we have a deal." Kirishima was honestly glad they could make jokes like this considering the intimacy of the previous night. Being physically close with his partner was important to him; sure, there would always be serious and cherished moments, but poking fun at each other was nice, too. "Oh! One more. Don't mention to the job offer yet. I want to get some more information and figure things out before letting him know."

"Yeah that's fair. Anything else?" They were holding hands as Kirishima walked up to the apartment door.

"Hmm…I dunno how exactly he plans on apologizing, I don't think spelling out 'I'm Sorry' in food is really his style so just expect…uh well expect anything I guess!" With that Kirishima unlocked the door.

"Bakugou I'm back! And Ryuko's with me!" They toed off their shoes at the door, the smell of something delicious wafting in from the kitchen.

"DON'T fuckin' come in here yet I'm not done and you'll make a damn mess." Ryuko rolled her eyes; he sounded just like she figured he would, unrestricted by being around customers. Kirishima leaned down close to her ear.

"Don't mind him, he honestly loves cooking and thinks anyone that attempts to help will mess up his food rhythm."

"Well you said you can't really cook and I can't improvise recipes worth a shit so it may be the wisest choice." He led her down the hall just past the doorway to the kitchen.

"OK we'll just hang out in my room until dinner's ready- is that a new apron?" At this Ryuko popped her head around the corner to see what Kirishima was talking about. Sure enough a bright orange bow accompanied what looked like a cooking apron as Bakugou stood at the stove stirring a pot.

"You got a fucking problem with me keeping my clothes clean when I cook?!" He didn't take his eyes off the pot.

"No, I just didn't think you'd need more than ONE apron." Kirishima stifled a laugh as he led his girlfriend down to his room, ignoring the string of curses following behind them.

He closed to the door behind them and started tossing off his wrinkled clothes from the previous day while looking for something clean to wear. "I did not picture Bakugou would own a cooking apron with a giant bow on it…you got rid of the flowers?" Ryuko asked. He turned around, a clean shirt halfway over his head to see Ryuko look at the now empty spot on his bedside table, her expression a bit sad.

"I tried my best to keep 'em alive but I have the opposite of a green thumb." He tried not to sound guilty. Throwing the dead flowers out was hard, though he thought of a solution. "But I saved a few, though." Kirishima took out a heavy book from the bottom of a small shelf filled with video games, action figures, movies, and some comic books. Walking over to his girlfriend he opened up the book to reveal a handful of dried flowers, pressed and preserved. There was a note too that had the date she'd given them to him. The gesture made her smile.

"Somehow I knew you'd find a way to keep them. Also, put on a shirt before I break the deal we made earlier." Leaning up to kiss his cheek she sat down on his bed while he put away the book in it's proper place.

"Aww I thought you wanted me naked all the time." He wiggled out of his dress pants, a playful wink on his face.

"I WILL make you walk into the kitchen with a boner if you don't quit. You're the one who said to keep it tame tonight - don't break your own rules you horndog." Problem was, he knew she would follow through with that threat with how easily she could rile him up.

"Heh…sorry." Before he could pull on some jeans, though, she reached across the bed and gave on of his buttcheeks a quick spank making him spin around in shock. "Now who's breaking the rules?!"

"Sorry couldn't resist. Now get dressed-" But his lips were on hers before she could retreat back to her spot on his bed. His mouth moved hungrily before pulling away just as quickly, acting like nothing happened.

"Love you dear!" His voice and expression was completely innocent, enjoying the game of back-and-forth.

"Goddammit…you're basically impossible to be mad at. But I'll have my revenge later, lover boy"

After a while Bakugou basically screamed from the kitchen that dinner was ready. Kirishima and Ryuko walked down the hall and into the dining area, the smell of something delicious leading the way.

"Ooh Bakugou it smells good, you went all out." Kirishima sat down at the table, silently hoping that dinner would go without a hitch.

"Um, yeah it does smell really good. Thank for inviting me to dinner." Kirishima gave her a soft and approving look with those ruby eyes of his. It was the first time she'd directly spoken to the blonde since he confronted her in front of the coffee shop. Bakugou stopped what he was doing for a split second before finishing plating the food.

"Of course it smells good, I made it." Still wearing the apron – which they could now see said 'Shut Up and Eat' – he set the food down at the table and tossed the apron across the back of his chair.

A roar of "Let's eat!" sounded at the table, everyone digging in.

Ryuko was the first to speak after a couple bites of food. "OK fine. I'll openly admit that Kirishima wasn't wrong about your cooking. It's fucking delicious." It was a bit spicier than she was used to but nothing inedible – if anything the spice added to and complemented the other flavors. Bakugou's face lit up in a smug smirk knowing that he was still the best at something.

"Told you! I mean that steak last night was still better but-"

"What steak? Wait did you go to that fancy place with the fountain downtown?" He could make good steak, too– he could make great steak!

"Mm yeah that's the one! I'm telling you man it was really good." Ryuko was eating silently, looking back and forth between Kirishima and Bakugou arguing about steak. She was starting to see now how they got along despite having different personalities.

"Of course it was good, they use expensive meat and know what they're doing! Remember the last time you tried to make steak?"

"Oh I want to hear this story." She piped up at the possible mention of an embarrassing memory.

Bakugou rounded on Ryuko, eyes darting towards Kirishima who honestly looked nervous. "Don't fucking ask me how but one ended up on the ceiling and the other disappeared never to be seen again." Kirishima groaned as Bakugou recalled with perfect memory one of his many cooking attempts. His girlfriend attempted to stifle a laugh but failed.

"OK I'm not great at cooking but I don't think I've ever lost half a meal before." She gently kicked his foot with hers to make him look at her, eyes holding amusement but also adoration. "But that's alright, you're good at a lot of other things. Maybe we could try some recipes, working from the bottom up with something simple and figure it out." That was one of the many reasons he loved her – she could always bring him back when his self worth started to fall, even when it came to something as mundane as cooking.

"Ah yeah, we could try learning something together." That blinding grin of his lit up his face before he shoved chopsticks full of food into his mouth. He glanced at Bakugou to gauge his reaction to the current turn of conversation.

He was eating casually. If it bothered him at all or made him uncomfortable, he didn't let on.

When they finished Kirishima sighed in satisfaction. "That was good. I'll help you clean up-"

"That's OK, I can help." Ryuko spoke up, standing from her seat and grabbing up the plates before Kirishima could stop her. As she stood at the sink, he looked at Bakugou as if to silently as 'I thinks she wants to talk'. The blonde nodded in understanding, expression hard to read below his knit brows.

"Um, alright if you're sure. I'll be in my room when you're done." Kirishima stood up, eyes lingering around the room before leaving Bakugou and Ryuko alone to – hopefully – make amends. He left his bedroom door open.

Bakugou stood up from his chair to stand beside her, grabbing the dishes as they were cleaned and dried them off before putting them up. This continued for a minute without words before Bakugou cut his eyes to the side, watching her hands work the dishes like a distraction. He stopped drying.

"Sorry." It was barely above a whisper, inaudible against the splatter of water against dried food.

"Did you say something?" She turned to him slightly, hands not pausing. He hated having to repeat himself.

"I said…sorry," he grit out with an exasperated sigh. "For…being a shithead. To you." She finally stopped, shutting off the faucet. It suddenly became very quiet, the only echo in the room the faint dripping noise of water splashing in the sink.

"Thanks." She finally turned fully to him and looked him in the eyes. His were more similar to Kirishima's now than she'd ever seen them. "I mean it."

"He deserves someone who treats him right, so just…don't fuck it up."

"I don't have any intention of it. And like I said before, if I do something dumb then you can yell at me then." There was a look of unspoken understanding between them. Bakugou could see that she really did care a lot – the looks Kirishima gave her made that obvious. But she leaned in close, closer than he was comfortable with and the look on her face was just shy of terrifying. "Let me say this though: you break his nose or any part of him again and I'll rip your balls off and toss them in a blender. Understand?" He nearly swallowed his own tongue at the threat.

"Now who's throwing around threats? Don't fuckin' worry I won't touch him, the nose thing was an accident anyway I didn't even realize I'd busted it until the next day." She smiled knowing that he was at least somewhat intimidated by her words.

"Good, glad we come to an agreement." She washed up the last dish and handed it over for him to dry. "Tell me some more embarrassing Kirishima stories." Now that was something Bakugou could get behind.

Conversation was awkward at first but eventually they settled into a rhythm, finding out they had a few things in common besides music tastes. Kirishima heard laughing from the kitchen and stepped out of his bedroom to see how things were going. Peeking his head around the corner Bakugou and his girlfriend were sitting at the kitchen table having…fun? It was almost shocking, but it honestly put a heartfelt smile on his face to know that his best friend and lover might now actually get along. He stepped out from the hallway, Bakugou noticing him first.

"Sorry for interrupting! Do you wanna watch a movie before heading home?" Ryuko turned, chin resting in her hand and eyes lighting up as she smiled at Kirishima.

"A movie? I mean I don't have to work tomorrow so yeah that's fine if-"

"I don't care as long as it's not some sappy romance shit," Bakugou grunted out. Kirishima put a finger to his chin.

"Hmm…oh I know!" He ran back to his room and looked through his collection of movies to pull out a very specific title. "This one!" Waving it in the doorway to the kitchen Bakugou scoffed.

"We've watched that too many times, choose something else."

"But she's never seen it!" Bakugou looked at Ryuko as if she was a flying pig.

"Wh- what do you mean you've never seen it?! It's a fucking good movie!" She squinted up at the title in Kirishima's hand. It sounded familiar but it was indeed something she'd never watched.

"I don't watch every single movie that comes out so don't get pissed!"

"It's decided then." Kirishima walked over and grabbed her hand basically yanking her out of the kitchen chair and dragging her into the living room to put in the movie. "I promise it's great, I think you'll like it." He sat back down on the couch, himself in the middle and Ryuko on one side, his arm slung around her shoulders like a movie theater cliché. Bakugou made his way into the living room, sitting down on the other side of Kirishima. The couch wasn't the biggest but they made it work.

Throughout the movie there was the occasional quip from Bakugou or Kirishima commenting on something they already knew was going to happen, while Ryuko gestured wildly at the screen due to the ridiculous plot. She'd become more open and energetic since their first date at the movies – the tension of knowing she wasn't trying to impress anyone, that Kirishima was in it for long haul – no longer a burden. She could be herself, totally and completely, and Kirishima loved her for it.

"How have I never seen this before?" She looked at the screen dumbstruck as Kirishima patted her on the head affectionately, the credits rolling to black on the TV.

"I know! It was pretty great right?"

"I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not bad at all." She reached down around the couch to pull her phone from her purse to check the time. "Mm I should get back home before it's super late." Bakugou stood up to stretch before taking the movie out and putting it back in the case. While his back was turned Kirishima planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"OK, want me to walk you to the train station?"

"Sure, let me use the restroom real quick." As she walked down the hall Kirishima stood up and looked at his roommate, an expression of appreciation lining his features.

"Thanks for doing all this, Bakugou." He avoided eye contact but didn't look uncomfortable.

"Tch, yeah whatever. She's not so bad I guess…" Kirishima smiled before hitting himself on the forehead, before walking briskly back towards his room. The bathroom door opened, the silence of the apartment making their conversation just barely audible.

"OK I'm…what's in your hand? Seriously? You know I can buy condoms right?"

"These are just gonna sit here as long as Bakugou's here so just…uh stuff em in your purse?"

"Fine, keep a couple here just in case you perv."

"You're the one who spanked me earlier-"

"I CAN FUCKING HEAR THAT NASTY SHIT YOU KNOW!" Bakugou yelled from the living room, ears pink from overhearing something he honestly wish he hadn't. Everything fell very quiet before Kirishima walked stiffly from the hallway to the front door while avoiding eye contact with the fuming blonde. Ryuko wasn't far behind looking equally as embarrassed. She coughed awkwardly before talking.

"Thank you for dinner, Bakugou it was lovely we'll have to do this again have a good night!" She threw open the door and made her way outside as quickly as possible. Kirishima struggled to put on his shoes before waving goodbye and shutting the door a little too hard.

"And you told ME to tone it down, jeez…at least I don't have to walk back to that awkwardness. Ghost doesn't judge me." Kirishima stuffed a handful of condoms in her purse as he laughed nervously. His hand slid into hers as they walked back to the train station.

"Yeah I know, my fault, I'll deal with it. Any plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm hanging out with Tsu and Ochako, some girls day thing I don't know. Day drinking and good-bad movies in our pajamas probably. We haven't really hung out since we started dating. Oh did I tell you they're together now?"

"Aw no way! I thought I felt some romantic tension between them during the office party. Oh we should do a double date! Wait, shit we have to do a double date with Midoriya and Todoroki too so you can meet them…we have some future dates to plan I guess."

"There's plenty of time for dates," she laughed into the night air. "Oh I wanna ask. Would you…mind helping me out in a few weeks with my hair? I can do it myself but it's a huge pain an-"

"Yes!" He pulled her into a tight hug pretending to cry. "We can do each other's hair! That's so manly and romantic!" The reverberations of her laugh echoed in his chest before she pulled away. "Roots are such a pain."

"Well I guess that's one date down then!"

Once they reached the train station one last hug was shared between them.

"I love you," he said kissing the palm of her hand but not taking his eyes away from hers sparkling under the fluorescent lights of the station. "Be safe, call me when you get off the train so I'll know you got in."

"Of course I will. Love you, too." They shared one last kiss before he watched her hop on the train, waving goodbye as it pulled away.

Everything was going to work out fine. And it did.

Kirishima started training for his new job after a few weeks and excelled, his ability to think quickly in stressful situations and his physical prowess – along with his strong desire to help people – put him as an excellent candidate which landed him the job.

Eventually he told Bakugou of his new job and his plans to quit the coffee shop. His first reaction was agitation that Kirishima was moving forward with his life instead of himself, but he realized that was petty after all they'd been through – he deserved any good things that came his way. Over time Bakugou found a better job as well that didn't judge his current performance based on past events.

The police did not visit them again, and Ryuko's ex never found out where she was – he was forgotten, as he should be.

Ochako and Tsu stayed together, enjoying time both at work and at home. Sometimes spending almost no time apart could be bad for couples needing time away, but they were good at communicating to each other if one of them needed a day to themselves. They were also the first to volunteer to watch over Ghost whenever Ryuko was away for one reason or another and secretly attempted to dress him in kitty costumes.

When the lease to the apartment was up, Kirishima moved out and left it to Bakugou so that he could move in with Ryuko. Their relationship blossomed, every touch and word shared together a cherished gift that Kirishima locked away in an old book right next to a handful of dried red flowers.

THE

END

3

thank you so much to everyone who kept up with the story and read it from beginning to end.