Snowed In

Part 8

"I left for this hiking trip."

"You hike?"

"Mountain climb, specifically. You asked for the story, don't fucking interupt me."

They're driving through unplowed streets. Apparently Tetsu and Kirishima decided to switch cars with Tetsutetsu needing to go check in with his wife and their mechanic shop instead of coming with them. Bakugou isn't exactly complaining about that.

Kirishima's taking the roads like a pro, pushing through to make large, towering snow banks on either side of them. Bakugou's riding shotgun, Ashido's in the back seat with Riot. She's leaning to far forward over the console she might as well be in the front seat as Bakugou tries to explain the cat thief incident.

"So, I'm out of town for four days, nothing insane, but I ask the purple haired asshole to watch my cat. He didn't even have to stay, just check in with her everyday, food and water, all that shit. I'd had her officially for barely a month at this point."

"Officially?" Kirishima doesn't take his eyes off the road. Bakugou doesn't yell at him like he did Ashido.

"Yeah, she was a stray I'd been feeding for a while until I managed to snap her up and get her checked out by a vet and chipped. She fucking hated it. I called her my flight risk because she wasn't used to being inside yet and always tried to run out. Apparently Shinsou saw that as me being a piss poor owner."

Sero and Kaminari are in another car behind them, following as Kirishima cuts a path for them all up through the slowly thickening forest as the buildings all fade out, a hidden trail leading them through and up the mountains. Bakugou isn't sure how Kirishima keeps to the road so closely besides having everything up the hillsides perfectly memorized, even when the snow has covered everything laid out before them.

Kirishima had thrown Bakugou's snowboard and his own into the truck bed before he came back to the inn to pick everyone up. The other three had piled in a pair of skis, a sled, and another board on top of it all, excited to race out into the cold air. It still took some time, waiting for the cakes to come out of the oven and Ashido insisted they make another ten paper cranes each for the tree before they started changing into snow gear. Kirishima had even brought Bakugou a spare set of his own, saying he didn't feel comfortable going through Bakugou's bags to find his own. It was dumb, but Bakugou appreciated it.

Now, he wore a snowsuit a size or two too big for him, but it was warm even if he looked a little clumsy in the black outfit. He found himself sinking back into the oversized collar, inhaling deep, and feeling a sense of calm he didn't entirely understand. It should have smelt of mothballs or stale air, but instead of smelled so...comforting. 

"He decided, seeing as I was gone, it was the perfect opportunity to take her and give her a good home."

"Oh my god," Ashido gasps softly, "Denki is dating an asshole."

Bakugou barks out a sharp laugh at that, missing how Kirishima takes his eyes off the road to look at him, just that once.

"I came home a day early and he was trying to force her into a carrier. A mutual friend of ours actually had to stop me from punching him a few times. Cat clawed the shit out of him though, bastard deserved it." He gives Ashido a wide grin, rolling his shoulders as he slumps back in his seat. She's transfixed by the story. "Needless to say, I got her back and she's perfectly happy with me now. Still a grumpy bitch sometimes, but I made her this nice patio set up so she can still go outside without running off to get hit by a car or some shit like that."

Ashdio leans against his chair, batting her lashes at him. Her smile isn't nearly as annoying as it should be. "Awww, aren't you just a good cat daddy?"