VOID [Katsuki Bakugo x OC]

Rule #18: Duty Calls (Whether You Like It Or Not)

♪

The rest of the afternoon was the stuff of dreams.

Sipping a fresh taro-flavored boba tea, Rocket drove Kat and Cade wherever they wanted, also sipping on their own boba teas (spicy mango and honey peach). The new puppy sat up front beside her, his head out the window as he enjoyed the freedom of being adopted. Anthem—the baby Australian Shepherd Kat ultimately picked out and named almost instantly, like he'd been thinking of dog names for a while now—also liked resting his little fluffy head on the center console, staring back at his new parents with two-toned blue and brown eyes.

Wait. Parent. Singular. Just Cade.

Or... maybe Kat too? True to form, they hadn't talked about it yet.

But that didn't stop the two of them from having an amazing day. Rocket pulled into a drive-thru and ordered three heaping helpings of poutine, which they ate in the parking lot with their fingers. Kat took an incredibly unflattering picture of Cade with gravy down her chin, laughing as she tried to stop Kat from taking the photo in the first place and failing miserably. She let Anthem lick the gravy from her hands when she was done, though, so it all worked out okay.

They later stopped at a park and took Anthem for a long walk to try and burn off some of his relentless puppy energy, taking turns to hold his leash; their hoods stayed up the entire time, their eyes obscured with sunglasses. Kat talked and walked with his hands in his pockets, constantly vigilant for paparazzi and rabid fans while Cade gripped Anthem's leash.

"Where's our next stop again?" Cade asked through a laugh, getting tugged along by Anthem, who wanted to stop and sniff everything.

"New York City," Kat answered automatically. His mind filled with thoughts of street vendor hot dogs and sunflower yellow taxi cabs, inescapable noise and way too many fucking people. He wasn't excited, not even a little bit. "You're playing Madison Square Garden, remember?"

"Right, right," Cade nodded, following her new dog-child. "My mother's had MSG on our tour bucket list since we started performing, so she'll be over the moon. She might even smile, god forbid."

Kat chuckled despite himself. "The fucking moon would explode or the trees would start floating if that happened. It's just... damn unnatural."

Anthem yanked to a sudden stop, and Cade would've tripped and broken her perfect face if it weren't for Kat, who caught her around the waist before she could face plant on the concrete. His hand gripped the dip of her waist, firm but not painful. "Thanks," she said breathlessly, smiling up at him.

Kat looked away to hide the warmth in his cheeks. "Shut up and watch where you're going, airhead," he said, feigning sincerity until his scowl broke into a smirk. His cheeks cooled and he lifted her to her feet, untangling her from the leash. "You've gotta be more fucking careful, Blue. What if I'm not there to catch you next time?"

"Then..." Her voice trailed off. Cade beamed at Kat, bright as the sun.

"I guess I'll just have to save myself, huh?"

♪

That night, Katsuki and Cadence warmed up on the Montreal stage, very seriously and very professionally.

Just kidding. They were messing around like total dorks.

"D'you know this one, Kat?" Cade smirked, playing a riff on her white bass from one of her favorite songs, Looking Up by Paramore.

He rolled his eyes and started drumming along with her. "Of fucking course I know it, Blue," he shouted over their playing. "I'm not a moron."

Things are looking up, oh finally!
I thought I'd never see the day when you smiled at me