Red Ink

Part 8 - Wined and Dined

art of this chapter is available on my instagram, tiktok, or tumblr @pollypenname.
________________________

"Since you were sixteen? They have sixteen-year-olds doing patrols," Red muttered in disbelief. "That's gotta be a violation of some sort."

Kirishima shrugged and took another sip of his wine. "Patrols are more deterrants than anything else. You almost never see any action," He explained. "And at sixteen you've always got an adult hero with you. I worked with Fatgum mostly... things only went south once or twice."

The two of them were lounging in his living room as the storm continued raging outside. Y/N was curled up on the couch facing Kirishima, who was on the floor leaning his arm over the cushion opposite her. His fingers tangled in his red hair as he relaxed against his hand, occasionally sipping his drink but mainly keeping his gaze focused on the lady before him.

It seemed he was serious about behaving, opting for the floor to give her ample room. Kirishima clearly didn't mind– he looked happy where he was and kept his distance as they talked, comfortable to stay leaning against the other side of the couch while he looked up at her.

"So how long have you worked for your friend? Does it make the relationship complicated?"

Kirishima waved his hand dismissively. "Nah. He wanted to co-own it with me, but... doesn't really suit me, y'know? I'm not really one for managerial positions. Too much work, not enough play." He paused for a moment. "I don't really want the power. Not like Kat does. We do better as field partners anyway."

"And he's engaged to Whirlwind? The Whirlwind?" Y/N asked. "I've seen some of his interviews. He's, uh... intense."

"God, he's terrible with the public. Luckily he's gotten a little better with her around."

Red stifled a laugh. "I don't mean any offense, but uh... how did he land her? Didn't think he'd be the romantic type."

Eijirou laughed. "None of us did. He honestly didn't either... but it had to be her. I think Tink is the only one who gets him. Like, really gets him. I dunno how they found each other," He admitted.

Y/N tilted her head a bit. "Tink?"

"Oh, yeah. Kats always called her Tinkerbell since she was the tinker for UA. After the agency started, everyone heard him call her that and started using it too... he didn't like that we used the same nickname though, so we shortened it to Tink. Pretty much everyone calls her that now."

"He called her Tinkerbell?" Red cooed. "That's adorable."

"I know, right? And I had to convince him that he had feelings for her. He's a total dumbass. That was the slowest slow burn in history," He grumbled, taking a larger gulp of wine. "Both of them were down bad but too chicken to do anything about it."

"Huh. Didn't think heroes would be chicken about that kind of stuff."

"Heroes are the worst about that kind of stuff!" Kirishima cried, extending his arms and almost spilling his wine. "Relationships have to be private to avoid the media, or if the media knows, they wanna be all up in your shit. So most heroes just... don't date. Or they just sleep around to avoid the online drama of commitment. And when you're in a relationship, your popularity drops. It's all just bullshit."

Clearly it was something that Kirishima was passionate about. The furrowed brow remained after he finished talking and he seemed to be deep in angry thought.

"So which type are you?" Red asked. Her curiosity (or the wine) got the better of her, and she couldn't help but ask the question. "Do you keep it a secret or do you sleep around?"