BLOW.

CHAIN-GE

does it feel real, kid bloom

The ramen place was quaint, a small mom and pop shop Juniper had visited for years. The owners knew her and she had grown fond of their cooking and kind hearts.

Juniper watched in silence and amusement as Bakugo added three bowls of spice to his ramen. He tried the soup first, closing his eyes to focus on the flavor and spice level. The girl quietly giggled before clearing her throat as the boy looked at her, "Ahem, so! How is it?"

Bakugo watched the girl for a moment before answering, "It's good. I like it."

She did a mini victory dance in her seat with a happy grin on her face, "Yes!!! Told you!!!"

He felt weird watching her. It was as if a switch went off in her brain without her quirk, making her a deranged troublemaker or normal person. He couldn't help but tastlessly ask, "Are you bipolar or some shit?"

Blinking a bit, Juniper awkwardly smiled and looked down at her own bowl, "Haha.... No... I'd rather not talk about it to be honest..." She couldn't grasp the look in his eyes, opting to try and ignore it by focusing on eating her ramen. "sluuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrpppppp."

Maybe she was a troublemaker either way.

It took everything inside of the boy to not throw his chopsticks at Juniper, instead shoving more ramen into his mouth to stay shut up. He wanted to figure out what was going on with her but it was clear that she wouldn't give any answers.

Juniper sat up straight, happy the boy wasn't inquiring further as she pulled out a small box from her bag, "Here! I guess you don't have to keep it but I thought it would suit you... A small apology of some sort..."

The boy rarely got gifts, aside from the random clothes his parents would give him, "What is it?"

She grinned at the boy and slid it across the table, "Find out yourself! K—" The boy's first name almost slipped out of her mouth by habit, but she managed to slap a hand over her mouth to save face, "Bakugo!"

Bakugo blankly looked at her for a few seconds before opening the small box. Inside was a simple necklace, quite similar to something he had seen online and debated purchasing a bit ago, "A chain?"

Nodding, Juniper happily explained, not having any concern about being denied or rejected, "Yeah! I thought it would look good on you, plus you can keep it on all the time since it's quality metal."

He stared at her, still trying to decipher her motive or to comprehend her at all.

Alas, Kujo Juniper was an enigma.

She got up from her seat, taking the chain from his hands and clasping it around his neck since he was silent.

Her touch was gentle, softly brushing over his skin and sending the smallest chill down his spine. Bakugo would never admit that though. He coyly looked to the side before getting up to pay for their meal, "Whatever, Granny."

Juniper couldn't help but hum curiously at his calm reaction. He was like a little pomeranian when he wasn't trying to kill her. It was a bit hard for her to understand what he thought of the gift but she assumed he didn't hate it since he didn't take it off. Her eyes trailed over to the quirk nullifying bracelet that only had a small amount of time left.

The duo left the store, walking along the street as Juniper's head tilted toward the boy, "Thank you for lunch~ Although, you're a little bland without all of the yelling, Boom Boy."

His eye twitched for a second before Bakugo started speeding up his pace, "I'm even better calm, Granny. Fuck off, lunch is over."

Clink!

Metal fell to the floor.

The bracelet had broken and Juniper was able to use her quirk once more.

She floated in the air before grabbing the pieces off of the ground and flying over to ruffle the blond's spikes, "It was fun, Suki~! See you in class Darling!!!"

Her signature grin was plastered on her face as she sped off, spinning while making her way home.

Bakugo couldn't help but stare at her retreating figure, still at awe with how her personality could flip so quickly. A twinge of worry came as he thought about how she shouldn't use her quirk so soon when she was still bandaged up from the festival.

"Whatever, Juniper."