Customer Service

Chapter 7

"That fucking journalist—"

Kirishima peeked at Bakugou out of the corner of his eye as the chef stomped around the kitchen. The redhead drummed his fingers against one of the counters from his seat on a wooden stool, trying to figure out a way to get Bakugou out of this mess.

And, what a mess it was—this pit they've dug themselves into.

Well, it was mostly Bakugou's mess, but Kirishima had made it a point to make anything that was Bakugou's business his as well.

Kirishima turned to the door leading to the rest of the café, straining to hear the conversations outside. Satou was there, speaking with the press and the police that Monoma had called soon after the punch. They were trying to determine if it was aggravated assault or self-defense.

"Everyone in that department are full of shit—Deku, that bastard—"

Kirishima bit his lip and looked back at Bakugou who was still fuming, fists clenched. He understood the blonde's motivations behind his actions, but it had been too rash. Kirishima should've stopped it when he realized what would happen. He should have been faster.

Now this might permanently damage Bakugou's career.

"Bakugou," Kirishima called tentatively. The blonde stopped his pacing immediately, whipping his head around to stare at the redhead. "I know he was out of line, but calling him names isn't going to solve anything..."

Bakugou blinked at him, then snarled, storming over to plop down on the stool next to Kirishima.

"I wasn't talking about that piece of shit Monoma."

Kirishima stared, confused. "You just called him—"

"No," Bakugou grit, though he seemed to be trying to keep his emotions in check now that he was speaking about it with Kirishima. "I'm talking about the head of Monoma's department. That Deku must've sent him just to torment me—"

Kirishima didn't know anything about this Deku guy, but he didn't want to judge someone he hadn't met. It looked as if Monoma had come to the café out of his own free will if he was being completely honest.

Not that any of that mattered since they had already gotten into this mess.

The redhead cleared his throat, catching Bakugou's attention.

"What are you going to do now?"

Bakugou stared at him for a moment before looking away. "I don't know. I might be placed on leave again, at least temporarily. Until they decide what to do with me."

"...oh."

Decide what to do with him.

That phrase settled uneasily into Kirishima's stomach and he shuffled his feet restlessly. Despite the rude things Monoma had said, it was true that because of Bakugou, not only the pastry chef's career was in danger, but Satou's as well.

Then, Kirishima had another realization.

"Does that mean I won't see you for a while?" Kirishima asked, smiling sheepishly at Bakugou. He had only really been seeing the blonde around working hours so now that Bakugou was most likely not going to come into work for a while, it seemed clear they wouldn't meet anymore.

As soon as he'd said it, he nearly smacked himself for that insensitive question. Of course, they wouldn't see each other. They were merely friends of convenience—their workplaces were nearby so they'd hang out just because. Bakugou probably didn't want anything to do with him outside of work anyways.

The blonde paused, the anger still there, but simmering just below the surface. He glanced at Kirishima, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it with a grimace. The redhead stiffened instinctively.