Chips and Soda

Chapter Thirteen

     "Yo, Kirishima? Earth to Kirishima. Snap out of it, dude." Sero waved his hand in front of Kirishima's face, trying to catch the distracted boy's attention. Surprisingly, he did manage to do just that after snapping his fingers just an inch away from the teen's nose.

    Kirishima shook his head and turned his mind from his thoughts, "Oh, uh, yeah Sero?" 

    "Are you okay? You've been spacing out ever since you came in. Did something happen? Maybe you and blondy-" Kirishima cut his Raven haired friend's sentence off by smacking his hand into the side of the other's head.

    "Get your mind out of the gutter, besides, I could say something about you and Kaminari's 'Bro bonding time' last Saturday," Kirishima teased with a sly grin, watching as a heavy blush covered his friends face. Before Sero could force out a stuttering response, Kirishima patted his shoulder and laughed, "Relax, I know you're too much of a wimp. Anyways, I'm off, so don't forget to lock up when you clock out." 

    Sero returned the laugh easily, "Don't worry, I'm not a forgetful asshole like you." Kirishima shook his head with a wide grin and rounded the counter, sending a farewell wave to Sero as he pushed through the door.

    As soon as the cool night hair hit his face, his grin faded and he allowed his hands to unpin and pocket his name tag. 

    Ever since Kirishima and Bakugou had shared their moment, Kirishima hadn't heard not one word from the blonde. Even after Kirishima texted him and thanked him for the escort home, he remained MIA. It was starting to really bug him, and when he pulled out his phone and looked at the unanswered messages, he'd decided he needed to talk to his grumpy blonde friend.

    Now, Kirishima had zero idea where Bakugou lived. He had never even talked about his home, let alone where he lived. Kirishima did have an idea though - albeit a sketchy one, but one that might just work. Kirishima had made his way to the one place he knew would have at least the slightest hint as to where the prickly natured blonde lived. Vintage Vinyls. 

    The redhead bursted through the front doors just five minutes later, out of breath and sweaty. Humidity really sucked. Almost immediately he spotted an oddly familiar face.

    Kirishima beelined toward them, thinking about how lucky he was turning out to be as of late, “Toko! Hey dude, I have a favor to ask you!”

    At the sound of the given nickname, the pale-skinned, black-haired teen looked up at him, “I can’t take any extra shifts at the store if that’s why you’re here.” The other's words were bland and held barely any emotion as if he just dreaded even existing on this plane of existence. 

    “No, that’s not it. I didn’t even know you worked here, to be honest,” Kirishima said, his mind very briefly focusing on whether or not Tokoyami had ever mentioned having any other jobs while at the workplace. When Kirishima concluded that Tokoyami barely talked enough to give up that kind of information, he shook his head and jumped into his reason for being there. "Okay, so I know this is illegal and against store policy or something but I need the address of one of your coworkers." As he spoke, his hands moving with each word, his hurried nervousness showing through said movements.

    At the request, Tokoyami raised an eyebrow and sat the package he was holding on a half empty shelf. Turning completely to Kirishima, he shook his head, "I don't exactly want to lose my job so I can't help yo-". 

    He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Kirishima interrupted him, "I just need to know where Katsuki Bakugou lives. Look, please. I know I can make you lose your job but I really need to know this." He said the words as if they would change the other's mind. He stared into his co-worker's red eyes with rare seriousness, his lips pulled into a tight line. 

    Tokoyami returned the stare for a few seconds before sighing and looking around the partially empty store. "God damn it," he whispered before turning back to Kirishima and grabbing his arm. The teen pulled him around the checkout counter and through the door leading to the staff room, his head swiveling around as they went, eyes with bird-like intensity searching for anything that would get them caught. "If I get fired for this, I'm taking your shifts at the store," he said exasperatedly as he crossed through another door.

    The area they were in at the moment was cluttered with boxes and papers but in the back corner of the room sat a desk littered with the different things you'd find on any regular  desk. On top of the light brown desk, sat a fairly new-looking computer that Tokoyami immediately went to work on. He clicked on a few things, typed a few more things and then gestured for Kirishima to come over and read the screen.

    "Here, is this who you are looking for?" Tokoyami pointed to the small picture of Bakugou on screen. The teen had a sneer etched into his face and he glared at the camera as if it had insulted him in some way. Classic Bakugou. Tokoyami shook his head, "I've seen him around while I'm on shift but never really talked to him. Not that I needed to - he's loud enough to hear from across the store."

   Kirishima laughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I guess that is one of his habits." Tokoyami managed to bite back a scoff but Kirishima could still see the look of surprise on his face. 

    "Listen, I don't even want to know your business with him. Just get the address and hurry and go before we both get caught." Kirishima nodded, took one last glance at the computer, and then turned to leave. Just a he reached the door, he heard Tokoyami call out to him.

    "Oh, and Kirishima," he said, meeting Kirishima's eyes in a way that told him the words he said had some deeper meaning. "I'm serious about the shifts. If you get into trouble, I'm going to take them."

    With a strained grin, Kirishima nodded and raced out the door, a frown threatening to pull his grin into the depths of meaning Tokoyami's words held. If you get into trouble. Trouble. Kirishima pulled open the door and stepped outside, the sky above him black and starless. Cold wind blew past him and he could smell the promise of rain. He knew what Tokoyami wanted to say. He knew the words were just a precaution but it was as if they had some sort of bad omen tied to them. 

    Be careful.

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   Okay, so that took a long time to write. I promise my update schedule will stabilize here shortly. I just have a lot to do since school is back in session and it's pretty draining half of the time.
    All in all, I'm sorta proud of this chapter. I don't know what it is about it that makes me like it. Maybe it's the fact that we're finally getting some drama with our two lovebirds relationship, who knows.
    Anyways, the next will come out tomorrow. Can't be slacking on one weeks update just because I'm late on the last one. So, I pledge allegiance to the grind cause that's what imma be doing.