Chapter Text
The summer after you graduate high school is a strange summer. It's almost like the last chance you have to really truly be a kid before being thrusted into the qualms and quarrels of adulthood. College and full-time jobs loom just over the horizon but for a singular bleeding moment, a single summer, you get to ignore all of that and just be free one last time.
The wind whips violently around me. It catches my hair and my clothes and throws them into a frantic windy mess, but none of that matters. Not when the sun is shining off of the ocean waves like this. Every moment colliding together to paint the perfect picture. My camera is warm in my hands, I've been holding onto it for hours at this point. I arrived before Mina. She said that her and her friends would be running late but I was already on my way. Unluckily enough for me she has the keys to the beach house we all pitched in for.
The breeze is welcomed under the summer heat. The loud sound of the ocean waves makes my heart swell as they crash into rocks and against the shore. The sand under my feet is hot but cooling with the afternoon sun. The smell of sea salt and sunscreen fill my nose, and I am at peace.
I raise my camera and glance through the small lens before snapping a photo of a seagull perched on the warm sand. It squawks as the shutter sounds and flies off. “Goodbye, birdie,” I mumble as I stand to make my way back up to the house. My two bags are on the porch and I’m grateful that at least they have chairs set out here or else I would really be uncomfortable.
“Ayaka!” my name being called causes me to spin around on the soft sand. Mina Ashido stands on the back porch of the home. Her skin as pink as ever and her bobbed hair just a shade darker. She waves her arms above her head erratically, wide smile on her face.
Excitement bubbles up within me. I see Mina every now and then but ever since she started attending UA, she’s been so busy learning how to become a hero. After a moment of us both starting at each other we dash forward. I collide with Mina in a tangle of limbs in a crushing hug.
“Mina! I missed you!” I cry and she rocks us back and forth quickly.
“I missed you too!”
We hug for what feels like forever until she pulls back teary eyed.
“Don’t cry or you'll make me cry,” I laugh.
“I’m sorry! I can’t help it! Come on! I'm sorry we're late but I want you to meet everyone,” she takes my hand and the two of us walk up the sandy beach and to the large two-story house.
“Where are my bags?” I ask as we climb the porch steps.
“I had the boys bring it in and leave it in our room. Honestly when I didn't see you when I got here, I was worried you had gotten lost again,” She laughs loudly.
My face flushes. I am what some might call ‘directionally challenged’. We enter the house her hand in mine as she drags me through a living room not even stopping so I can look around. I suppose I'll have lots of time to look around since were spending two months here. Once we go back everyone but me will be starting their hero career.
When we enter the kitchen, the first thing I notice is a very large man with bright red hair. He easily stands taller than anyone else. Immediately I clock him as Kirishima, the man Mina never shuts the fuck up about. And I mean, I get it. He’s tall, muscular, and from what I've heard rally funny. What else do you need in a man? But the girl is pining so hard.
“Well, hello there,” a blonde man with a black lightning bolt in his hair says to me as he notices us in the doorway before anyone else, “Where have you been hiding this cutie.” he winks at me.
“Back off Kaminari,” Mina says with a glare, “you won't get your grimy claws in her while I'm around so don't even try.” Kaminari pouts but backs off. The last man in the kitchen is tall and lanky, black hair pulled back into a bun and very wide, circular elbows.
Mina points to him first, “This is Hanta Sero,” next to Kaminari, “Denki Kaminari,” then to Kirishima, “Ejiro Kirishima. Guys, this is my bestest friend from middle school, Ayaka Ito.”
“Hello, it’s lovely to meet you all. Mina has spoken highly of you and I’m excited to spend the summer getting to know you all,” I bow.
“Wait a minute!” Kirishima shouts, “I know you! You were class president in my middle school class!” I take a moment to think about who he could be. Sure, his name sounds familiar, but I can't quite place him. I chew on my bottom lip as I run through the class roster from years ago and then it clicks.
“Yes! I remember you! Hello again Kirishima!”
“Where is Bakugou?” Mina suddenly asks.
“He ran upstairs,” Kirishima says, “something about going to get groceries before it got any later. He's pretty pissed we got so off schedule.”
A few moments later an ash blonde man comes trotting down the starts fiddling with a wallet. He looks up at me, crimson eyes meeting mine as he stops on the last step. He looks mean, sharp eyes and a permanent frown on his face. His eyes dance around my face and down and then back up. He looks at me like I'm the only person in the room. Or maybe his gaze is more scrutinizing. I feel like I'm on fire under his crimson eyes and I think I kinda like it. He tears his eyes away from mine with a scowl as Kaminari bounds over to him and throws an arm around his neck. The blonde shoulders Kaminari off of him and Kaminari pouts before trotting upstairs.
“Ayaka, that’s Katsuki Bakugou. He’s grouchy. Ignore him,” Mina says and sticks her tongue out at him.
“I’m not grouchy you damn racoon eyes,” Bakugou rolls his red eyes. His voice is gruff and scratch. He stuffs the wallet he was messing with in his back pocket and heads for the front door, “I’ll be back to make dinner soon. Don't destroy anything while I'm gone.”
“Grouchy,” Mina sings when the door slams shut.
“I don't think he likes me very much,” I laugh lightly.
“Eh, don't take it personally,” Kirishima says as he flops on the dark grey sectional sofa with his arms stretched along the back, “that’s just how Kats is. Once you get to know him, you’ll realize he's just a big Ol’ softie.”
“I kind of doubt that” I say as Mina, and I curl up together in the singular armchair.
Kirishima looks around him at the large empty sectional before shaking his head. Kaminari comes bouncing down the stairs jumping the last two steps. High over his head he’s holding a console that he quickly gets set up to the television. Sero joins him on the floor and the three guys engross themselves in discussions of some first-person shooter game.
“Have you chosen an agency yet?” I ask Mina as we both watch the guys play their game.
“I’ve had my eye on a few. I just hope I made an impression on them.”
“I’m sure you have! You are amazing after all,” I say.
“What about you Ayaka? What are your plans?”
“I… I don’t know. I would love to start taking photos professionally. Maybe I’ll pick up weddings or something.”
“Ooohh! You will so have to photograph my wedding when I get married!” Mina shouts and I glance over at Kirishima and then back to her. Her pink cheeks flush an even darker shade, and she pouts.
Barely any time passes, and the front door opens again. Bakugou comes in carrying two small shopping bags. I slip off the sofa. Everyone is too engrossed in the game to notice I stood, even Mina. At some point she had crawled on the floor and found herself sitting next to Kirishima.
I shake my head as I slip into the kitchen. Bakugou is busy at work putting away groceries. I lean against the counters, “Need any help?”
He glances at me skeptically, “can you even cook?”
I scoff, ‘of course I can fucking cook. What moron doesn’t know how to cook?”
He runs his tongue over his teeth with a slight smirk as he nods towards the living room, “they don't.”
“No fucking way,” I say and at his silence I gasp, “Oh my god you’re serious.” I knew Mina couldn't cook but none of them is a surprise.
Bakugou places a thick wooden chopping board in front of me. He moves across the kitchen to wash a few vegetables before setting them down with a sleek ceramic knife. I take a seat at the bar top and start to chop all the various vegetables exactly like how he asks.
“This doesn't look like enough food to last a week,” I comment.
“It’s not. I just got enough for dinner and breakfast and I’m going to go again tomorrow. If I had more time, I would've gotten everything,” he says as he turns the heat to the stove on. He tosses the white hand towel over his shoulder and move pots and pans around.
“I wish Mina would’ve said something. I was here for hours just waiting,” I roll my eyes.
Bakugou walks over and picks up a piece of chopped onion, inspects it and nods, “I probably wouldn’t have let you. I'm kind of... picky when it comes to food.”
“Picky how?”
“Picky like I’d rather choose the best of the best instead of letting anyone just grab what's on top of the pile,” He leans against the island and watches me carefully chop through a bell pepper. I discard the core and seeds and carefully chop them into strips.
“I get that. Well... maybe I can go to the store with you tomorrow and you can show me how you shop. For next time I mean. We’re going to be here for two months so I might as well help out somehow.”
Bakugou is silent for a long moment before nodding slowly, “yeah, sure. Just don’t slow me down.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I shrug. When I look up at him, he looks softer around the edges. Still gruff and angry but something is simmering under the surface. Something gentle and intrigued.
“You’re pretty good with a knife.”
“Is that a compliment?” I laugh. It echos through the house and bring a lovely sort of life to the air.
He tongues the inside of his cheek, “maybe.”
Shoes squeak from the doorway to our left and we both turn to look. Everyone is standing in the doorway wearing varying expressions from shock to amazement. Bakugo clicks his tongue, and everyone scatters in an instant. The house becomes almost eerily quiet. When I look back at Bakugou, his crimson eyes are already boring into me.
“You’ll have to teach me how to do that.”
“It’s taken years of practice and meticulous hours of striking fear into them.”
I laugh and Bakugou takes the chopping board of vegetables from me and brings them over to the stove where he begins sautéing and cooking a dinner that has my mouth watering.
“God where did you lean to cook like this?” I ask as he hands me a spoon full of food to try. He smiles as I hum into the bite.
“I’ve always liked cooking. When UA put the dorms up, I started cooking for everyone. It became something I really enjoyed doing to wind down from training.”
“You are going to make someone very happy someday Bakugou,” I laugh, “is dinner almost done? I can go set the table.”
He nods and I peek through cabinets until I find the one that has cups and plates. I grab enough cups for everyone before staring up at the plates on the top shelf. I stand on my tippy toes and carefully nudge them to the edge of the shelf.
“Good god woman,” Bakugou says. He moves behind me, warm hand on my waist as he pulls the stack of plates down and places them on the counter in front of me. The smell of caramel invades my senses, and I feel like I'm floating. His hand leaves me quickly like he just realized he was touching me. “Leave them out. I’ll find a shorter spot to store them. The last thing we need is you breaking an entire stack of dishes.”
“Yes sir,” I squeak and count out the plates. My heart is pounding. What the actual fuck is happening right now? My body feels like its’ buzzing all over and I feel warm. I quickly dip into the dining room and set the table.
“Your cheeks are all red,” Mina snickers.
“I- I don't know,” I mumble, and she laughs.
“Oh, you are down bad for our little blasty boy, aren’t you?”
“What!? No! Mina we just met, no.”
She laughs again as she helps me set up the table. This is going to be one long vacation.