| CHAPTER NINE |

🎵 stacy by quinn xcii
***

THE WIND WAS BLOWING THROUGH YOUR HAIR AND STICKING THE OVERSIZED HOODIE TO YOUR BODY. you tightened your grip around bakugou's waist and leaned the side of your head on his back. the trees on the side of the road were all but a blur as he cruised down the highway.

you finally reached your destination and bakugou helped you down before putting the helmets away. "now i get why you insist on having a bike. that was..." you paused to think for the right word to describe what you just experienced.

"exhilarating" he stated rather than question without sparing you a glance, confident of his answer.

"yes! exhilarating. the way wind crashed against my helmet and traveled through my hair... i just felt so... free."

bakugou hummed in agreement. he knew exactly what you meant. he felt the same way.

you placed your orders and waited quietly for them to get ready. you finally broke the comfortable silence to suggest sitting outside on a bench. who would miss the opportunity of looking at the stars on a night as clear as tonight?

despite bakugou seeming a bit reluctant initially, he must have been pretty hungry too since he devoured his burger like a starving animal.

you wanted to bring up what had happened last night but weren't sure where or how to start. there was obviously this gravitation, a tension, an invisible force between you two, pulling you in. and you were sure he could feel it too.

you were partly hoping to find the right words during the ride, hence your suggestion to eat out, but it was to no avail. and being part of a band with him only made it more complicated.

you didn't want to mess up or make your current dynamic awkward just by bringing it up. but one of you had to. and apparently it had to be you since bakugou seemed so oblivious, or rather so indifferent towards everything that happened between you two.

"you're awfully quiet." he said and looked up at the stars twinkling away. he leaned his head back on the back of the bench. his face was so relaxed, without his usual scowl lines, making him even more handsome if that was even possible. it was a rare sight to see and you wanted to take it in forever if you could.

"i've been thinking... we should talk."

"about?" his voice deprived of any emotion as his eyes seemed lost in the sky.

"us."

"what about us?"

"you know" he finally tilted his head towards you without picking it up, finally giving you his full attention. the look in his eyes was asking you to continue on.

"about what happened between us."

"what about it?" and his scowl came right back to his usual place, right between his brow.

you closed your eyes and sighed before continuing "i'm obviously not looking for a relationship since i got out of one recently... and you're not looking for one either from what i understand since you want to focus on becoming the number one hero or whatever."

he only nodded in agreement but still stayed silent. he really was going to let you do all the talking. you mentally groaned and searched for the least uncomfortable way of expressing your feelings.

"but-" you hesitated, searching his eyes for a reaction but found none. either because he didn't care or was really good at hiding it.

"but i didn't necessarily hate it..." you looked down, suddenly not able to hold his stare, feeling a bit bashful and almost whispered out the next part "what happened between us i mean..."

you didn't have to look up to know he was smirking. "is that what you dragged me out here to say, dumbass?"

you shot him a glare but stayed quiet. mostly because you didn't know what else to say. did you sound needy? he was very proud, was it all going to go up to his head?

your reaction was amusing to bakugou. to be honest, he was thinking the same exact thing but there was no way in hell he would ever admit it to you. his pride was too big for that. instead, he let his sadistic side torment you by staying quiet and let your thoughts run wild a bit longer.

"i didn't hate it either." bakugou finally said nonchalantly, looking back up at the sky "quite the opposite actually." he looked at you from the side of his eye with a half smirk tugged on his lips.

"hah?" you darted your head up, surprised by his answer. you knew bakugou felt the tension too, he had to, but you never imagined him to be one into casual sex, or you for that matter - even if it was just physically.

"you heard me."

"alright. then no strings attached." you stated as you put your hand out in front of him to shake.

bakugou looked down at it with what you could only describe as disgust, then looked back up at you with a smirk. you gave him a puzzled look before he grabbed your chin with one hand and captured your lips with his.

you could feel his smirk almost turning into a grin as you kissed him back. he stopped kissing you briefly with his forehead still on yours to repeat what you said "no strings attached" before crashing his lips into yours again.

this time hungrier and more passionately.

***

Where words fail, music speaks
-Hans Christian Andersen