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Throughout the past few months, Kirishima had grown accustomed to his role as a barista in Cocoa Connection Café, finding himself getting the hang of customer service pretty quickly as mingling with customers came easy to him.
However, sometimes, working in the café was especially tiresome as business could get incredibly hectic in certain hours, leading for an outpour of customers to occur almost every time such an instance would occur.
Right now, with the never-ending line of customers, Kirishima felt his energy withering away more and more as time passed by, and his legs were aching from standing around the counter for too long.
As such, Kirishima’s usual smile had lacked its usual genuine charm at this point, yet he had an inkling that it had come off more forced than anything else.
Much to the redhead’s relief, through his persistence, the line had dwindled significantly, and it was down to a much more manageable size now.
With his resolve reinvigorated from this new information, Kirishima manned the counter with a lot more enthusiasm than before, shoving the issue of his aching legs to the back of his head as he focused his attention on handing over a ‘Milk Paradise’ to the old lady who had ordered it.
However, by the time the old lady left to make way for the next customer’s turn, Kirishima felt his legs turning jelly once more albeit for a different reason this time around as he found himself face to face with a person who he had never ever envisioned encountering again—
His ex-boyfriend.
Just like that, time froze as Kirishima locked gazes with his ex-boyfriend, Bakugou Katsuki, who was looking just as majestic and enthralling as he did three years ago.
“Hey,” The man behind Bakugou spoke up, urging them both to tear their eyes away from one another as they flicked their heads towards the man’s direction. “I don’t have all day here, so would you guys quit it with the dilly dallying?”
Just before his ex-boyfriend could snap at the man, Kirishima cleared his throat, addressing Bakugou with practiced professionalism, fighting off a wobble which had threatened to surface. in his lip. “What could I get for you today?”
Thankfully, Bakugou cooperated, not making any fuss as he voiced out his order to the barista, darting his eyes away from the redhead all the while. “Warm Bomb.”
Robotically, Kirishima turned to the coffee machine, crafting the drink purely on auto pilot since his brain was still on a timeout, incapable of formulating any thoughts at the very moment, so he instead relished in the familiar smell of Warm Bomb wafting in the air as he made use of the scent in order to help keep him grounded.
“Here you go,” Yet, in spite of his renewed sense of calm, Kirishima couldn't keep his anxiety completely under control, falling victim to the feeling of panic coursing throughout his entire body upon coming across his ex-boyfriend again after so long as he handed the order over to the blond with shaky fingers. “I hope that you have a nice day.”
While keeping his head still slightly angled away from the barista, Bakugou deftly snatched his drink from Kirishima, the tips of their fingers making contact for the barest of seconds. “You too…”
In a blink of an eye, after placing a wad of bills on the counter, Bakugou stomped out of the line, and Kirishima inadvertently found his crimson eyes trailing after the blond, unable to look away even long after his ex-boyfriend had long exited the café.
Though, his pathetic display hadn’t lasted for a long time since the next customer had taken it upon herself to recite her order to Kirishima, snapping him out of his frazzled state, and he flimsily sputtered out. “H-Huh, what?”
Almost as if she was aware of his plight, the woman had directed a sympathetic smile to the barista as she repeated. “Orange Espresso.”
“On it!”
Through his best efforts, Kirishima swatted away any thoughts of his old boyfriend away from his mind as he focused himself on whipping up the order for the woman, refusing to allow the return of an old flame distract him from doing his job.
Fortunately, Kirishima was able to complete the order without issue, and the line gradually diminished into nothingness as he threw himself into his work completely after that.
However, much to his disconcertment, the subject of Bakugou Katsuki hadn’t been completely eradicated from his head, and it stubbornly lingered throughout the rest of the day, not showing any signs of fading away any time soon.
```
And now, approximately two weeks following his fateful encounter with his ex-boyfriend, Kirishima was trudging along the streets at a slightly slower pace than usual, worn out by the extra-long excessive hours that he spent over at the café.
Though, with how much his muscles were aching right now, Kirishima decided to quicken up his speed, desperately wanting to reach his home in order to attain respite as quickly as possible.
However, not even five minutes later, Kirishima’s walking was cut short when he bumped into a solid mass of lump, leading his body to careen to the ground within seconds.
“T-The fuck, watch where you’re going y- “
Once he had taken note of the familiar voice speaking to him, Kirishima snapped his eyelids open, meeting the shocked irises of his ex-boyfriend for the first time since their coincidental meeting back at the Cocoa Connection Café.
“S-Sorry!” Kirishima squeaked out, gathering his sling bag off of the ground as he rose to his feet, his chest burning from a sudden palpable throbbing ache. “I’ll be going on my way now, so if you’ll excuse me…”
Quickly, without even waiting for any response from the blond, Kirishima tore his crimson eyes away from Bakugou as he then broke into a sprint, making a beeline towards the direction of his home.
Unintentionally, his mind had chosen that moment to replay a certain unforgettable memory in his head, and fat liquid unknowingly streamed down his cheeks at that, knowing fully well how he had said the exact same last line over to Bakugou back just before their breakup years ago.
And just like back then, Kirishima continued running, his stride not wavering even by the slightest despite the continuous burgeoning pain swelling up in his chest at that very moment, successfully leaving his most important person behind yet again.
```
As it had turned out, in the midst of his haste to escape Bakugou’s vicinity, Kirishima had also inadvertently dropped his most precious scarf off somewhere in the streets, resulting in him losing the last remnant with regards to his connection with his ex-boyfriend.
Overwhelmed by the amount of internal woe stewing through the pit of his stomach at the discovery that he had lost his most treasured scarf, Kirishima was a frazzled mess at his work as he had spent a good chunk of his shift in a dazed state, mishearing orders from customers every now and then.
Though, just before his scatterbrained self could derail the café’s business any further, he managed to snap out of his funk just in time, slipping his professional mask back on once more.
Thanks to his timely rebound, service progressed at a smoother rate as he got everything under control, coordinating well with his fellow baristas.
However, not even a whole thirty minutes since he had regained his groove, every single bit of his newly attained composure crumbled once an apprehensive looking Bakugou steadily approached the counter in a few quick strides, and Kirishima’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the unmistakable orange scarf which had been giving him grief cradled being in the blond’s arms.
Without missing a beat, Bakugou thrusted the scarf towards Kirishima’s way before he had proceeded to begin swiveling away from the line as soon as the item was passed over to the redhead’s possession, not even bothering to order anything from the establishment.
“Wait!” Instinctively, Kirishima’s lips were moving on their own accord as they called out to the blond, stopping Bakugou in his tracks. “D-Don’t you want to get anything to eat or drink before you leave? I mean you did go through all the trouble to make the commute to this café from Osaka, so it’d be a shame if you come back home empty handed.”
“It doesn't fuckin' matter,” Bakugou gritted out, his eyebrows knitted together harshly. “I ain’t returning back to Osaka anytime soon anyway.”
“What, why?” Unable to keep his own nosiness contained, Kirishima inquired, and he immediately winced afterwards, knowing that he crossed a boundary that he wasn’t supposed to breach. “S-Sorry, I overstepped, please forget what I asked you just now- “
“My company relocated,” Bakugou grumbled, surprising the barista with an answer to the 'invasive' question. “So, I’m back here in fuckin’ Tokyo from here on out.”
“I-I see,” Fiddling with the strings of his apron, Kirishima stuttered, redness creeping up his neck as he draped his scarf around it, subsequently keeping the blush hidden from his ex-boyfriend's keen eyes. “Anyway, thanks for returning my scarf back to me. I was really upset about losing it since it was something that you gave to me as a present, and it meant a lot to m- “
Once the last sentence had slipped from his mouth, Kirishima felt all air leaving his body, and breathing was practically impossible for him at the moment as his face paled considerably, horror throughout his entire body.
Predictably, Kirishima’s current state of distress hadn’t gone unnoticed seeing as he could hear the booming voices of other people, asking him in alarm if he was alright.
But then, in a move which had surprised the life out of the redhead, Bakugou hopped over the counter before he leant down, scooping a stone frozen Kirishima up.
For the longest while, Kirishima had mentally blacked out in his ex-boyfriend’s arms, not regaining the capacity to even formulate a single thought until he felt himself being set down gently on the bench located in the break room.
“Fuck, Shitty Hair, are you alright?” Bakugou asked, bending himself down a little in order to rest the back of his palm against the redhead’s neck. “You don’t have a fever, so why the hell did you almost pass the fuck out back there if you weren’t sick?”
“E-Earlier, I just overreacted ‘cuz I said something dumb,” With slightly shaky legs, Kirishima stood from the bench, smoothing out the creases which had formed around the edges of his apron. “That’s why you don’t have to worry, I’ll be f- “
“The fuck do you mean?” Bakugou snarled, hissing through the grit of his teeth as he directed a ferocious glare towards Kirishima’s way. “So, you’re telling me that the scarf didn’t actually mean shit to you all this damn time?”
Thoroughly taken aback by the intensity of the other’s anger, bewilderment arose within the redhead, compelling him to spontaneously lose his filter. “Why do you care if the scarf meant something to me?”
“What a dumb fuckin’ question,” In a few quick strides, Bakugou marched up to the other man, prodding at Kirishima’s chest with an accusatory finger. “Of course it mattered to me, but at this point, I’m not even surprised that you couldn’t fuckin’ understand since you did break up without a single regard for my feelings and f-fuck-“
All of a sudden, in the midst of his speech, small bits of tears emerged from Bakugou’s carmine orbs, streaming down his cheeks.
As if he were possessed by some ghost, Kirishima acted recklessly, reaching one of his arms out to wipe the outpour of tears off of the blond’s face with the tips of his palms, an overwhelming pang of ache involuntarily swelling up his heart shortly after seeing the other man cry.
“I-I don’t fuckin’ get it,” Bakugou choked out, thumping at his ex-boyfriend’s chest with his fists as his face scrunched up in visible agony. “Why did you have to break up with me? Am I that shitty of a boyfriend?”
“No, you’re not!” Swiftly, Kirishima refuted the other’s claim, enunciating every word with the utmost sincerity that he could muster. “You're the best boyfriend that anyone could have. If anything, I’m the one who wasn’t a good enough boyfriend, so I broke up with you on the day you announced that you received a job offer in Osaka since I didn’t wanna hold you back more than I already did.”
“You shitty asshole,” With his crying showing zero signs of coming to a standstill, Bakugou growled, delivering another jab to the other’s chest. “How could you be so blind to the fact that you’re the best fuckin’ boyfriend ever? And, for the damn record, our relationship matters more than a job offer, it’s why I don’t appreciate you breaking up with me over that dumb reason.”
“I’m sorry, Katsu-Bakugou,” Against his will, water had begun to spill from the corners of Kirishima’s eyes as well, and his lip wobbled. “I’m really sorry for hurting you. I know that my words may not mean since you probably couldn’t stand the sight of me right now but I- “
Unexpectedly, Kirishima was interrupted from fully completing his sentence when Bakugou had suddenly moved about as he mimicked his ex-boyfriend’s earlier actions, dabbing the tears off of the redhead’s cheeks with delicate yet tentative fingers.
“Idiot, I could never hate you even after everything messy that happened between us,” Bakugou insisted, staring imploringly into Kirishima’s ruby eyes, his carmine eyes glistening ever so slightly. “In fact, I should also fuckin' apologize for the whole shit. I blew up on you, and said some shitty messed up things to you that day just ‘cuz I didn’t take the break up well.”
“I-This might sound silly,” Kirishima began, involuntarily fiddling with the strings of his apron a little. “But do you wanna start over once more with me as friends?”
“Fuckin’ alright then.” Not even a whole minute later, Bakugou responded with full certainty in his voice as he grabbed ahold of one of Kirishima’s fiddling hands, wearing an expression of firm certainty on his face. "From now on, it's fuckin' settled, we're friends again, dumbass."
Relishing in the warmth emanating from their clasped hands, Kirishima beamed up at his ex-boyfriend turned friend happily. “Cool!”
```
Later that night, upon arriving back home from the excruciatingly emotionally eventful shift in the café, Kirishima discovered a small haphazardly torn piece of paper slipped inside his pants' pocket with a number scribbled all over it, and his face immediately lit up, having a clear idea behind the culprit of such act regardless of the fact that they hadn't even bothered to write their name on it.
Without any hesitation, the barista immediately flopped himself down on his bed before sending a message to the number, keeping things simple seeing as this was basically their first ever conversation since starting over. 'Hey dude, it's really nice of you to give me your new number :D'
A couple minutes later, his phone went off, and the redhead wasted little time in checking the response out, his smile brightening up a notch or so at the message which was displayed on the screen—
'Tch, whatever, Shitty Hair.'