The vibration of the phone against a heavy wooden bar is almost lost in the slow crooning of music - Katsuki Bakugo can almost imagine that his cell has been turned off if he focuses on the sound of drums in the background instead of the irritating reverberation that is slightly nudging his fingers.
It's not the first time that his phone had rung while he was sitting on a barstool, drowning in the warmth of whiskey as ice lightly taps against his teeth whenever he takes a gulp. Kirishima had been calling him every five minutes for the past thirty minutes and Katsuki knew that if he picked up this phone right now he would tell the nosy male to go and fuck himself but he also knows that unless he finally puts a rest to his question he won't be able to grasp back his ever failing sanity. His shoulders rise and fall in time with the harsh sigh that leaves slightly chapped lips before he's swiping the green accept call button, resting the edge of it against his ear. "You're like a bad girlfriend I can't fucking shake….what's your problem?"
His words are not kind, a simple but tired growl escaping between open tiers as he focuses on the row of bottles that aren't hidden behind an absent bartender – maybe if he just reads the labels he won't leave this stupid place and just go home to sleep. He'd been working nonstop since he had gotten to the precinct this morning. "Don't be like that…" his cheerful tone ringing through the connection, muffled to the bodies around him but loud and irritating to the male recipient. "What the fuck do you want?" His answer is short and cut throat, selling the idea that he wasn't at all on board for this. "You're so grumpy….you're going to end up scaring this girl off if you don't wipe that scowl from your face."
How Kirishima managed to be consistently this annoying was mind boggling but there is a part of him that knows that he means well. He had practically been hounding him since his transfer to get out and experience life for what it was. Did he really need to sit around and work himself to death? His routine was so monotonous he had to be bored out of his mind – that's why he demanded that Katsuki go and meet one of the girls he knew.
They were a childhood friend, which is what he had told him as he sat on the edge of his desk earlier that morning. Kirishima even announced to him that he had been prepared to stay there as long as he could before he finally managed to get him to agree. "I didn't even want to go and meet whatever her name is..." He begins but is only cut off by boisterous laughter, the image of Kirishima shaking his head with that friendly grin did nothing but light a fire and he has to resist the urge of chucking the phone at the next person that passed him. "Her name is Mina Ashido and she's a good girl….I told them to put your drinks on my tab so just relax….you could use some new friends…or even a girlfriend as far as I'm concerned."
"I don't want a -" He's immediately cut off by the other, knowing that this argument could go on forever if they let it. "Look, Bakugo….she said she'd be there in a little while so just calm down and have fun. It's not going to kill you to get to know someone else besides me…..Have fun!" He mutters this as cheerfully as he can before Katsuki is left looking at the suddenly black screen of his phone with hatred clear in his eyes. "How the fuck did I get stuck with someone like him?" The sound of his phone clattering back to the bartop is only offset by the sudden wave of his hand to the bartender who had been keeping him under a side eye since the fifth glass. He nods to Bakugo and he's left growling in annoyance, eyebrows furrowed so what is a usually handsome and cold face looks more dangerous and feral than anything else.
He's convinced himself that if the girl doesn't show in the next drink then he's just going to leave and yell at Kirishima in the morning – He doesn't need new friends and he certainly doesn't need a girlfriend. At least, that's what he's been grumbling to himself since he had made sure to drag a comb through his hair, an attempt to get himself look at least halfway presentable for his this chick he'd been forced to meet.
He could have been reading the new case file on that thief that had been giving this new precinct a hard time for the last couple of years, Orchiko or some equally as stupid name…but instead he was waiting here for this girl to show up instead. What was he really getting himself into?
He's not sure because by that time he was convinced that he had to look like a fool or at the very least, an alcoholic – it had been nearly 30 minutes since their meeting time and the longer and longer he stayed the angrier he was getting about it.
"Fuck it, I'm leaving." He mutters to himself, turning around to grab the coat that he had thrown over the barstool when a petite figure slides into the seat next to him. There is such a confident ease about her movements that he almost can't help the obvious way in which he stares at her. The curve of her shoulders inclined slightly downward, the subtle sound of bracelets clinking together as she rests her forearms against the wood top makes him realize a little too late, the way the pleats of her skirt rest in careful arrangement at the tops of her thighs and he realizes she's noticed him in his halted movement.
"I usually charge for staring so long but you're handsome enough for me to waive the fee." A silvery sound winds through his ears and clouds his senses for just a moment, eyes glued to glossy tiers as she chuckles just a little bit at his dumbfounded expression.
As soon as he registers the melodious sound of her laughter his expression straightens into one that is less of a very impressed boy and more of one fit for someone who doesn't find her joke funny at all. "As if I'd pay you for anything." He spits out, letting his body relax a little more in the seat as he takes a healthy sip of his half empty glass. He knows he's set it down a little heavier than he intended, the clink almost overwhelmingly loud, but the girl doesn't seem phased by the way that he's acting to her. In fact there is a subtle spark of intrigue in her eyes as she inclines her head a little bit more in his direction, a smirk playing at the edges of pink lips as she reaches out to grab his drink from his hand.
"I do love a guy with a little bit of edge to him." Her announcement is confident, a husky sense of accomplishment dripping in poison honey words as she takes a sip from his glass and simply slides it back into his open hand.
He knows that the surprise at her move is written in the lines at the edges of his eyes but he doesn't want to let her know that she's got any kind of leverage over him and so he meets her challenge head on. He lifts the same glass to his lips, making sure to deliberately place them where hers had just lingered while making sure their eyes are connected – Katsuki Bakugo isn't someone who allows himself to lose just because the girl that had showed up is a lot prettier than he thought she was going to be.
"You must be Mina Ashido." He boldly declares and for a second he thinks that he might be wrong, brunette eyebrow arching almost masterfully before she allows herself to tilt her head to the side just a tad, locks brushing against her shoulder and causing his eyes to falter as the subtle scent of strawberry shampoo invades his nose. "I guess it wasn't much of a surprise, huh?" She announces with a little bit of laughter playing in her tone.
"You can just call me Mina." She offers almost helpfully, something that was hiding just behind the surface of her words is quietly digging at Katsuki but he doesn't quite know what it is. She isn't shy about using the momentary lapse of words to carefully rest the palm of her hand against well-muscled biceps as she leans forward. "I'll call you Katsuki….does that sound good?"
She phrases her question as if he has some sort of choice in the matter but he knows exactly what she's doing here – a little smirk of his own making an appearance as the tip of his tongue carefully wets the edges of his own lips. "Sure, if you want to Angel-Face." An on the spot nickname that makes her laugh a little more outright as she flags down the bartender, offering her own order.
"I'll take a Cranberry and Crown Apple." It's not a drink that he's heard before but he can't help the snort that naturally comes from him as he looks down at his own drink, the sight of his ice chips carefully swirling around at his insistence a slight distraction from the small brunette at his side.
"You need a chaser? Maybe you're a bit softer than I thought you would be." He teases with only a small sound of malice at his words, a natural occurrence from his detective work and he doesn't work to curve it in the presence of Kirishima's friend. He can be easily misunderstood but there are people who can look past the way he initially comes off and can see what lies beneath – he doesn't have a need for a girl who only sees that which he represents himself and if she's going to be anything more than some girl he got set up with then she's just going to have to go with it.
Sure, it's inflexible but when is he compliant? "I am soft, at least when you touch me." She offers to him, his eyes cutting away from his drink and settling down on the woman next to him with just a hint of surprise. "Oh, are you thinking bad thoughts?" She asks him without missing a single beat, a slight flush playing at the apples of his cheeks as he scoffs instead and downs the rest of the drink and turns his upper body to her.
"Look, Angel-Face." He says again, pretending as if he's already forgotten her name because he wants to rile her up a little bit. His sudden aggression is only shielding him from the embarrassment of being called out so leisurely by this tiny wisp of a woman. "I'm not thinking anything so don't flatter yourself."
Though even as he works hard to be harsh about it he thinks that the knowing look behind her eyes is both irritating and kind of hot – not that he would admit it out loud for anyone. "You don't have to be embarrassed, I'm just teasing you Katsuki."
Her response is almost cool, a quick wink that catches him just barely off guard as she sips at her drink. Most women would have bowed out by now, deeming him to angry but this girl seemed to be able to let everything he'd said so far roll off her back like water. He's impressed, though only a little, and so he tries to relax his shoulders so they're not hunched up at his ears, perking up only a little bit when she takes an obvious breath to grab at his attention.
"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? I'm interested in you." It's almost airy in the way it fills the sudden space between them, her petite frame turning in the chair so that she's facing him straight on. It's a bold and sudden move but he follows suit, resting the edge of his chin on his upturned palm as he gazes at her. He might be mean but he would have to be stupid to say that she wasn't attractive, maybe that's why he hasn't already blown her off. He doesn't have a lot of patience for beating round the bush since he's such a straightforward kind of guy but he has this compulsion to at least hear what she has to say in that moment. "Didn't Kirishima tell you all that shit?"
It's an honest to god question and it's met with a sly smile, her finger gently running across her bottom lip as those soft orbs look upwards instead of directly at him. Is she trying to tease him again? He has a small internal struggle with that thought while she takes her time in answering him. "He told me a little bit about you but said that if I had any questions I should ask you when we met up."
Her answer is almost phrased as ifs he's indulging his curiosity and he has to resist the urge to roll his eyes again. "That sounds like some shit he would do." He complains loudly, thinking about how he's definitely going to punch him in the morning when they see each other; especially because he wasn't really that fond of talking about himself in depth anyway. His past was sensitive and though he wouldn't say that to her, he definitely watered down the answer. "I was a punk growing up, someone helped me realize that I needed to stop adding onto the shit in the world and I decided to help clean up the streets from little assholes like me."
His sudden shrug is as rough as his personality but she doesn't seem to mind it, in fact her smile becomes almost indulgent as she takes another sip of her drink before pushing it a little ways away from her. Was she already done? He doesn't dare to ask and instead keeps his gaze fixed right on her face. "That's a pretty good reason, I think." She offers and he can't help but feel a little embarrassed, his scowl deepening obviously as the flush reappears against his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah, it's nothing special so don't think about it." He wants to wave off those overwhelming feelings that are coming off from her steady gaze but he feels like he's almost drowning.
He always appears cocky and overconfident. He says what he wants to who he wants and he would be damned the consequences but in the little bit of time that he had sat here trying to talk to her he felt as if it was starting to unravel just a little bit. "How long have you been a cop?" She asks almost rapid fire, giving him not much time to dwell in his thoughts before he's answering. "Five years, it's not really long." He offers as he waves down the bartender without a word, finding a drink right next to him in the matter of a minute. "I think it's impressive….but I think that you're a really interesting guy so that might be the reason." She teases, offering him a wicked glint that causes him to tilt his head a little bit.
She was quick to drop compliments, wasn't she? It was almost disarming and it was certainly more than a little charming and he didn't quite know what to do with himself. "Is that right?" He hums offhandedly, eyes searching her face for a little hint of dishonesty but he didn't quite feel like he could find any. Did Kirishima envision them being able to hit it off this well? Did he know what kind of girl she was before she had introduced herself to him? If so, why didn't he warn him? The idea that this girl was just as upfront and honest as he was, though a lot nicer for sure, it was something that he just couldn't quite get over.
He had these thoughts that someone always wanted something from him one way or another and now it was just up to him to figure out what exactly that was. "What about you then? What do you do?" He asks suddenly, wanting to see if there was any surprise in those doe like eyes.
Wait…doe-like? Had he really just thought that?
"Me? I bet you couldn't guess it if you tried." She challenged him carefully, watching him like a cat about to pounce upon its prey whenever it lowered its guard. "So I have to guess now? I was pretty upfront about what you wanted to know." He reminds her with a bit of a frown. He's not sure what he expects her to do but the laughter was definitely not it – she's not shy in the way she presents herself and it's obvious by every movement she makes in his direction.
She wants to soak up information without giving any about herself, he'd seen that a million times in his line of work and yet somehow he was managing to fall for her obvious trap. How did he let her have the upper hand? How was he going to make this all work in his favor? "I'm in entertainment." She eventually offers up, manicured nails tapping to the rhythm of the song in the background as she waits for him to make his move. It's obvious she won't give him any more than what she's said so far and he eventually settles on the fact that she won't be giving him much more.
"Fine." He grunts with impatience, allowing his own fingers to drum against the countertop to combat his irritation – he doesn't realize that his fingers are close to her own until she brushes them against his and he has to stop himself from immediately retracting his hand out of habit. "Are you an actress? Model?" He throws out the suggestions easily, not believing for a moment that was the case here.
"Nope." Her interjection is smooth, words teting the atmosphere as she lets her fingers brush over his own once again, waiting to see his reaction to her bold move. "Okay….a voice actress maybe? I wouldn't be surprised."
The compliment is halfhearted but that only makes the edges of her lips quirk up again.
"Does my voice sound good then?" She asks teasingly, allowing him to roll his eyes and look away from her for a moment. He doesn't want to admit that he thinks so and he figures it has to be on her face because her grin has stretched like the Cheshire Cat as she lets those soft orbs gaze right through his bravado.
"Dancer?" He tries again, aptly ignoring her loaded question as she suddenly nods her head to him.
"That's exactly right, you're pretty good at this."
She's complimenting him again and as a result he just shrugs a little bit, the obvious pleasure at being right written all over him but she stays silent about it and he finds himself a little grateful that she does. "So you're a choreographer?" He asks again, his interest peaked. She was certainly good looking and her muscles were a little obvious in her sleeveless top but he wouldn't have pegged her for a dancer at all. Though he had seen more people in professions he had never dreamed so it wasn't too farfetched.
Though it seemed that his victory is short lived because the sudden indulgence in her gaze tells him that he isn't exactly right – something she tries to supplement by dragging her nails across the back of his hand. She wasn't going to make it easy on him, that much he could figure.
"Not exactly….I'm more of an exotic dancer than anything else. I work at Strip Teaze, over in the Red Light District." She says this without an ounce of embarrassment and yet there is a sudden shock in his gaze at he looks at her. "Oh, are you surprised? I don't seem like a stripper, right? Too innocent?" She's teasing but the words seem almost rehearsed, automatic and he has to imagine that he's certainly not the first person who has given her an odd look. "We all have our walks in life, right? I actually enjoy what I do, like you enjoy what you do."
She gestures to him, a little bit of recklessness coloring her words as she boldly states her shot – he supposed that it's the reason she's so comfortable with being a flirt and while it might have turned him away from her if she was someone else…there's just something about her that keeps him seated. "I'm a little shocked, I'll admit but it's not a deal breaker or anything….now if you were a murderer that would be different." He tries to assure her that he's not against what she does but she almost looks at him as if she already knows. "I'm definitely not a murderer….but I am a thief."
Those words manage to bring a laugh from him after he purposefully downs the whole glass of drink he'd been neglecting while playing her games – the warmth is pooling in his chest and he feels more confident now than he had all through their interaction up to this point. "
Oh yeah? What do you steal?"
He asks, not taking her words serious at all. She's toying with him, he knows that at this point, but there is just a little something in her expression that he can't quite place. The soft upturn of a smile on a soft, careful expression is dizzying and beautiful and he wants to know what it is she isn't quite telling him.
"Oh you know…art, jewels….hearts." She's practically purring at him with that and he can't help but nod, hand catching hers for a brief moment of confidence so she can't retract.
"Do you think I'll catch you then, Miss Thief?"
She can't help but laugh at him, reaching to let her fingertips brush a strand of his blonde locks away from his forehead before she settles her eyes on him. "Trust me, Katsuki….No one has ever caught me."