He stared at his phone for what seemed to be the millionth time today.
Again, there isn't any follow up to the message he sent to his date on whether or not their date would still push through. It's been hours yet their text conversation hadn't progressed any further beyond his initial question.
There aren't any replies like 'Yeah, but I'll just be a bit late.'or even ' 'Sorry. Let's have our date another day because I can't make it today.'
Instead, it's just plain vicious silence.
Sometimes, however, silence says everything you can give to someone in certain situations. And, in this particular situation, he understands what the silence means.
His date won't be coming.
This shouldn't be surprising. In fact, his brain should have already been clued in to this scenario as early as the first thirty minutes wherein the seat in front of him still continues to be unoccupied.
Except, he hadn't caught on that this would happen. And, for that, he paid the price for it dearly.
Pitying looks were casted his way, whereas there are many who had averted their eyes out of respect. He supposes that it's only natural. Today is Valentine's day, after all, and getting stood up by someone around this time when romance would be displayed at its peak- with couples going on dates and love confessions being thrown about, is a slap to the face.
Now, four hours into their supposed Valentine date, the sun is setting and closing time is approaching. Still, he could not find it within himself to get his body to function out of his own emotional stupor, even as most of the other customers are leaving the coffee shop.
His vision is blurring and he blinks away the tears before they could fall. He reminds himself to stay strong. Allowing a guy to shake him up this badly simply wouldn't be manly. They weren't even in a relationship to begin with. Only a few fleeting kisses were shared between them-nothing more, nothing less.
Even with his newfound resolve, tears still cascade down his cheeks.
A resounding sound of something banging on the table got him to raise his head to see a paper cup being placed on the table.
"Your moping is fucking annoying."
The redhead looked up to meet the gaze of fiery red eyes belonging to a blond. In that instant, his breath hitches at the sight. The sight in question looks good, to say the least. Even with his ruby red eyes scrunched up in annoyance, he looked captivating as he stared him down in intense fervor.
"U-Um, uh-"Words could not seem to escape from his mouth as he sputtered and fumbled over his words. Finally, he managed to regain his bearings and managed to say "I didn't order this."
The blond rolled his eyes and didn't bother to dignify him with a response. Before he could even say something, the other man simply up and left to retreat back to his spot over the counter.
The redhead blinked, finally understanding the intentions of the blond. His attention was then shifted back to the cup placed on the table. He raised the cup up to his lips and was greeted by the smell of hot chocolate.
It feels soothing.
He descended out of the seat and rushed towards the counter with determination. With a few quick strides, he reached to the blond in the now mostly empty café.
"Thank you," He blurted out without much thought and the guy in question quickly averted his eyes to hide the tinge of red in his cheek. "But you didn't have to give it to me for free. I'll pay for it right now."
"You don't fucking have to."
"I insist- "
"Fine. Give me your money if it'll get you to shut up."
"I know I said it before, but thanks so much." Kirishima beamed happily at the barista after he had finished paying. "You really cheered me up from my rough day."
"It's whatever- I only did it because your crying is getting on my nerves." The blond, who he noted to be a barista named Bakugou from the nametag pinned on his shirt, spat out. "Now hurry up and finish your drink. It's damn late and we all have lives to get back to."
"Right. Sorry about that." He scratched his neck sheepishly. "I'll be sure to get out of your hair as soon as I'm done with the drink. For now, though, I guess you'll have to keep me company."
"Whatever," Bakugou scoffed lightly. "Just don't get too friendly with me."
"Sure, sure." Kirishima smiled, undeterred by the other's rudeness. He wandered back over to his seat and took a gulp off of the Hot Chocolate Latte.
It was then that he was welcomed by something magical, almost intoxicating.
How strange- It's certainly not the first time he has ever drank the hot beverage, yet it seems like he is being overwhelmed with an unfamiliar sensation.
The drink is not anything out of the ordinary. Its flavor is rich and the fragrance is as sweet and chocolatey as expected. What he didn't expect was the warm comforting sensation which had crept through his body. Somehow, the pressure on his chest loosened up ever so slightly, and his heart felt less heavy.
By all means, it was just an ordinary Hot Chocolate Latte. Still, it brought him reassurance. It's something he never would have expected to feel from a drink that's not even his favorite in the past, yet it's something he is pleasantly astounded with.
He spent the next handful minutes reveling in the feeling brought upon him by the hot chocolate. All the while, it was silent; Bakugou kept himself preoccupied with cleaning the shop to prepare for its closing.
"I guess I'll be leaving now. Sorry if I kept you from finishing your shift." Kirishima stretched his arms and began to collect his belongings in preparation to leave.
"You don't have to apologize for shit." Bakugou grumbled. " 'Not your fault you got stood up."
"Wait, you knew?"
"Duh! why wouldn't I? It's obvious as hell." Kirishima's cheeks bloomed with color at the barista's remark. Well, there goes his hopes that the blond wouldn't have noticed even with all the looks directed upon him hours ago.
Suddenly, the urge to go home and bury himself in a hole lurched in his chest. Having someone he could not deny feeling a bit of attraction to, bear witness to his earlier display is not at all appealing and it makes his feeling of shame burn deeper within him.
"O-Oh." The word tumbled out of the redhead's mouth as he tried to reel in his embarrassment. He grimaced and covered his burning cheeks in his hands in embarrassment, and muttered something like "Dude, please stop talking about this right now."
"Like I said, it ain't your fault so you don't have to be embarrassed for shit," Bakugou replied gruffy, though he did comply to his plea to stop broaching on the subject. "So, are you just gonna continue to stand here and gawk at me or what?"
'Well, actually no, what I would like is for you to be my Valentine date.' Is something his mouth would have blurted out had it not been for his brain telling him that it might not exactly be the best thing to say right now. After all, he had just met the guy. Not to mention, the fact that his heart was just broken moments ago still rang fresh in his mind.
"Nah. I'm going to be heading home now." The blond didn't utter any reply to what he said, and only gave him a small nod in return.
And so, with a final wave, Kirishima exited the coffee shop; heart lighter and a spring in his step as he walked.
```
Kirishima reclined back into his spot on his bed. It's been roughly an hour since the incident in the UA coffee shop, but he's still feeling the emotional exhaustion. Netflix is playing on the background. His attention, however, wasn't on the superhero anime he was watching. Instead, he was engaged in a phone call with Ashido who is currently fuming at the news that he had been stood up.
"How could that bastard do that to you?! I swear he's dead the next time I see him!"
"You don't have to do that! I should have known better than to trust him so I kinda brought this upon myself." He thought back to the times when the guy would sometimes take a long time to respond to his text messages. Looking back, the signs were present. Somehow, he missed them-maybe it's in him wanting to see the best in others or just plain naivety. Regardless of the reason, he still failed to see the red flags that were lingering around and it's really something that had come back to bite him.
"Don't say that! You deserve nothing but the best, Kiri, and he is a huge jerk for showing you up."
Ashido's words didn't fail to bring the smile back on his face. She's always been a supportive friend since high school and he's grateful for her presence as a bright and optimistic person in his life.
"Anyways, you're acting surprisingly chipper for someone who's been stood up." Even as he could not see her, Ashido's curiosity seems palpable. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's a bit strange."
"Well, it's a funny story. You see, …." He spent the next few minutes informing Ashido on what had happened. Predictably, his friend squealed. She had always been one who has her eye out for love stories as she had always longed to experience love like heroines do in Shoujo manga.
"So, when are you gonna see him again?" came the question from the pink haired girl after she was done listening to his tale. No doubt is she already conjuring up a good ending for his 'love story' in her mind.
"Dunno. Maybe soon, I guess?"
```
Soon apparently equated to nearly a month later. Classes kept him busy as he found himself to be swarmed with plenty of assignments to fulfill from his professors. And then, before he could even blink, it was already late March when he next stepped foot into UA coffee shop for the second time.
The bell chimed to announce his arrival and the blond looked up from his place behind the counter. "It's you again."
"Yo, Bakugou." He greeted cheerfully though he had flushed a bit under the intensity of the other's stare. "I came for a drink."
"I obviously wouldn't have fucking guessed." Bakugou rolled his eyes before he decided to switch to a more professional tone. "What do you want?"
Kirishima hummed in thought, not really knowing what to order. His eyes scanned the menu though nothing really caught his eye except for "Hot Chocolate Latte."
"Not that I care, but don't you want to try something else?" Bakugou questioned, an impassive look on his face.
"Why not? It tastes heavenly." He shrugged and watched in amusement as pink settled its way in the blond's face. He is not the only one- From the corner of his eye, he could see how some of the barista's other co-workers had caught onto the conversation and are watching them in intrigue. One of them, a brunette, even sent him a wink and gave him a thumbs up.
" 'Course it does. I only make the best drinks there are," Bakugou replied as he managed to recompose himself. Even so, pink was still evident in his ears. "And your name?"
"Huh?"
"I need your name for the drink, Shitty hair." He pouted at the blond's description of his hair and then went on to say-
"Dude, my hair is not shitty." He continued. "It's not that different from yours."
"Do I look like I care?" Bakugou asked rhetorically. "Just give me a damn name already so we can get this fucking over with."
"It's E- Kirishima." He answered before realization slipped in that he had almost given out his first name.
Bakugou didn't say anything to that, merely taking note of his name in his cup. After a while, the barista muttered something about having to wait for a couple of minutes for his drink and went off to prepare it.
"Here's your drink." A few minutes later, Bakugou emerged with his drink in tow. Quickly, he snapped himself out of the trance in watching the barista in his element.
Kirishima handed over the money to Bakugou. At that moment, their hands made contact for the briefest of seconds and he retracted his hand immediately when he felt sparks.
"You can keep the change." Surprisingly, Bakugou didn't really try to protest and merely placed the money inside the cash register, not making any eye contact with him.
If he didn't know any better, he would have said that the other seemed flustered.
Later that day, a smile etched its way over to the redhead when his lips made contact with the chocolate liquid.
"See, I was right." The redhead sent the barista, who was currently taking his break, a heartfelt smile. "Your hot chocolate tastes as heavenly as I remembered it to be."
He liked the blush that tinted the blond's cheeks afterwards.