As nervous as she had been, the sleepover was pretty fun. Of course, they studied for the upcoming exams, but Shirayuki got to experience what it was like to stay the night at someone else's home. They watched movies and talked about the upcoming summer training camp. All in all, she felt like her confidence increased a little after pushing herself to go to the sleepover.

She was a little embarrassed about it, but she had told Ashido about cancelling her plans to visit Fat Gum's agency and going after Kirishima to see if he was okay. To her surprise, rather than find it silly, Ashido said she was really proud of her. Although, she still giggled a little about the whole hugging situation.

It was the next day, around noon, when she left Ashido's home to return to her house. Shirayuki was thinking about all of the chores she needed to do that day. Laundry…I need to change the blanket to a thinner one. A few of the cats need to be brushed. I hope Grandma doesn't try to do it herself.

Shirayuki turned the corner onto her street and paused in her steps, feeling an intense stare directed at her. She fidgeted with the strap of her overnight bag, but lifted her eyes to meet another pair of crimson ones. What…?

Bakugou had been leaning against the gate in front of her house, but soon he was making his way toward her. "There you are. Where were you? What's with the bag?" he demanded as he got near.

"...I-I…was at a sleepover…at Ashido-chan's house…" she admitted. It seemed safe, now that the sleepover was over.

His eyes narrowed a little more and he frowned. "What the hell? You guys had a sleepover? Why didn't you say anything sooner?!"

"…it…it was just supposed to be us girls…" Her voice was dropping to a whisper and she lowered her head again. "…um…wh-why are you…ah…what brings you to the n-neighborhood…?"

Recovering quickly from his irritation, he smirked. "I'm supposed to meet that shitty hair Kirishima in half an hour to help him study. You're coming with me. You're on a different level from most of those others; you're actually pretty smart."

Warmth bloomed in her cheeks behind her mask and she peered up at him through her dark violet hair. "…th-thank you…?"

"C'mon. You're not taking that bag with you, right? Besides; you've gotta grab your notes and stuff from class. That idiot needs all the help he can get." Bakugou grabbed her free hand and started leading her down the sidewalk toward her house, a satisfied expression on his face.

He…wants me to help tutor Kirishima? Her heart was already beating fast from him grabbing her hand, but now it was beating twice as quickly as his request sank in. She was immediately reminded of throwing her arms around her friend and she felt her face go from pink to red. "…a-are you sure…you want me to help…?"

"I said it before, didn't I?! You're smarter than most of those idiots in our class so between the two of us, we should be able to get him to pass! Besides…" He grimaced and lowered his head as a warm tint rose to his cheeks. "If I've gotta waste my time today, I want you to be there with me."

Shirayuki's eyes widened a little and, for a moment, she wondered if she heard him correctly. That…sounded so…She bit the inside of her cheek and bowed her head again. Walking a bit quicker, she moved to stroll next to him rather than trailing slightly behind. Brave. Brave like…yesterday. I was brave when I wanted to cheer up Kirishima. I need to push myself…I need to be like that more often!

She took a moment to change clothes; having only brought some pajamas, a toothbrush, and some handwritten study guides in her overnight bag. Since it was pretty warm, she settled on a summery outfit. A pair of black shorts, a lavender tank top, and a pale pink jacket with short sleeves and a hood. Shirayuki put her dark violet hair into a loose braid in an effort to seem more confident.

Most of the walk to the café where Bakugou was supposed to meet Kirishima, the boy asked questions about her sleepover with Ashido. The girls had purposefully avoided telling the boys in their friend group because Ashido knew that at least one of them would have tried to assert their way into the sleepover.

He turned to demand she tell him the next time she was going to sleep at Ashido's, but paused and scowled. Seeing her face a bright red shade, her hairline dotted with sweat, he knew she was overheating. Bakugou took her hand and pulled her into the shade of a shop's overhang. "You're gonna overheat. Why're you wearing a jacket anyway?"

"…I-I just…I don't l-like showing too much…" Her face was turning an even brighter shade, now from embarrassment. She already felt nervous wearing shorts so going sleeveless sent her heart palpitating.

Bakugou lifted his free hand and hooked a finger into her mask, his face a few inches away from hers. "You'll pass out if you don't do something to cool down, Ume!" Tugging at her mask, his scowl turned to a smirk. "Take this off."

"…wh-what…no, I-I can't…I don't…w-want people to see…"

"Why do you care so much about what other people think anyway? I think your face is cute; so what they think doesn't matter." He pulled a bit harder and his smirk grew. "So take it off."

She felt her stomach twisting in knots, but reached a shaking hand behind her head to untie the mask. The lavender medical mask came loose and before she could retrieve it, Bakugou shoved it into his pocket. "…w-wait…give it back…"

"You'll get it back when we're done. Come on."

When they entered the café, she kept her head down and let him lead the way to the table where their friend was already waiting. She knew her face was still pink as she slipped into the booth, sitting next to the window. Glancing across the table, she saw Kirishima staring with wide eyes as his own face started to flush a faint shade of pink.

"What're you staring at?" The blond boy shot him a glare as he sat next to Shirayuki, his mouth twisting into a scowl.

"I didn't know that you were bringing Yuki with you," the red-haired boy quickly explained. "Not to mention that she's not wearing her mask. Yuki, do you usually not wear one in the summer?"

"I confiscated it," Bakugou grumbled as he opened his notebook. "She's here to help me try to get you ready for the exams, got it? So don't slack off and waste both our time!"

"Hey, so did you already eat lunch, Yuki? I didn't order anything yet so if you want something, I'll treat you." Kirishima grinned across the table at her.

A hand slammed down onto the table between them, Bakugou glowering at the other boy. "The hell you will! You're not paying for my girlfriend's food! Ume, order whatever the hell you want and I'm buying!"

"…I…I still have some allowance left over for this month…s-so I can…pay for my own food…" She saw Kirishima frown and Bakugou's head snapped in her direction. "…I-I'm sorry…I just…I wouldn't feel right…you've both done so much for me already in the past so…"

"I said I'm paying for yours! Save your damn money!"

Shirayuki bit her lip, feeling butterflies in her stomach when their eyes met. Remembering the soft side he had showed her when he visited her house not long ago. How nice he had been to the cats, how he had gone out of his way to try to show her grandmother that he could be polite and helpful. The way he kissed her that day.

She ordered a cheaper item from the menu along with an iced coffee, but her plan to make it simple backfired as it turned into the other two pointing out other stuff they thought she would like. By the time their orders were made, Shirayuki was wondering if there was some way she could convince Bakugou to just let her pay for hers. The amount of food they ordered was enough to make her stomach simultaneously growl and churn at the same time.

As Bakugou opened his notebook to start showing Kirishima his notes, she timidly looked through her own notes. I should have made a copy of the study guides I gave to Ashido-chan. Those would have been really helpful. If I'd known…I could have made some for him, too.

Shirayuki heard the boy next to her explaining something to their friend and she glanced up toward Kirishima. Thinking back to the previous afternoon, when she had been so desperate to try to cheer him up that she had acted without thinking and hugged him. As nervous as she had been once he looked back at her, she felt her heart pound. Hugging him had felt nice and as she thought about it, the girl's lips curled into a small smile.

Shift P.O.V

I'd die for that smile! She's so cute! I still can't believe it though. I didn't think I'd see her this soon after that whole thing yesterday. That was super embarrassing. I shouldn't have made her worry so much. I was acting kind of selfish. Kirishima stole another glance at her and their eyes met. He flashed her a grin and saw her face turning pink.

"Pay attention! I'm not gonna repeat myself, got it?! This part's gonna be on the test for sure so you'd better stop spacing off and listen!" Bakugou slammed a hand down onto the book in front of him, snapping him back to what was being said. "What the hell are you staring at anyway, shitty hair?"

"Nothing! Just chill, Bakugou; I'm listening." He rubbed the back of his neck and attempted to focus on the tutoring session again. Though his attention was soon divided again as Shirayuki flipped through a textbook.

He watched the way a stray lock of violet hair fell loose beside her face and she carefully pushed it behind her ear. The way her crimson eyes skimmed over the pages intently, all while her cheeks remained a warm pink shade. He tilted his head slightly, studying her face and trying to memorize every detail since it was so rare for her to go without her mask.

"Hey, Yuki. You're good at math, right? Can you help me with this part?" Kirishima tapped his pencil against an equation on his paper, his heart skipping a beat when she looked up.

"…oh…um…s-sure…let me see…um…"

"Here you go." He slid it across to her, along with his pencil. Pointing at the equation, he gave her a slight pout. "I don't get how this equation works. Can you explain it to me?"

"What the hell?! I was just explaining it to you!" Bakugou growled.

"Yeah, but you're all over the place! You're making it sound super complicated. I want to know how Yuki solves it."

"Tch. Fine, whatever! I'll be right back. Don't screw around while I'm gone! Solve the damn equation!"

Kirishima watched him storm off toward the bathroom and then turned back to Shirayuki. "Hey. You're okay, right?" he asked, softening his tone.

She blinked in surprise and lowered her head. "…I-I'm fine…just…a little nervous…b-but that's normal…right…?"

He beamed and reached over, resting a hand over hers. "Yeah, but you're pushing yourself today, aren't you? I mean, it's good training to try to make yourself more outgoing, but don't overdo it, okay? If you're not comfortable, tell me and I'll get your mask back for you. I saw it sticking out of his pocket."

"…K-Kirishima…thank you…"

It was at that moment that their orders arrived. A massive chocolate strawberry parfait was put in front of Shirayuki and the boy saw her eyes widen. He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling kind of embarrassed. After all of the squabbling, he had ordered this for her; thinking that she would like it. The little smile on her face indicated that she did, but the wide crimson eyes also indicated that she was intimidated.

"Wanna split it?" he offered, raising an eyebrow.

"…ah…y-yes, please…"

He grinned and picked up his spoon to scoop a little ice cream and chocolate onto it. Leaning across the table, he held it out for her to take a bite. Her face was bright red, but she ate it and smiled shyly. Next, he scooped up some for himself with the same spoon and ate from it without even blinking. "Wow! This is awesome!"

"What're you doing? Who said you could take a break?" Bakugou sat next to Shirayuki again, clearly irritated that they had stopped working on the equations. "I don't care if she eats, but you're not done yet."

"Awww! C'mon! It's just a little break! We should eat before the food gets cold, right?"

"That's a parfait, idiot. It's supposed to be cold."

Kirishima pouted slightly and gathered another spoonful before leaning over, offering it to Shirayuki to take a bite. That made Bakugou tense in his seat and visibly grit his teeth. It was after seeing Kirishima eat from the same spoon that he finally exploded with anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Who said you could share spoons with my girl?" He wrapped an arm around Shirayuki, pulling her against his side and glaring across the table at their friend.

The red-haired boy held up his hands in defeat. "It's not a big deal! We're just eating ice cream! Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about an indirect kiss!"