Chapter 8
For the second day in a row; Mari woke up wondering if the events of the previous night had been a dream. This time, however; she was hoping against hope that it wasn't.
Taking survey; she saw that there was still snow on the ground outside, but it wasn't as heavy as it had been the previous day, and most of the walkways had been cleared.
"That means we'll probably have class tomorrow…" She mused. It made sense; the school had predicted two days of snow. As nice as it was to have an extended weekend, logically she knew that class would resume eventually.
She sat up; groaning slightly. Her head was still slightly sore from yesterday, but it wasn't too bad.
"It'd probably be a good idea to stay lowkey today." She thought to herself; not even bothering to change out of her PJs as she made her way to the kitchen for her coffee.
To her surprise; Kirishima and Bakugo were already in the kitchen; Eijirou sitting at the counter while Katsuki was making what looked like French toast and bacon.
"That smells amazing," Mari said, sitting down next to Eijirou. A cup of coffee was placed in front of her, and she took a sip.
The redhead smiled; leaning into her before placing a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah; our Blasty's such a great cook."
'So last night wasn't a dream…" Mari thought to herself. Then out loud; "He definitely is."
Bakugo scoffed, but there was a light dusting of color across his nose. "It's not that difficult. Besides; I like taking care of you idiots. Gods know you won't take care of yourselves."
Kirishima laughed; taking a bite of his own food as a separate plate was placed in front of Mari. "You know," he started, chewing on his bacon. "Most partners call each other sweetie or babe. Stuff like that."
Bakugo snorted. "Yeah, well; don't expect any of that mushy stuff from me." He was clearly teasing; no real menace in his voice.
Mari shook her head. "Wouldn't dream of it. But that's not gonna stop us from using them with you." She pointed her fork at him.
"Whatever; you two." the blonde said. Then after a beat; "How's your head; Mari?"
"It's fine; a little sore, but I think that's more from passing out than the actual bonk on the head. Comes with the territory; unfortunately."
"It's a good thing you've got such a hard head then." Katsuki said, grinning at her.
"Yeah, well; I gotta be a little hard-headed to be dating you two."
And there it was; out in the open. She knew they'd have to approach the topic eventually anyway.
She sighed; finishing off her coffee. "We should probably talk about this; shouldn't we?"
"This whole situation is new for all of us," Kirishima said. "Even though it didn't go quite like I pictured; I'm glad it went the way it did. I was honestly expecting it to blow up in my face. Literally." He smirked at Bakugo; who looked away.
"There's still a lot we have to navigate; especially since we're probably going back to class tomorrow…" Mari said, going to put her plate and mug in the sink. "I don't think the common area is the place for that conversation."
Both boys nodded; agreeing with her. They made their way back up to the fourth floor and piled into Mari's room. She sat down on her bed; Eijirou following suit. Katsuki took up space on the floor, but he leaned his head against the bed as well.
"So…" Mari said; the first to speak since they left the kitchen. "I think the real question is where we go from here; and also how we're going to handle it around everyone else."
There's a noise from the floor, and Katsuki tips his head back to look at them. It's Eijirou that breaches the subject though.
"Realistically; the only thing that we need to worry about is class." He says; laying back against the headboard. "I'd rather not repeat Mr. Aizawa's 'no shenanigans' talk."
Mari scrunches her nose. "Technically; I was the one that went through it, but you have a good point. That means we'll just have to be business as usual; that means no pet names or outbursts of affection." She says, looking at him over her glasses.
Eijirou pouts; then his face lights up. "I guess that just means I'll have to make up for it when we're by ourselves." He wraps his arms around Mari, pulling her against him in a tight hug.
She lets out a squeak; then laughs. "Easy; Eiji! My head's still feeling wibbly-wobbly."
"Did you take anything?" Katuski asks.
"I thought the coffee would help." She confesses; scratching the back of her neck. "I know my glasses probably aren't helping either. The old prescription is putting more strain on my eyes. Can't wait for my contacts to get here."
The blonde sighs, pulling himself off the floor. "I'll get you some ibuprofen."
She smiled; touched by Katsuki's own brand of affection. "Thanks; Kats." She said.
"Don't have to thank me. I'll be right back." He disappears into her bathroom, and she can hear him rummaging through her drawers.
"Do you want me to rub your head; babe? It might ease the tension a bit." Eijirou asks; his hand raking through her hair.
Mari stills at the pet name. She feels her world tilt again, and sucks in a breath. Her dreams had always included hearing Eijirou and Katsuki calling her things like that; but to hear it out loud, in real life was something entirely different.
The hands in her hair still. "Was that too much? I'm sorry; I just wanted to try it out. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
She lets out a breath; not realizing she'd been holding it. "No; no. I'm fine. You just took me by surprise." She turned to face him, brushing some of his own bright red hair out of his face. "I liked it. A lot."
A smile splits his face; revealing his sharp teeth. "I'm glad." He squeezes her again.
Katsuki returns; a glass of water and some ibuprofen in his hands. "Here; let me know if you need more than that." He places the pills in Mari's hand; placing the water on the nightstand.
She smiles at him. "This is fine. Thanks, Kats." He makes a noise; then returns to his seat on the floor.
Picking up the water; she swallows the medicine, then rests her head against Eijirou's chest again. He resumes his ministrations against her head; and she hums, feeling the tension seep from her body.
After a moment; she speaks. "You know; Kats, you can sit up here with us. The floor can't be that comfortable."
"Well, I would if you and Shitty Hair weren't taking up the whole thing." Despite his statement; he stood up, moving Mari's legs so he could sit on the bed.
She hummed. "It's not my fault that the two of you are built like literal walls." She nudges his leg with her foot.
"Yeah; well, we all can't be little shits; Short Stack." He smiled at her, nudging her foot back.
Kirishima hummed; taking Mari's hand in his. "Yeah; these beds weren't really made for three people. But we make it work, nice and cozy." He closes his fingers around hers. "Your hand is so small in mine. It's nice and warm though."
He wasn't wrong; one of his hands was almost the same size as both of Mari's put together. It should have been intimidating; but instead, it just made her feel that much safer.
It was quiet for a moment; the three of them just enjoying each other's company. Kirishima had resumed running his free hand through Mari's hair. After a while; he spoke again.
"Can I ask you two something?"
Mari cracked an eye; the movement in her hair had started lulling her to sleep. "Sure; Eiji. What's up?"
The redhead looked nervous; his face matching his hair. "I don't want this to seem weird; and I definitely don't want to rush things…" He hesitated.
"Just spit it out; Eijirou." Katsuki growled. His eyes had also slipped closed in the quiet; but he didn't open them when he spoke.
"Oh! Right; I was just thinking…I'd really like to kiss you both. If that's okay; that is."
Mari's world tilted again. She tried not to be too enthused as she answered. "Yes! I mean…yeah; I'd really like to kiss you too." Her hair fell into her eyes as she sat up; and she brushed her bangs behind her ear.
The look on Kirishima's face was priceless; like a kid at Christmas. It was adorable. "Ok! Good; so...how do we do this?"
This causes Katsuki to open his eyes. "What do you mean? Don't tell me both of you haven't kissed anyone before?"
Mari traces circles into the blanket; and Kirishima starts to stutter a bit. "Well, I…"
Katsuki growls; then pushes himself off the wall. "Kissing's easy. Here; I'll show you." He turns to Mari.
She could feel her face heat up again. This was happening. She was about to have her first real kiss; and it was with Bakugo no less.
His hands were surprisingly gentle as one cupped her cheek; the other finding its home on the back of her neck.
His voice shook her from her reverie; the tone more gentle than she'd ever heard before.
"Hey; look at me."
She looked up at him; eyes wide.
"Mari; baby, are you okay with this?"
Her head swam. It was nice hearing it from Eijirou; hearing Katsuki call her by a pet name was entirely different. He was letting them; letting her see a side of him that he rarely showed others.
She nodded her head, trying to un lodge the lump in her throat. "I'm more than okay with it." She unconsciously licked her bottom lip; while staring at him.
Everything stood still in that moment; so much so that Mari worried she had accidentally activated her Quirk.
As many times as she had dreamed and fantasized about this moment; nothing could have prepared her for the real thing. Katsuki's lips were soft; with a slight chap to them. The smell and taste of smoked caramel was dizzying; intoxicating.
All too soon; it was over, and Mari had to stop herself from letting out a groan as he pulled away.
"Did you get that; Shitty Hair?"
"Yeah. Yeah; I think I got it."
Mari turned to see Eijirou's eyes blown wide; a blush across his face. He scooched closer to her; and mirrored Bakugo's hand placement on Mari's face.
"Hi." Mari said, staring at him. It was dumb; but her brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.
Eijirou just chuckled; pushing her glasses up from where they'd slipped down her nose. "Hey, baby."
He moved closer, running his thumb over her cheek. "Gosh; your eyes are beautiful." He whispered. "I could drown in them; they drive me crazy."
He gently pressed his lips on hers; humming lightly.
"Easy with your teeth; Eijirou. Don't want to hurt her…" Katsuki said; quietly
Mari hummed as said teeth were currently worrying her bottom lip; not too harshly, just enough to remind her that they were there. She felt her whole body light up.
After a moment; the redhead pulled away, but kept his hand on her face. "I think I did okay…"
"That was more than okay; that was…wow." Mari said, running her tongue over the spot where his teeth had been.
He looked at Katsuki over her shoulder. The blonde balked.
"I know what you're thinking; Kirishima. No way."
"Oh come on; Katsuki. It's only fair." Mari said, tilting her head back to look at him.
"It's fine; Mari. I'm not gonna force him if he's not ready. That wouldn't be man…"
But Kirishima wasn't able to finish his sentence as the blonde leaned forward; pressing their lips together.
The sudden movement took Mari by surprise; and she let out a squeak as she almost fell backward from the force of it.
They pulled away after a moment; and Katsuki returned to his place, almost as if nothing had happened.
"There; you two got your kisses. Happy now?" He griped; but the smattering of color on his cheeks told them there was no real malice behind it.
"Very happy. I think I just discovered my new favorite thing." Mari said; leaning her head on his shoulder.
Katsuki chuckled. "You're almost as sappy as Kirishima."
"Hey!" The redhead exclaimed.
Mari cracked an eye. "I like your sappyness." She said, smiling at him. She stretched; her back letting out a satisfying 'pop'.
The room was quiet for a moment; but was cut by the sound of Mari's phone buzzing.
She groaned. "This better be important." She rolled over to grab her phone off her nightstand.
"Oh! My contacts are here! Finally!" She bolted up. "I'm gonna go grab them."
"We'll come with you." Eijirou said; pushing himself off the bed.
"I'm literally just running downstairs and coming right back; Eiji." She exclaimed; shaking her head.
"Yeah; but I wanna stretch my legs." He pulled Katsuki off the bed. "Come on; Katsuki."
The blonde groaned as his own joints popped in response. "I'm coming; I'm coming."
They made their way to the common area; Kirishima's pinky entwined in hers.
Mina sat in the common room; her face lighting up at the sight of them. She walked over waving.
"Mari! I was just about to text you; your contacts are here. Plus you said we'd do that TikTok trend today!"
Mari laughed. "Thanks Mins. That's actually why I came downstairs; I got a text that the package was delivered." She noticed the small box on the table; and picked it up. "Thank goodness they got here before class tomorrow."
"I'm gonna miss your glasses though." Kirishima pouted beside her, wrapping his arms around her.
"I can't wear them forever; Kiri. My eyesight would tank." She squeezed his hand. "I'll wear them more often once they're updated. Maybe I'll wear them on the weekends."
This seemed to please the redhead as he squeezed her tightly.
"You two are adorable." Mina said, smiling at them. "There's no rush on the TikTok; Mari. I can see you're…busy." The pink girl smirked as she passed; nudging Kirishima as she left.
Mari groaned after Mina left the room. "There's gonna be no living with her now; is there?"
Eijirou laughed. "She likes to tease; but she's harmless."
She looked at the box in her hands, shifting it slightly. "I should go put these in."
They trail back upstairs; and Mari rests the box on her bed, opening it.
"You guys can hang out here. I know most people get grossed out watching me do this, you know; since I'm essentially putting my finger in my eye." She grabbed a pair and headed to the bathroom.
They follow anyway; Eijirou sitting on the tub, and Katsuki leaning against the doorframe. She shrugs. "Suit yourselves."
She takes off her glasses; setting them down on the counter and starts blindly trying to find the package with her contacts.
Katsuki sighs; pushing himself off the doorframe. "Here." he said; handing them to her.
"Thanks; Kats." She opens the package; and pulls out the first contact, balancing it on her finger. Tipping her head back; she places the first one in, and blinks rapidly.
"One down…" She says; repeating the same process with the other; then she reaches into her drawer and pulls out a bottle of eye drops, squirting a few into her eyes and blinking again.
"There. All better." She puts the glasses back in their case in the drawer; and turns smiling.
"Do you want to watch a movie? Maybe play some video games?" She asks; already going to sit on her bed again.
They settled on playing round robin Smash; switching out every turn since there were only two controllers.
It was eerily normal; considering the events of this morning. The rest of the afternoon passed like this with them only pausing to eat lunch and then dinner.
Mari could feel her eyes drooping; and she yawned looking at the time. "Oop; it's 9 o'clock. Time for someone to go sleepy bye." She teased; nudging Bakugo's shoulder.
He glared at her. "Oi. Sleep is important."
She laughed. "I know; Blasty. I'm just teasing. But we should probably consider winding down for the night. You know; since we actually have class tomorrow."
"She has a point." Kirishima said; stretching. "I'm so comfy though. I don't want to move."
"I mean; you could stay…" Mari said; quietly, a blush forming on her face.
Both boys balked, staring at her.
She quickly backtracked. "I mean only if you want to! I just figured since we've already fallen asleep in each other's rooms before, and stuff…"
"Shut up and get in bed; Short Stack." Katsuki said; silencing her with a kiss. "I get the wall though."
Mari gulped. "Oh, okay."
Katsuki took his place next to the wall; and Mari followed after. She turned to Kirishima.
"You getting in?" She asked, cocking her head.
He scrambled to fit himself on the other side of Mari. It was a tight squeeze; but not horribly uncomfortable.
He hummed; wrapping an arm around Mari, bringing her close. "I could get used to this. Cuddling up to my two favorite cuties."
Katsuki grumbled. "I'm not cute."
"If you say so; Kats. But I happened to agree with Eiji." Mari said, kissing his cheek.
He hummed; but didn't complain. "It is kind of nice." He relented.
Eijirou turned on the salt lamp; then handed her her sleep mask, placing a kiss on her lips. "Goodnight; baby."
She hummed; she didn't think she'd ever get tired of him saying that. "Goodnight; Eiji."
He leaned across her, placing a kiss on Katsuki's cheek. "Goodnight to you too."
"Yeah; yeah. Goodnight you two."
They drifted off to sleep; wrapped up in each other. And if anyone asked; they would all say it was the best sleep they'd had in a long while.