Kirishima stretched as he finished submitting the paperwork from the hostage situation he and Kaminari had helped with earlier that day. Looking at the clock, he realized it was late in the evening. His partner, Kaminari, was laid back in his own chair, dozing with his feet on his desk. Kirishima let out a big yawn as Mina Ashido cam walking around the corner.

“Hey, Eijiro!” Mina said as she walked up to his desk. “Heard you guys did an awesome job today!”

“Sure did,” Kirishima replied, “We helped catch a group of robbers that were holding a bunch of people hostage. I just finished all the paperwork.”

“I’ve been messaging Ochaco and Kyoka. We are going to meet up for a drink later. I was wondering if you and Kaminari would want to come too?” she asked.

“I’m game. Hey, Kaminari wake up!” Kirishima yelled, throwing a balled up piece of paper at his partner.

“What?” Kaminari babbled as he woke.

“You want to go out for drinks later?” Mina asked him.

“Heck yeah! I could go for a drink,” Kaminari cheered.

“Well then, we will see you guys at the usual place at 11:00 pm,” Mina said as she walked away.

“We will see you there,” Kirishima replied. Turning to his partner, he asked, “Denki, did you finish your report on the robbery today?”

“Uh, almost,” Kaminari said, rubbing the back of his head. “I wasn’t sure what all I’m supposed to fill in since we worked with Bakugou and Hales. They were the main heroes that fought against the villains. Shouldn’t they do most of the paperwork?”

“Jeez, Dude,” Kirishima sighed. “You are a pro now, you should at least try and do the paperwork.”

“Sorry, I just can’t help it! I’ve had Bakugou’s hot partner on my mind,” Kaminari said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Not cool. You really need to treat women better. Then maybe you would be able to keep a girlfriend.” Kirishima chided.

“Hey, I can’t help it. I’m a man who appreciates a beautiful woman,” Kaminari defended himself.

“I don’t think Kia is interested in you, anyway,” Kirishima said.

“You are probably right,” Kaminari said. “Besides, I’m not the one who has a date with her.”

Kirishima blushed. “I don’t think it is that kind of date.”

“Dude, you got her number and you get to call her by her first name,” Kaminari teased.

“Yeah, but she is paying for dinner. Plus, she said it was a thank you for catching her in the stairwell,” Kirishima countered.

“Come on, Eijiro! She is easily a ten or better. You are telling me that you aren’t even going to try?” Kaminari said in disbelief.

“With how Bakugou was looking at me when I got her number, no way!” Kirishima shook his head.

“Bakugou? Wait, are you telling me he really was jealous?” Kaminari exclaimed.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen Bakugou interested in a girl before, so it is hard to tell,” Kirishima said, “She sure is interesting, and it seems that she works really well with him and understands his personality.”

“You think he will have any luck with a short temper and crappy personality?” Kaminari asked skeptically.

“I think she might be able to see through him. Bakugou isn’t as bad as he was in high school,” Kirishima said. “He seems to accept her as his partner. It will be interesting getting to know her.”

“Bakugou has amazing skills, smarts, and looks. It would only be fair that he has trouble getting the girl,” Kaminari whined.

“With how focused he is about becoming the number one hero, I’m pretty sure the girl is going to have trouble getting him,” Kirishima chuckled.

%%%%%

Kia made her way to the foyer after changing into her regular clothes. Bakugou had told her to meet him there. Shouldering her pack, she stepped out of the elevator. Glancing at her phone, she saw it was almost 11:00 pm. Looking up, she could see Bakugou leaning against the counter looking at his own phone. He wore baggy jeans and a t-shirt. Kia couldn’t help but admire how good he looked. His eyes were softer instead of the usual scowl he always wore.

Shaking her head to clear the thought from her mind, she walked up to her partner. “Hey, I’m ready to go.” She smiled.

Bakugou looked up at his partner as she approached. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans that hugged her hips and a tight tank top with a jacket. She was showing a lot more skin than she usually did, and he could see the end of a scar along her collarbone.

“It is about damn time,” he growled.

“Oh, please… like you have been waiting long,” Kia rolled her eyes. “Better be nice, or I might take back my offer of buying you a drink,” she smirked.

“Just hurry up,” Bakugou said as he picked up his own bag and turned to walk out the door.

Bakugou led her to a bus stop and they didn’t have to wait long before one pulled up. Bakugou stepped aside to let Kia get on first. Moving down the aisle, Kia sat in a window seat and Bakugou sat next to her.

“So, where are we going?” Kia asked.

“Just my usual place,” Bakugou said before pulling out a set of ear buds and plugging them into his phone. Kia was searching her own bag for her earbuds when Bakugou held out one of his for her. Kia looked up at him in surprise and smiled as she took the offered earbud. Putting it in, she sat back in the seat. Bakugou hit play and they both sat in silence listening to his playlist.

After about 15 minutes, Bakugou nudged Kia to let her know they had reached their stop. Getting off the bus, they walked a couple blocks before coming to a decent looking bar. Stepping forward, Bakugou opened the door and stepped aside so Kia could go in first.

She was starting to realize that despite his rough attitude and yelling, Bakugou was actually very respectful towards her. She wondered if maybe his mother had something to do with that.

She made her way to the bar, sitting on a stool as Bakugou sat in the one next to her. The bartender came straight over as they both sat down.

“Well, well… I never thought I would see the day that Bakugou brings a woman in for a drink.” the bartender teased.

“Shut up,” Bakugou snapped.

Laughing, Kia bowed her head to the bartender. “Hi, I’m Kia, his partner.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Minoru.” The bartender bowed back, “So, what has you drinking with this hot head?” Bakugou glared at the bartender.

“It has been a long day,” Kia replied.

Minoru chuckled as he pulled a couple of glasses out from under the counter. Putting some ice in the cups, he asked, “How long of a day?”

“It’s been more like a long couple of weeks,” Kia grinned.

“Alright, then! I’ve got just the stuff,” Minoru said as he poured.

He passed them each a glass. Kia picked hers up, taking a small sniff at the glass before sipping it. The alcohol was smooth as she swallowed. “This is good. Thank you,” she said, taking another drink.

“I’m glad. Just let me know if there is anything else I can get for you,” Minoru said before moving down the bar to help another customer.

“You must come here often?” Kia asked looking over at Bakugou.

“Sometimes,” he replied, taking another drink from his glass. “Kirishima and I come here.”

“So he really is your best friend?” Kia said taking another drink.

“Yeah,” Bakugou replied.

“He seems like a really cool guy. I think a person should cherish their friends. You never know when you might lose one,” Kia added, looking solemnly at her glass.

Bakugou watched as she took another drink. He could tell there was something more behind her words. “Do you have a lot of friends back in America?” he asked.

“Yeah, and they are all really great,” Kia replied, smiling fondly, “What about you? I’ve met Kirishima and Kaminari but do you have more friends?”

“There are a few more from High School,” Bakugou admitted.

“You went to school at U.A., right? What was it like?” Kia asked. “Attending Hero High was crazy. The teachers really put us through the ringer teaching us how to be heroes.”

“I know what you mean,” Bakugou said, taking another drink.

“I hear your sports festival is really something else,” Kia said, “Hero High had something similar, but I don’t think it got nearly the ratings that U.A.’s did.”

“You had a sports festival?” Bakugou asked.

“It’s not called a sports festival, but they did hold tournaments so students could show off their skills to potential employers,” Kia explained.

“Tournaments… that sounds better than the sports festival,” Bakugou said.

“The tournaments were a lot of fun. There was even a talent competition, too. My class put on a concert once for it,” Kia recalled.

“Ours did something like that too,” Bakugou said.

“A concert, huh? Did you play or sing?” Kia asked.

“Played the drums,” Bakugou stated.

“Well, tell me about the concert. Did you guys kill it, or what?” Kia pried.

“Hell yeah, we did!” Bakugou said with pride.

He started telling her all about how he and his classmates killed the other departments with music and Kia told him about her own classes’ musical debut. Little did the two of them realize but they were being watched.