Work Text:
So imagine you’re working out at the gym and you’re trying really hard to get in shape and be healthier and just be happier with yourself.
But you overdo it and you start to feel kinda wobbly. Maybe you didn’t drink enough water or just went one rep too hard but you pretty much fall on your butt when your legs give out. And you feel dumb and people are staring and you’re so embarrassed but then-
“Hey there! You ok? Need a hand?” And a strong hand attached to some handsome sweaty God with spiky red hair extends out to you to help you up and even though you’re embarrassed you take it because you’re tired and just want to leave. “We all go too hard sometimes, just gotta know your limits! Keep it up!” And he gives you this fucking beautiful smile and its genuine, like he isn’t mocking you at all for falling on your ass. With a thumbs up he turns away to go back to the weight machines.
Maybe you’ll come back to the gym tomorrow.
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And you do. You go back to the gym because it makes you feel good to try and be better, even if some days are harder than others. But you do it, and you keep at it.
And he’s there, too. Maybe he’s a motivation that you try not to think about. He’s probably not single, though. And even if he was why would he so much as look at you? He could have anyone looking like that: bright smile, rose-colored eyes that match his red hair, muscles evidence of his dedication to staying fit.
Why would he choose you? Sure, you were working towards being happier with yourself, and getting a date wasn’t the main reason you started going to the gym…but it was still a motivator.
But one day someone interrupts you while taking a break and grabbing some water.
“Yo, what’s up? How you doin’?” You look over and some guy with untrustworthy eyes is looking you up and down and you immediately feel like a piece of meat.
“Uhm-”
“Let me take you out sometime, yeah?” His smirk was just as greasy as his hair.
“N-no, sorry I’m-”
“No? C’mon! Just a date, not like you could do better than me anyway so it’s kinda like I’m…doing you a favor!” You felt like you wanted to throw up, to just run away from the situation. This guy was trying to intimidate you, make you feel like shit on purpose. As you attempted to walk away he grabbed your wrist. “Yo babe don’t walk-”
“Hey bro! I think you’re making her uncomfortable so back off a little? ” A strong familiar hand clamped down tightly on the man’s shoulder from seemingly out of nowhere, prompting him to let go of your wrist. The red-head was taller than the greaseball who let go once you pulled your arm free from him; his nails scraped your skin.
The red-head’s grip tightened until the man eventually walked away, back to a group of similarly greasy guys.
“You OK? It’s super unmanly to grab someone like that.”
And all you could do - again - was nod. He’d come to your rescue again.
“I feel like I see you here pretty often - dedication is something not everyone can keep up with! Let me know if you need any more help, OK? I’m Kirishima, by the way.” And he held out his hand again but this time it wasn’t to help you up.
You shook it reluctantly, his arm moving up and down with bright enthusiasm. And you still hadn’t said a word.
“See ya around!” He walked away, and that was that.
You were glad you were next to the water fountain because your throat felt excessively dry all of a sudden.
_______________________________________
For a while you didn’t see him at the gym after that, maybe for a whole week after the water fountain incident.
Not that you were keeping track or anything! He just…stood out, with that red hair of his. And those eyes. And smile that reminded you of warm sunshine…uh oh.
But you kept it up, working late at your office kept you away a couple of times but you did some simple things at home to make sure you didn’t skip a day. And it was starting to pay off. You were feeling better, less tired when you went up stairs, your pants were starting to feel just the tiniest bit loose in the waist, the sleeves on your shirts didn’t cut into your arms quite as much as before. Being dedicated was paying off, and it made you feel really good, even if it was really hard work and progress was slow.
When you went back to the gym the next week, he was there again. But…he looked kind of sad? Or distracted? Not quite as upbeat as normal…it didn’t suit him. It probably had something to do with why he was away the previous week. You weren’t in the business of prying, though, you didn’t know him well enough for that.
You tried to stay focused on your workout but it was difficult, the man named Kirishima not trying his hardest like he normally did.
His reps were slower.
He turned away people you normally saw him chatting with.
Even his hair looked droopy.
By the time you finished your workout most people had left the gym due to the late hour. You normally went after work since you weren’t enough of a morning person to work out before work, so this was the only other time that suited you. But he was still there, sitting on one of the weight benches, looking out one of the windows into the mostly empty parking lot.
Ok…that was it! He’d helped you out, so you could help him, right? That wouldn’t be too weird…right? You always tried your best to cheer people up even if you weren’t the most outgoing or social person around. Just ask if he’s alright, you can do that, can’t you?…right?
Swallowing hard and gathering up your courage you slowly walked over to him, back turned to you as he took a sip from his water bottle. You coughed into your hand, and he finally saw you. He really did look sad, but you’d try and cheer him up.
“Um, hi. I dunno…if you remember me? You helped me out a while back.” He gave a small smile to you with a nod.
“Yeah, I remember. How are you?”
“Oh, uhm I’m fine. But…sorry, I don’t mean to intrude if you want me to go away I will, I just…are you alright? I uh didn’t see you last week, and you’re always here so…not that I was looking out for you or anything! Um, I just wanted to check…” You were sweating bullets and it had nothing to do with the fact that you’d just run your fastest mile yet on the treadmill.
His smile fell a bit making you think you’d said something wrong, that he didn’t want to talk. Maybe this was a mistake.
“Oh…yeah, I had some personal stuff to take care of last week but I’m fine now, getting back in the routine!” His voice perked up, but you could tell it was a facade. And it wasn’t your place to meddle.
“Well…I’m not much of a talker but I’ve bee told I’m a good listener. If you ever wanna talk! Uh, only if you want to though! Um…” your thumbs fiddled behind your back nervously. “Ok uh I just…see you around bye!” Before you could turn around and run away though he called out to you.
“Wait! I didn’t catch your name last week.” He looked less sad than he did before, so maybe your stuttering didn’t fall on deaf ears.
“Oh! Uh…it’s (Y/N).” You knew you were blushing but there was no way to hide it now.
“Ok (Y/N)…thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” You nodded, his eyes looking more like familiar now, as you walked away towards the locker rooms.
You didn’t see the way his eyes followed you, or how his fingers kneaded into the hem of his gym shorts as you walked away.
_______________________________________
And the routine continued. After a few days Kirishima got back to his normally bubbly self, and it made you feel good to see him smile again. There was just one problem though…
He was getting friendly, and you were feeling stressed.
After you’d introduced yourself properly and offered a listening ear to him for his troubles, he took it upon himself to make conversation with you at least once while you were there. Normally he was just a distraction on the other side of the gym, leaving you to concentrate on your workout but still able to glance at him from afar. But now? He was RIGHT THERE, offering to help with using a machine you weren’t familiar with.
Or putting his hand on your back to improve your posture.
Or shoving that bright smile of his in your face when you finished an extra difficult lift.
Or…literally anything else.
And you hoped he didn’t see how flustered you were when he was close by, because it was…strange? Unfamiliar? You were plain and boring and average, people passed by you without a second glance and you were used to falling into the background, a repeated stripe in cheap wallpaper. Was the offer to listen to his problems so extraordinary that this handsome man straight out of a magazine spread well out of your league went out of his way to talk to you? There was no way.
“Hey! Good workout today (Y/N)!” Kirishima said to you, bring a towel up to wipe the sweat from the back of his neck.
“Uh, thanks. I feel like it’s getting easier…I guess that’s a good thing.” He gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“It is! But it also means making things harder for next time. But…hey, can I ask something?” His ruby eyes glanced off to the side as if he was watching for anyone listening.
“Yeah, sure,” you said with a hard swallow.
“Can I…take you up on that offer? To listen.” He looked sheepish - another expression that wasn’t familiar on his face but it reminded you that he was human, too. Even so it caught you off-guard that he actually wanted to talk to YOU of all people when you were sure he had plenty of other friends he could talk to.
“Uhm, y-yeah! I have an open ear.” The kindness glittering in his eyes made you nearly drop your water bottle.
“Awesome!” He walked over to an empty bench and patted the seat next to him for you to sit down. And you did.
_______________________________________
People always said you were a good listener, able to sit without interrupting and could empathize with situations outside of your own experiences. It helped you rationalize that even people who appeared perfect were still flawed, secrets or pain sometimes becoming too much to keep to themselves.
Kirishima was no different.
You sat on the bench and listened intently as he recounted what was troubling him. It was humbling that he chose to talk to you about these things rather than someone else, someone he was closer to. He seemed like an honestly nice person so far, nothing disingenuous about his personality or want for an ear to lean on. You nodded your head as you listened to his story, choosing not to talk or comment until he asked for your opinion.
“…so that’s about it. Sorry if I rambled, sometimes I just keep talking when I should have stopped a long time ago,” Kirishima said, scratching his cheek as he looked at you with apologetic eyes but you shook your head.
“No, it’s fine. We just talk about things that are most important to us. And um, I’m sorry you had to go through all that. Sometimes you just have to take time away and focus on yourself and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Kirishima placed his hands on either side of his hips on the bench for stability as he leaned back, a soft smile on his face.
“You’re not wrong! Thanks for listening. So I just spilled my guts out here, so tell me about yourself, then!” He leaned a bit more into your space and hoped he didn’t see your ears burning.
“M-me? Oh you don’t…I’m pretty boring-”
“I’m sure that’s not true!” He honestly looked offended that you would call yourself ‘boring.’ “What kind of movies do you like?”
The question made you spin through several different scenarios very quickly: was he flirting? Did he realize he was coming off as flirty or was it just being polite? Was he like this with everyone? You might as well roll with it since he asked a direct question, nowhere to run this time.
“Uhm..well..” You spouted off some titled you’d seen recently, some of which he enjoyed as well. So the conversation turned more even as you both talked and both listened. He was becoming easier to talk to, but your nerves still bubbled in the pit of your stomach at this unfamiliar attention. Suddenly his name was called on the other side of the gym. You both looked over to see three of his friends, you assumed, calling out to him as they headed towards the doors.
“Shit, what time is it…ah I gotta go,” he said checking the time on his phone as he stood up. “We’ll finish up the conversation next time! Have a good night!” You nodded and waved as Kirishima grabbed his gym bag and jogged over to his buddies, heading out the door with one last look back in your direction.
The gym was now cold and empty as you sighed to yourself.
“He’s just being nice…he’d never like me…”
_______________________________________
Kirishima’s POV:
He walked into the gym like he did almost everyday, gym bag slung over his shoulder as he headed towards the locker rooms, waving at the desk staff that he knew by name at this point.
“Hey man, what’s up?” asked a man with bright yellow hair, a black streak running through the bangs falling away from his face.
Kirishima set down his gym bag on a bench as he started to change clothes. “Hey, Kaminari! Not much, same old same old.” His muscles rippled as he removed his shirt, tossing it aside before pulling some of his hair back into a small ponytail.
“Who was that chick you were talking to yesterday? And the day before that? And-”
“Don’t even start, bro,” Kirishima said in response, ruby eyes cutting hard to the side at his friend.
Kaminari tossed his gym bag into a locker before grabbing his water bottle, hands out a little too defensively. “Hey man it’s just an observation! I personally think you could do better, honestly.” Kirishima stopped tying his tennis shoe as he looked up, confusion on his face.
“…what is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not a bad looking dude is all I’m saying, you could get anyone you want-” Kirishima slammed his locker shut a little too forcefully, cutting the blonde short.
“Don’t be an asshole. She’s nice, OK? And she’s here more often than you are so don’t even start.” With that, Kirishima walked out of the locker room leaving Kaminari behind.
Feeling agitated with the conversation he just had, Kirishima opted to let out some frustrations at one of the punching bags. A few people backed away as he started pounding into the bag, punches and grunts echoing in the open gym floor.
“Nothing wrong with-” punch. “someone trying to-” punch punch. “improve themselves.” punch kick. Intense focus. Tunnel vision.
“Uh-”
“Hard work-” punch punch. “is super manly!” PUNCH.
“Are you-”
“Huh?” A voice brought him out of his daze, his hands just barely catching the swinging punching bag before it hit him right in the nose. Turning his head to the direction of the voice, he paused.
It was her.
“Um, are you OK? You seem really angry at that uh, bag.” Her eyes darted from his face to the punch bag then back again. He immediately felt embarrassed, hoping she didn’t hear him getting angry towards an inanimate object.
“Oh hey! Yeah yeah I’m fine, just uh, letting off some steam,” he said, turning to properly face her now. He hadn’t known her long, but he could already tell she was less timid than when they first met; her posture wasn’t as slouched, she didn’t stutter as much, and her eyes held a new kind of sparkle that wasn’t there previously. She was gaining confidence, and he was happy for her. “How are you?”
“Not bad, just wanted to say ‘hi’ before getting started so…” she gave a small wave, not giving him time to answer before darting back towards the other side of the gym.
He waved at her retreating back, not realizing he was smiling to himself.
_______________________________________
As Kirishima took a sip from his waterbottle he felt a tap on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around and face Kaminari. His brows knit together on impulse, though his friend’s apologetic expression was one that caught him off guard.
“Hey, man. I didn’t like, mean to piss you off with what I said. It’s none of my business anyway. But really though,” he said, elbowing Kirishima in the rubs. “Get her number, I see the way you smile like a moron when you talk to her.”
Kirishima’s eyes widened, cheeks turning pink as he avoided eye contact as he stuttered out some response. “Wh- I do not!”
“You are right now! And it’s beyond obvious that she gets flustered when you’re around you musclehead.” Kaminari winked as Kirishima scoffed and turned away back towards the free weights.
“…I’ll think about it,” Kirishima said with slow hesitating words barely above a whisper, maybe more to himself than his gym buddy behind him. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she would say “no” or that he was even denying he thought she was cute and wouldn’t mind a date. But something old and overworked bubbled up in the back of his brain, something he’d always struggled with even now as an adult.
“Good luck, man. Better grab her before someone else does.” Kaminari’s words made Kirishima look up and over across the gym at Kaminari’s eyeline to spot the subject of their current conversation, stretching on a mat…and just off to her right was a group of guys, one of them looking very familiar: the guy who Kirishima pulled off her weeks earlier who said he was “the best she could do” or something along those lines. He growled under his breath, suddenly feeling very protective over someone he wasn’t even dating. Without thinking he set down his weights to make his way across the room, wanting to watch over her from close by to make sure those guys didn’t do anything stupid.
Kaminari looked on as his friend walked away, shaking his head with a mug look on his face. “All he needed was a push…”
The hushed laughter of the group of men immediately died down as Kirishima made his way towards them, a look of determination quickly replaced by one of casual exuberance as he neared the woman they were just looking at, his ruby eyes darting quickly in their direction letting them know he was watching them.
“Hey there! How’s it going?” (Y/N) looked up to see the red-head, a timid smile lighting up her face.
“Oh uh, it’s going good. You don’t look as angry as you did earlier. Did you get out your uh, frustrations I guess?” He scratched his cheek in embarrassment thinking back to pounding the punching bag in some bizarre attempt at defending her from Kaminari’s words in the locker room.
“Yeah! Ha, I do feel- wh-!” It only took a split second as he looked off to the side. The rude man in the group had come up behind(Y/N) and shoved her from the back as she toppled forward and right into Kirishima’s chest as he stumbled backwards in slow motion, feet slipping on the slick gym floor from the sudden momentum.
(Y/N) yelped as she tumbled forward, hands landing on Kirishima’s broad chest as they fell, Kirishima landing hard on his back with a THUD that practically echoed in the large open gym. Her eyes shut tightly as she landed right on top of Kirishima, their legs tangled together, his hands gripping onto her upper arms in some attempt to stabilize their fall.
As(Y/N) opened her eyes, she was face to face with Kirishima’s sweaty chest, hands on his pecs basically straddling him in front of everyone. Her face went scarlet as she scrambled off him, face stricken with horror and embarrassment as she ran away to the safety of the women’s locker room.
Kirishima was basically stunned into silence at what just happened…what had happened? They were talking and then suddenly she was falling forward…and…? Sitting up from the dusty gym floor the group of skeevy gymrats walked away across his vision, the greasy-looking man looking back over his shoulder with a knowing smirk.
Kirishima cursed under his breath at the realization before turning snapping his attention back in the direction(Y/N) ran. “Shit…”
_______________________________________
“Dude, what happened?” Kirishima brushed himself off as he got to his feet, the grime and dust of the gym floor at the end of the day sticking to his skin and clothes. Kaminari jogged over to his side after hearing a distinct yelp from this direction and noticed Kirishima flat on his ass on the floor.
“Some fucking idiots doing something stupid…and now I gotta try and fix it.” Kirishima sighed as he passed by his friend to walk towards the women’s locker room where he assumed she ran off to, hidden from view where he couldn’t follow. Kaminari followed close behind, wanting to see how this would unfold.
Stopping before the entrance to the locker room, Kirishima called out (Y/N).
“(Y/N)! Hey it’s OK to come out!” he yelled, his voice echoing off the tiled walls into the room hidden from view around a corner. A woman came out and gave them a funny look before walking away, though Kaminari didn’t miss watching her saunter away. Otherwise the entryway was silent.
“Are you sure she ran in here?”
“I mean I dunno where else she’d be?” A cursory glance around the rest of the gym, unable to view your signature (h/c) hair told him this was the only other place you might be outside of leaving the gym altogether.
“Just go in there and find her!” Kirishima turned on his heel to glare.
“I’m not going in the women’s locker room, Kaminari.” He held his hands up defensively.
“Ok ok, just a suggestion unless you wanna stand out here for another hour.”
He called out her name again, still no answer. Kirishima mulled it over in his head, lips rolling over the outside of his teeth, brows knit together in frustration. He knew she was timid but was slowly breaking out of her shell. And assholes pulling a prank specifically to try and embarrass her could not have been good for any built up self worth she’d amassed over the weeks. “Dammit…stay here,” Kirishima said, one hand pointing down at the ground behind him specifically directed at Kaminari not unlike a “stay” command directed towards a dog.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he slipped around the corner, eyes peeled and ready to bolt in case he saw something inappropriate on accident.
“Uh…(Y/N)? If you’re in here just come out and we can talk, OK? Not a big deal.” He sidled along the wall slowly until something - a sniffle, maybe - hit his ears. It made his heart drop into his stomach.
Finally peeking his head around the corner he spotted you behind a set of lockers sitting on a bench, you back to him, head bent down and out of sight. Looking around he didn’t see anyone else…so he decided to make a bold move and step forward off the wall.
“Hey, it’s alright I promise.” He was just a few feet away now and you tensed at hearing his voice so close by, knowing by now that you’ve been seen. A hand came up to wipe at your face - another sniffle - but you still didn’t turn around.
“S-sorry…”
“Why are you sorry? Those jerks pushed you it’s not-”
“S-sorry for being weak. A pushover. A target.” His words caught in his throat at your sudden self-depreciation. Another sniffle. “I-I’m not dumb…you stick by me because I probably look like I need protecting. I’m n-not…a strong person. I’m used to being picked on.”
Forgetting that he was in the women’s locker room, Kirishima walked forward to stand directly in front of (Y/N), kneeling down so your seated line of sight was now mostly even with his. You avoided eye contact, face puffy and red from shame and embarrassment.
“Hey, don’t talk about yourself like that. And I don’t just talk to you out of pity, that’s definitely not true.” A strong hand reached out hesitantly towards yours. You jerked at the contact but didn’t pull away completely, his calloused fingers gracing over the back of your hand like a feather. “I like talking with you. Like, a lot. No bullshit.” Kirishima swallowed the growing lump in his throat as he continued. “And don’t ever put yourself at fault for what assholes do.”
You chewed your bottom lip before asking “Why?” The question caught him off guard as you finally looked at him, eyes unsteady and uncertain.
“Why what?”
“Why..do you like talking with me? Aren’t I boring?”
Unconsciously his fingers trailed gently across the skin on your hand in some semblance to soothe, to comfort, to reassure. “No, you’re not boring. Remember when you came up to me when you noticed I was down a while back?” You nodded. “No one else asked how I was doing. You’re the only one.” That caught your attention.
“But…I see you with your friends all the time. They didn’t…?” He shook his head, only a glimmer of sadness behind his ruby eyes.
“They’re kind of oblivious when it comes to stuff like that, usually I’m the one asking how they’re doing, not the other way around.” Before they could continue this intimate conversation, however, Kirishima heard Kaminari yell from outside the lockeroom entrance.
“Dude you done in here?! I’m trying not to get you kicked out man! There’s only so many chicks I can distract at once.”
Kirishima took his hand away to stand up, remembering that he was indeed in the women’s locker room. “Oh, oops yeah I technically shouldn’t be in here? Wanna talk outside?” He looked down kindly at you, head nodding in the direction of the exit back to the gym floor. After a few seconds you stood up and nodded in return, eyes surprisingly steady. You followed him out of the locker room as he darted quickly around the corner, trying not to look suspect in any wrongdoing.
“About time- oh. Hi!” A man with bright blonde hair stood outside the locker room, the guy you assumed was Kirishima’s friend keeping a lookout. With Kirishima’s back turned he quickly leaned down to whisper, “he likes you, by the way.” A look of innocence lit up his features before Kirishima turned back around, eyes darting between his friend and (Y/N) with a look of suspicion at your blushing face.
“Talk over by those benches over there?” Kirishima pointed to a corner fairly isolated from the rest of the gym.
“Um, yeah sure. It’s getting late though so I can’t uh stay too long…”
Kirishima nodded. “That’s fine, just for a few minutes.” There was that kind smile again. He waited for you to step in line with him. And you did.
_______________________________________
The next few weeks were interesting as you tried to process everything and build up your confidence at the same time. It turned out Kirishima was a bit shy when it came to expressing himself in certain situations, which you found humbling and kind of cute. He didn’t look down on you for trying to better yourself, instead he supported your efforts and helped out when you asked for it.
And progress was still showing as you continued to feel healthier and better about yourself when you looked in the mirror. You decided to go out and buy some new workout clothes as a treat, something to replace the baggy t-shirts and gym shorts you wore all the time.
It was a bit odd walking into the gym in unfamiliar clothes but for the first time you felt like you didn’t look BAD in them. They clung to you as opposed to tried to hide everything. In the back of your mind a little voice hoped Kirishima might notice your change in wardrobe.
Oh, Kirishima noticed.
You walked into the gym and looked for the familiar striking red hair. It had become routine for you to say “hi” to him or he to you. Unfortunately nothing caught your eye, maybe he wasn’t there yet or was in the locker room. But he was always there on Thursdays so you knew he’d show up sooner or later.
After getting changed into your new clothes you took one last look in the mirror and nodded in approval before walking out into the gym floor. As you walked to the left to the treadmills, you missed Kirishima walking in on the other side.
While running you finally noticed him on the weight machines, and he was looking at you. Actually it was more like blatantly staring. When he noticed that you noticed, he quickly looked away. Your face felt like it was on fire but you didn’t stop jogging – you could greet him when you were done and butterflies weren’t flitting around in your stomach. He didn’t give you the chance, though.
As soon as you were on the cool down cycle he got up and made his way over to you.
“Hey (Y/N)! How’s it going?” A damp towel hung across the back of his neck, arms and chest already shiny from sweat. Now you were the one staring, not that it was out of the ordinary at this point in all honesty.
“Hi, Kirishima. Uh, I’m doing fine. How about you?” You were trying not to trip over your own feet despite the slow walking pace of the treadmill. Kirishima draped his arms over the side of the treadmill on the support bars. The added height of the machine made you about eye-level to him now.
“Not bad at all! You look different today but I can’t quite place it…” Looking into his rose-colored eyes you knew he was playing around, it was obvious from the previous staring that you caught his attention more than usual. He didn’t let on, though. “Oh I know!” he said with a snap. “You look confident. It suits you.” His smile made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
The treadmill finally stopped, now you had nothing to distract you from the handsome man you’d come to know who was looking at you expectantly. “Um, thanks I think? I feel…not too bad today. So yeah, confident sounds like the right word,” you said with a nod.
“Good! Ready to start?” You nodded again, knowing this was the day in your weekly routine he would help you would more difficult workouts, making sure your form was correct and you weren’t overexerting yourself.
These days always made you a bit nervous because he would actually touch you: a hand on your back, lifting your arms to a better position, positioning your feet properly, etc. They were never inappropriate, but just the act of him touching you at all gave you goosebumps.
By the end of the next hour your legs felt like jelly, but in a way you knew would pay off later. He patted you on the back reassuringly.
“Doin’ alright?” he asked with a light laugh.
“Ha yeah…I’ll sleep well tonight for sure.” You managed to stand up with his help, steadying you as you stretched. You missed the way his eyes roamed around your arms and shoulders. “Um, thanks again for helping me. I’ve learned a lot.”
“Hey no problem! I don’t mind at all.” He looked like he had something else to say. “Uh…so I got a question for you.”
“Um, sure. What is it?” Was that a blush you saw on his cheeks?
“Do you…no.” He shook his head. “Would you like to hang out…not at the gym?” He winced at his awkward words. “As in-”
“Yes!” The word was out of your mouth before you realized it, your hands clamping tightly over your face from embarrassment, cheeks burning and eyes wide. You couldn’t believe he was actually asking you to, like, hang out? Outside? With her?! Kirishima let out a hearty laugh that echoed in her chest.
“What an enthusiastic answer! Alright cool, sounds good. Are you about to head out?” you nodded, hands slowly pulling away from you flushed face. “Do you go to the train station a couple blocks away?” Another nod. “Wanna walk together?” You wanted to explode but you managed to hold it together as you gave another nod which he returned with a wink and a thumbs-up. “Great! Meet you by the doors when you’re ready.” And with that, he turned and walked away. You stared at his butt and didn’t even care if anyone saw.
Turns out dedication can pay off in more ways than one.