Chapter Text
“Welcome to Hero’s Bakery!”
Kirishima pushed open the wooden door to the building, letting the sweet smells of confectioneries and warm drinks permeate his senses. Slowly, he took in the interior of the shop from the entrance, taking note of the stylish placement of chairs and tables arranged around cute potted plants. It was pretty empty, but Kirishima figured that was a given as he had come at an odd hour.
“Oh, it’s Kirishima-kun!”
Kirishima turned to watch a girl with fluffy, bobbed chestnut-colored hair make her way towards him from the counter, waving energetically. She wore a long, beige apron over a plain white dress shirt and black jeans. The other girl behind the counter with short, purple hair looked up for a moment before resuming her duties.
“Hi Uraraka! It’s been a while!” He smiled, stepping into the store to meet her.
“It really has! I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long!”
“Well,” Kirishima laughed, scratching his chin. “I haven’t been here since the bakery’s opening, so—how’s work been?”
“It’s been great, I love it here!” Uraraka beamed as she gestured to one of the seats near the windows. Kirishima followed her lead and sat down in one of the chairs, picking up a menu. “What brings you here?”
“In the area again for my internship! Here for my after-lunch break,” Kirishima responded up at her. “I heard the bakery’s been doing pretty well so I wanted to pop in for a visit. Pretty well, except…”
Uraraka blinked, prompting Kirishima to continue. He chuckled nervously, taking his phone out of his pocket and directing her attention to the picture on the screen.
It was a review of Hero’s Bakery on Help, the nationwide search forum for all types of service jobs including but, not excluded to restaurants, doctors, salons, and the like. Hero’s Bakery was fairly high overall, ranking as one of the top cafes in the area except for one category that was scored significantly lower than the rest.
“Ah…” Uraraka sighed, fatigue settling into her features.
“N-not that that’s a huge problem or anything, I was just concerned!” Kirishima responded hastily, glancing at her sympathetically. “Is it a new waiter?”
“No, it’s not, it’s kind of complicated?” she responded sheepishly, directing Kirishima to the menu. “It’s not a big deal though! It doesn’t usually come up, it’s just the customers who have a real problem with it that leave those nasty reviews there!”
Kirishima stared at her for a moment longer before turning to flip through the menu. “If you say so, then…”
“Anyways, if you need me, you know where to find me,” Uraraka exclaimed, pointing towards the counter.
Kirishima gave a thumbs-up as she left him to peruse the menu on his own. Although it had been a while since he had been there, he could see that most of the bakery’s core cakes, drinks, and baked goods remained the same from its opening, mouth-watering treats from head chef Rikido Satou who Kirishima had met a few times in the past.
One thing he enjoyed best about this menu was how personalized it was. Even though Kirishima wasn’t extremely close to Satou, he could really understand and come to know who the baker was through his works. Some of his favorite dishes from Satou were the ‘Enticing Eclairs,’ ‘Mother’s Apple Strudels,’ and ‘Chiffon and Off Cakes,’ that never failed to deliver a light, but fruity flavor with every bite. It really gave Kirishima an insight into the man’s character.
Just as he was about to choose from one of the three options, his eyes skimmed across past the ‘Chef Recommendations’ section to ‘Customer Favorites.’ At the very bottom of the menu in the right-hand corner was an entry that read ‘Killer Caramel,’ shorthand ‘Kororamel.’
He blinked once, twice, then rubbed his eyes for good measure. Surely Satou wouldn’t have approved of such a name to be put into the menu, but there it was, staring back at him and drawing him in with its strange, but subtly manly name. Upon reading the description, it seemed to be advertising a cake with a butter and caramelized sugar base.
Kirishima pulled up his phone again, rifling through the reviews to see if he could find anything else on this cake.
The reviews were staggering.
Most of them gushed on and on about how the cake was godsend, how they were sure to return to Hero’s Bakery solely for the cake itself. Others however had mixed reviews. None of the customers seemed to badmouth the cake itself, but rather, the low ratings were as a result of the chef who baked it.
In double checking, all the poor scores on Hero’s Bakery were because of this baker.
“Are you ready to order?”
Kirishima startled at the question, looking up to see the short-haired girl from the counter from earlier. She looked unamused, holding a notepad in one hand, a pen in the other. Earphones were draped around her neck, but they didn’t seem to be distracting her from her work.
“Ah, um,” Kirishima stammered, skimming across the menu once more before deciding his curiosity couldn’t be stopped. “Could I have a slice of Killer Caramel?”
The girl blinked, then scribbled something on her notepad in a messy scrawl. “Is that all, sir?”
“I might come up to grab a drink in a bit,” Kirishima smiled, closing the menu and handing it to her. “That’s it for now though!”
She nodded, giving her name as Kyouka before heading back to the counter with the order. Kirishima sighed, stretching lazily and looking out the window at the bustling crowd. It was a few hours before rush hour so there weren’t as many people. Winds were picking up and it was beginning to show signs of fall. Maybe he’ll take an apple strudel to go with his drink later if the cake isn’t great.
Kyouka returned soon after with his order and Kirishima gave a quick thanks before taking in the dessert. Because he’s had caramel cakes in the past, he expected it to look about the same as any he’s eaten. He probably should have assumed otherwise with the name.
Although it had the same yellow cake interior, the caramel icing and hardened sugar dripped and oozed across the top, flickering orange and red like fire. Even though Kirishima knew little about baking, he could see the deliberate strokes of the baking tools as they made some kind of explosion shape on top of the cake, each curve of frosting coming to meet at the center in an over-glorified bang. He thought it would have been even more of a spectacle if he had ordered an entire cake as opposed to just a piece where most of the design was cut. The cake exuded manliness and it was riveting to Kirishima’s core.
Kirishima tentatively took his fork and took a bite from what he considered to be a work of art.
If he thought it looked amazing, then it probably tasted even more amazing than that. The moment the cake touched his taste buds, the tender softness of the bread mixed with the sweetness of the whipped caramel was enough to steal his breath away. The caramelized sugar was just light enough that it didn’t take away from the rest of the dish, and the buttery hint in the frosting reminded him of the glow of a warm drink on a chilly autumn day.
It was perfect.
Kirishima couldn’t imagine what kind of person—scratch that, what kind of horrible person the chef must have been to garner those types of reviews with a cake that was sent from the heavens. Surely someone who created these manly, pastry perfections weren’t as horrible as Help made them out to be, right?
As soon as he had received the cake, it was gone in the blink of an eye. He had wanted to spend his time pleasantly in the bakery as it had been a while since he was there, but he had hardly taken more than five minutes to finish his meal. He hated to pick favorites, but he probably liked the cake more than he did with anything else he could have eaten here.
He wanted more. And, he wanted to thank the person who could give him such happiness.
Picking up his utensils and clearing off his table, Kirishima made his way to the counter. Uraraka was making espresso in the background, but Kyouka was there to grab his dirty dishes. Kirishima loitered for a moment in front of the display case, eyeing the treats there and wondering which ones Mr. Killer Caramel had helped to make.
“Heading out, Kirishima-kun?” Uraraka asked after handing the drink to another customer and sending her on her way.
“Yeah, but before I go, I want to give my compliments to the chef first,” Kirishima said, grinning widely.
“Oh, I think Satou-san is out right now! I could let you know when he’ll be—”
“No, no, Mr. Killer Caramel!”
“Oh, you had the…” Uraraka paused, looking uncertain. “Uh, are you sure? I could just let him know—I know you’re probably busy…”
“Nah,” Kirishima reasserted, leaning against the display case. “The cake was really good and I want the chef to know that personally!”
Uraraka still looked uncertain, but she didn’t seem to push the issue. She excused herself for a moment, heading into the kitchens after making sure Kyouka was handling herself well.
Kirishima drummed his fingers on the counter, looking up and out at the rest of the building with a fond adoration. Even though it had been a while, this bakery was the same as he knew, minus the new hires who were honestly quite pleasant if he had to judge Kyouka on the spot. Even if it had only been four months since the bakery’s opening, it was nice being back in the area and meeting up with old friends.
And, if he could eat more of Mr. Killer Caramel’s pastries, that’d be all he’d ever need.
As if on cue, a broad-shouldered man with blonde hair and piercing red eyes exited the kitchen, his face seemingly placed in a permanent scowl. He wore the chef’s attire, except the hat which was out of sight. Despite how messy his hair looked, the rest of his outfit was suited to perfection, each button in its place and not a wrinkle in sight. To say that Kirishima did a double take was an understatement. The man even smelled like caramel. He seemed just as intense as his works.
And, just as the pastry chef’s cake had done, the man took Kirishima’s breath away.
“H-hey dude!” Kirishima called, raising a hand in greeting. “That was you that made the cake? It was amazing, one of the most amazing I’ve ever had!”
“Fucking ‘course, my cakes are the best.”
Kirishima stared blankly at the man before throwing his hands over his stomach and doubling over in laughter. Uraraka ran up from behind the chef, shooting him a reprimanding look.
“Bakugou-kun!”
“Tsk,” Bakugou clicked his tongue, making to turn around and head back into the kitchen once more. “Is that it?”
“Wa-wait, wait,” Kirishima heaved a breath, clutching the display case for dear life. “Oh man, when I saw all the reviews, I thought you might’ve been a jerk, but you’re just—”
Bakugou snarled, walking up to Kirishima to glare at him across the counter. “I don’t give a shit about those reviewers.”
Kirishima wiped a tear out of his eye. “I’m sure you don’t, dude, you’re so manly. Just like your cakes.”
Bakugou seemed a bit confused at that, glancing down at Kirishima’s spiked, red hair blankly. He didn’t seem to know what to say.
Kirishima finally found the strength to right himself, exhaling happily. He extended a hand, beaming brightly. “Anyway, it’s real nice to meet you, Mr. Killer Caramel!”
“Mr. Killer—” Kyouka choke-laughed from behind Bakugou.
Bakugou seemed to consider him for a moment before smirking, reaching out his own hand to take Kirishima’s. “Likewise, Shitty Hair.”
“Wha—shitty—”
“Bakugou-kun!” a deep voice rang out from the kitchen. “You better be treating our customers well!”
“Shut it, don’t tell me what to do!” Bakugou snarled, retracting from Kirishima’s hold to bark back in the direction of the noise. Kirishima followed his gaze, trying to place the voice to a face, but failing to do so. It must have been another new hire.
“Bakugou, you really do need to work on that—the last person you scared away filed a huge complaint against Satou-san,” Kyouka added plainly, twirling her earphones in her fingers.
“Satou-san is nice about it, but, it really does bother him,” Uraraka sighed, looking away from Bakugou.
“Whatever,” Bakugou huffed, heading to the back. Despite how he had entered the room with such bravado, he looked a little small with the complaints directed at him from all sides. Kirishima felt a twinge in his heart.
“Hey, Bakugou,” Kirishima called, placing both palms on the counter. He ignored the warning looks from Uraraka and Kyouka. “I’ll be back tomorrow! You’d better have more of that cake!”
Bakugou paused for a moment, glancing at Kirishima out of the corner of his eye. He snorted, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “‘Course I will, I work in a fucking bakery, you idiot.”
Kirishima blinked, then bit back another bite of laughter. “That’s true—well, I’ll see you then!”
Bakugou raised an arm in response, disappearing into the back once more. Kirishima felt his shoulders slump. He hadn’t even realized he had gotten so excited over meeting the chef, but his elevated pulse said otherwise.
“Sorry about him,” Uraraka spoke up, bringing both hands together and bowing slightly. “I think he forgets that customer service is a huge part of our jobs too… he just can’t seem to say things gently, that Bakugou-kun.”
“That’s alright,” Kirishima laughed, continuing to stare in the direction of the kitchens. “I like how manly he is. Everything he does, he does it so passionately.”
“You think so?” Uraraka hummed, untensing. She stared after him as well. “He’s a real handful.”
Kirishima didn’t think as much, but granted, he had only met the man. He settled himself into perusing the menu on the wall for a drink to-go.
“Who was that in the back?” Kirishima asked, selecting an Americano that Kyouka started to brew on the machines.
“Oh, that’s Iida-kun! He’s done great for our productivity, he makes everything so efficient!” Uraraka chimed. “I should tell you more about him later, and Kyouka-chan too! We’ve had a few new hires since you’ve been here, but everyone is great. Bakugou’s attitude needs adjusting but, his cakes are to die for.”
“Does he make anything else?”
“All kinds of things! Pastries, confectioneries, all kinds of desserts and really great frosting,” she said, listing off some of the works Bakugou had created. “His best stuff is all caramel though. Caramel drinks, caramelized candies, caramelized cakes, they taste heavenly! If only he got along better with the customers…”
Kirishima smiled, showing all teeth. “He got along fine with me?”
“I don’t think there’s a person alive who could dislike you, Kirishima-kun,” Uraraka laughed as Kyouka came up and handed Kirishima his drink. “Really though, I know you said you’d come tomorrow too, but don’t force yourself! He’s very overwhelming, it’s probably good for the bakery that he rarely comes out to greet the customers.”
“Mm,” Kirishima hummed into his drink, watching the steam rise from the cup. He felt the coffee settle warmly into his stomach and thought about the caramel cake once more. Bakugou was the one who gave him the sweetness and softness of that cake, even if indirectly. Kirishima knew he enjoyed the pastry, but what he wanted most was to learn more about the intense man with the angry scowl behind the counter who had created the work of art. “Thanks, but, I really love it here. Plus, I want more of that caramel cake.”
Uraraka waved as Kirishima made his way out of the shop, coffee in hand. He wrapped his scarf around his neck and breathed in the chilling air. Even if it was getting cold, Kirishima hardly felt it with the warm drink in his hand and homey food in his stomach. More than that though, he was glad to be back in the area so that he could visit Hero’s Bakery as often as he could.
Maybe he’d get a glimpse of the charming blonde pastry chef from time to time as well.