Kirishima's PoV

I woke up from a feather-light touch on my chest, opened my eyes and looked directly into the red eyes of Bakugou. He had leaned up on one elbow and drew small circles on the naked skin of my upper body. The gentle smile with which he looked at me caused my heart to beat faster. Who would have thought that the hot-headed dragonslayer could smile like that?

I also turned my lips into a tired smile and dragged him down to me for a short kiss. "Good morning," I whispered as we separated again.

Then I frowned and carefully stroked his neck. A big dark mark could be seen, surrounded by the unmistakable punctures of my teeth. I bit my lip. "Sorry. I hurt you again," I mumbled in shame.

But Bakugou laughed slightly and shook his head. "No, it's all right. I feel honored." He winked at me. Confused I looked at him. What did he mean by that?

Bakugou sighed. "I figured you wouldn't know. It's a little strange that I know so much more about dragons than you do."

I rolled my eyes. "Now don't harp on about it. What did you mean by feeling honored?"

"You marked me as your mate," he simply said, but had a sparkle in his eyes.

"Oh." I just said, not knowing what else to say, and my cheeks got red. Maybe that wasn't one of those things you should do unknowingly. I had acted instinctively without being aware of the consequences. "Is that all right with you?" I asked quietly, a little worried that I had forced something on him, stroking one of his stubborn blonde strands of hair off his forehead.

"Like I said, I'm honored," Bakugou replied. Then he frowned. "Are you saying that you would rather undo it?"

I shook my head frantically. "No! Even though I didn't know what I was doing, it reflects exactly what I am feeling!"

"All right then." Bakugou said smiling and bent down to kiss me again. "Just to make that clear. We officially belong together," he whispered against my lips before covering the last distance and connecting our lips. I sighed with pleasure.

"We should get up," I finally said, even though I enjoyed our togetherness more than anything. Bakugou just nodded, threw the blanket aside and got up. I watched his movements attentively. They were a little stiff and he grimaced a little, but he didn't complain.

---

Together we went down the narrow staircase into the taproom. Unlike last night, the room was empty and quiet. But before we had to look for Denki, he came from a room behind the counter. He balanced a tray with bread and cheese on it and put it on the counter.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted us tiredly. The pub owner had deep circles under his eyes and generally looked as if he had hardly slept.

"Good morning." I replied with a smile and dragged Bakugou with me as I walked towards him. I sat down on one of the bar stools and the dragonslayer did the same.

"Did you find out anything last night?" my mate asked straight out.

Denki nodded and supported his head on an elbow. "Yes. I guess I have someone for you. He's part of the King's Country Guard, relatively low ranked, but still. You can trust him, he's done some jobs for me before. He said he could get you out. But I didn't tell him who you are. I didn't know if that would be okay for you. But it could be that he recognizes you, Bakugou."

"Sounds great," I said enthusiastically. Bakugou grumbled in agreement.

"Sero will show up here soon. He wants to get to know you first, after all, he's risking his job for you. What you tell him is up to you." He tiredly rubbed his face. "If I hadn't been in Mina's debt, I would have been paid well for this job. So make the best of it."

"We're very grateful to you," I said with a smile.

Denki smiled broadly. "I was happy to do it. When do you have the chance to meet a half dragon? And seriously, I find it quite impressive that you managed to tame this stubborn dragonslayer here."

I giggled a little and blushed, but Bakugou clicked annoyed with his tongue. "Don't push it too far," he growled.

Denki grinned cheekily. "How far then? Should I mention the beautiful noises the dragonslayer makes when he lets his half dragon fuck him?"

Bakugou jumped up, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up by it. "That wasn't very smart, you fuckface! Don't you dare talk about me and Red like that again or kill you myself and feed your dead body to Red!"

"Let him go," said a calm, deep voice behind us. Surprised, we turned around. In the door stood a tall, slim man with medium black hair. He wore a white shirt and grey trousers and generally looked very plain. If it hadn't been for the characteristic red cape that lay on his shoulders and unmistakably marked him as a member of the King's Country Guard.

"Hanta!" choked out Denki.

Bakugou rolled his eyes and let him go, not without giving him a little push before he sat down again.

The man just shook his head and went to Denki behind the counter. "Stop getting yourself into such unfortunate situations," he cursed before giving the bar owner a short kiss.

Then he turned to us. "My name is Hanta Sero. I assume you are the two who want to leave the city unchecked?"

I nodded shyly. We had probably not made the best first impression. But he only looked at me briefly and then turned to Bakugou. "You're the missing dragonslayer, aren't you? Your temperament is legendary."

But Bakugou didn't answer and turned to Denki instead. "You said you would let yourself be paid well for the job normally! All you did was run to your boyfriend," he hissed and looked at the pub owner with a piercing stare.

"Hey, just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean the contact's less valuable," he defended himself.

Sero sighed and gave him a slap on the back of the head, but left it uncommented. He turned to me again instead. "Okay, and who are you?"

"I am Eijirou ... Kirishima." I hesitated a little with my last name, but I had told Denki anyway, so it wouldn't remain a secret. But immediately after I had pronounced it, I saw the realization flash in Sero's eyes. He smiled knowingly.