#also passed. 2 very rough looking accidents. i think i saw blood on the pavement coming out of the car that looked like All of the airbags

[toytulini]

boston rush hour traffic really has u experiencing such a range of human manners. i was looking judgementally at the lack of distance between the bumpers of 2 cars, the driver doing the tailgating noticed me looking, and gestured to me asking if i needed/wanted to get over, implying he'd let me over if i did, but i said no, and he gave me a thumbs up. and continued the tailgating

[sapphirewolf1122]

True Nature (part 1)

Part 1 | Part 2

Warning: Reader has thoughts of and attempts suicide. 

Summary: Your quirk causes you to hurt the people you love and you have lived in loneliness for years because of it. You finally decide to end it one day but an explosive hero gets in your way.

Word count: 4,607

You weren’t really sure where you were going. You had just suddenly really needed to get out of the house, away from the loneliness that had been your life for years now. You weren’t even paying attention to what direction you walked in; you just let your feet move on their own, taking random turns. It wasn’t long until you had gotten completely lost.

Finally looking up after walking for a while, you found yourself standing in front of an alley. Frowning, you looked around to try and determine exactly where you were. The street was pretty much deserted but you did manage to spot a sign that told you about where you were. You raised your eyebrows in surprise; had you really walked this far?

This was a district that had been experiencing a rise in crime. It had started off as small, petty crimes but those soon escalated. There have even been some deaths. The hero agencies here had even started asking for help outside of the district so as to stop the villains before it got even worse. Something about the way the victims had died was really concerning them.

Looking down the alleyway, you remembered hearing that some of the deaths had occurred in the alleys. It was starting to get dark…without really thinking, you took a step into the alley.

As you slowly walked through, a small part of your mind screamed at you to turn around. Only someone with a death wish would do something this stupid.

Exactly, you told that voice. 

You had been alone for so long now. It was the only way to ensure the safety of everyone else. Growing up, your parents had kept you pretty isolated. You had spent the majority of your childhood in your house in the country, where there were few kids your age. They even homeschooled you. But finally, you had had enough and left them and that house that had been more like a prison than home, behind. 

At first, you thought you could be like everyone else, so long as you were careful. But then you’d fallen in love. They could handle the small drawbacks. A small papercut, a cold. They told you that they’d bear it for you. But one day they came home after you had burned yourself cooking, their hand wrapped in a bandage. 

Furious, they screamed at you for being so careless. They told you were selfish for thinking it was okay to put this burden onto somebody else. What right did you have to love somebody when all you did was hurt them?

They had left and you, knowing they were right, vowed you would never do that to someone again. You became cold and aloof, keeping everyone at bay, not even allowing a friend. 

And you were done. But you didn’t have the courage to do anything about it yourself. What if there was still a shred of love somewhere for somebody? What would that do to them?

But maybe...maybe there was a way to not have to do it yourself. If you were caught somewhere you shouldn’t be and it was made to look like an accident…

You emerged at the other end of the alley. Blinking at the sudden brightness of the street lights, you looked around. This street was a lot busier than the one you had left behind. Looking back, you saw the dim light of the other side. Just your luck.

With a sigh, you started crossing the street. It wasn’t until you heard the screech of tires that you looked up to see a massive truck careening towards you. It was clear that if you didn’t move, it wouldn’t be able to stop in time. Perfect.

Closing your eyes, you waited for your fate.

~

Bakugo watched the busy street before him, looking out for anything suspicious. The agency he worked for had been one of the ones that were called to assist with the villain situation here. And of course, they had sent the best. 

But it had been days of undercover work now and he was getting fucking bored. The police in this shitty district had said too many heroes walking around in their costumes might only scare the villains into staying hidden. And while that was technically a good thing, they couldn’t keep this level of security forever and eventually, they would come back in earnest. So the goal was to catch them, unsuspecting. 

At the time, it had sounded like a good plan. But now he just wanted to find the fucking bastards and blast them. 

Looking over at the cop that he had been assigned to patrol with, he said, “Don’t you guys have any better ideas than this? It’s fucking been days and there have been no signs of the assholes.”

Not bothering to look up from the paper he was reading, the cop said, “We have no idea where the perpetrators’ hideout is. We can’t just go knocking down every door, hoping that we happen upon the right place. Our investigative team is working to figure that out but until then, this is what we can do. Be glad it’s been quiet, kid. That means nobody else has gotten hurt.” 

He did glance up as he finished that last part and Bakugo looked away angrily.

“Tch.” He hated when he was spoken to like he was some naive newbie. Was it so bad he wanted to catch the fuckers?

At that moment, he heard the squeal of tires and snapped his head around to a truck trying to stop. Frowning, he looked ahead of it until he saw why. There someone stood, not moving as they faced the truck heading towards them.

“What the hell are you doing?” he muttered, shooting up from the chair he had been sitting in. His partner looked up in confusion but before he could say anything, Bakugo was already running. Would he make it in time? He could use an explosion to get him there faster but that would risk hurting somebody else in such close quarters. God dammit, he wished he had Iida’s engines right now. 

Fuck, did he seriously just wish for Four-Eye’s quirk? That really made him angry and caused him to growl with a new determination.

“Get out of my fucking way, extras,” he yelled at the crowd. Bewildered faces turned towards him but they did as he said. This gave him the room he needed. 

Propelling himself forward and up with his explosions, he passed over the idiot’s head, grabbing their collar and pulling them out of the way of the truck. 

However, in his attempt to get to them faster, his explosions ended up being a little stronger than he meant them to be. Because of this, the landing was rougher and while he was able to do it fine, the person he had just saved landed hard on the pavement. He thought he even heard the crack of their head hitting the ground. 

Spinning around, he looked down at your face. You seemed dazed, your eyes searching but not seeing. Hovering over you, he placed his hands gently on either side of your face and said, “Hey, are you okay? Did you hit your head?”

While you seemed to register his voice, you didn’t respond. He searched your head with his hands and sure enough felt the warmth of blood. Looking up, he saw his partner standing there, his eyes wide. 

“What’re you staring for? Call a fucking ambulance!”

That seemed to snap him out of it and he hurriedly took out his phone.

Bakugo looked back down at you. Seeing that you had lost consciousness completely now, he stayed with you and waited for the ambulance to arrive. 

                                                            ~

You woke to the sound of something beeping, your head throbbing a bit. As you regained full consciousness, you noticed it sounded very similar to a medical monitor. With a frown, you opened your eyes; it took them a moment to adjust to the sudden bright light so everything was blurry for a bit. 

Looking to the side, you thought you saw a person next to you. As your eyes finally focused, you were able to see their face. It looked very familiar; was he famous? But why would somebody famous be by your bedside?

Seeing that your eyes were open, he smirked. “About time you woke up.”

It was his voice that made you realize who he was. The hero agency he worked for was in your district and you often saw him on the news. Though usually he was yelling at the top of his lungs or looked like he wanted to kill somebody. 

“Ground Zero?”

His eyebrows raised at the sound of his hero name, his smirk widening a bit.

“Outside of work, I go by Bakugo Katsuki.”

Huh...he seems nicer than he appeared on TV. Not as rough. The sound of his voice again took you out of your reverie.

“Are you okay? How’s your head?” He was peering at you with a small frown on his face now; you were starting to notice that he was quite expressive. 

At the mention of your head, your hand went up to touch it, finding the tender spot and the stitches. “It’s fine, I think. What exactly happened?”

“You don’t remember? You nearly got fucking creamed by a truck. I was nearby but barely managed to pull you out of the way. Why didn’t you move, idiot?”

You felt yourself get a little indignant at the last part. “Excuse me, not all of us have incredibly fast reflexes and flashy quirks like you. We can’t all be heroes, you know.”

Your tone seemed to take him by surprise; even you noticed how bitter you had sounded. Trying to move past it, you continued, “Also, I have a name. It’s—”

“____ ____.”

You blinked. “How do you know that?”

“We had to check your ID for information.”

“Oh...right.”

There was a long silence. Your hand kept creeping up to the tender spot on your head; you felt like there was something you were forgetting. As your fingers dug, a sharp pain went through your head and it occurred to you.

“Shit, is there a phone around?! I have to call, make sure no one else got hurt. Stupid, so stupid, fucking selfish…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Bakugo held up his hands, making calming motions. “Nobody else got hurt. I may have had to push a few people but nothing more than scrapes, I’m sure. Who would you need to call? Was someone with you?”

“No, I—I was alone.” You were always alone.

“Okay….what did you mean ‘selfish’?” Bakugo was studying you now, as though he was trying to put something together. 

You shook your head, hoping to veer him away from the subject. “It’s nothing. Probably just still confused from hitting my head.”

He looked unconvinced. “Right…” He seemed to contemplate something for a second before asking, “___, were you—”

At that moment, a nurse drew back the curtain around your bed.

“Ah, Miss ____, you’re awake. Good, good. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Can I go home?” You were starting to get uncomfortable with the way Ground Zero was looking at you, as though he were searching for something. 

The nurse chuckled. “Soon. We just have to do a couple of tests to make sure you don’t need to be observed overnight.”

“Oh, please no.”

“Don’t worry. You seem to being doing well; I’m sure we’ll get you discharged in no time. Of course, this wouldn’t be necessary if a certain young, exuberant hero hadn’t gotten carried away.” She gave a pointed look to said hero, who sputtered.

“I-I needed to get to her quickly! Would you rather I let her get fucking ran over?!” he replied indignantly. There was more of the Ground Zero you were used to seeing on TV.

The nurse just made tsking sounds. “It’s done now. But I think it’s time you left, Ground Zero. Do heroes usually show such interest in those they save?”

“Are you fucking serious?! But—” Bakugo was stopped by the nurse’s stern look. He glanced at you, perhaps trying to find some help but you looked away. Finally, with a glare he got up and left, muttering as he went, “Fine, but I’m going to the fucking waiting room.”

Once he was gone, the nurse got to work. “I swear, young heroes these days are so hot-headed. They get a few praises and they think they’re on top of it all.”

You didn’t respond, which caused the nurse to look up at you. “Are you sure you’re okay, dear? Is there anyone we can call for you?”

You shook your head. “No. No one.”

                                                            ~

True to her word, the nurse had you checked over and ready to be discharged shortly after. You were prescribed some painkillers to help with the tenderness but other than that, you were cleared. Once you had signed the papers, you made your way out of the emergency room.

You were considering whether to call a taxi or walk home, when Ground Zero ran out from behind you, calling your name.

With a sigh, you turned towards him, only semi-trying to hide the discomfort on your face. Hoping to maybe get him to leave, you said, “What are you still doing here, Ground Zero? Hoping for me to thank you and sing your praises?” You put as much annoyance in your voice as you can muster. 

That stopped him in his tracks. “No, I was going to walk you home, to make sure you get there safe. And I told you to call me Bakugo.”

You rolled your eyes, hoping you weren’t overdoing it. “I don’t need you to walk me home.”

“Well I think you do, dammit. It was my fucking fault you got a concussion, I want to make sure you don’t fall or pass out or…” He trailed off, looking to the side. You narrowed your eyes; what was he going to say? 

The two of you stood there, standing in silence. You noticed he had a small pout on his face. Getting the sense that if you didn’t give in, it would just make things more difficult, you sighed and said, “Fine. But only to my house and that’s it.” Guess you were walking...

At that, he looked at you, as though he hadn’t really expected you to say yes. With a grin, he said, “Great.”

“Whatever. Just don’t expect me to do a lot of talking.”

“Believe me, that’s fine.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

                                                             ~

After what felt like one of the longest walks of your life, the two of you finally made it to the front of your building. 

“Well, this is me…what’s wrong?”

You had turned to Bakugo to find him frowning at the building before him. “This isn’t an apartment building...this is fucking a bookstore. You trying to pull my leg?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, it’s my bookstore; though technically it’s a book cafe. Anyway, I live above it.” You pointed to the second story, where your apartment resided.

“How did you come to own a bookstore?”

“Book cafe. And I bought it off an old couple who were looking to retire for pretty cheap.”

“But why a bookstore?” His tone wasn’t judgmental, just curious, but you were still getting annoyed. 

“Book cafe...and why do you ask so many questions? Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s been a rather long night and I would like to go to bed.” With, that, you started heading up the steps, sure you had finally managed to get him to leave. 

However, you hadn’t made it halfway to the door when you heard, “____...wait.”

Ugh, can’t this guy take a hint? Without turning to the hero, you said, “What?”

“Fucking promise me you that aren’t going to try anything fucking crazy.”

That got you to turn around. “What the hell do you…” You trailed off when you looked into the blonde’s eyes. They had a fierce light to them, as well as a slightly knowing look. Looking at him full on like this, you saw just how young he was. Though you were pretty sure you were about the same age, he seemed younger, at least in that moment.

You thought you felt the shadow of a smile pulling at your lips; you couldn’t remember the last time you had smiled. “I think I’ve had enough crazy for tonight. Trust me, I’m just going to take a shower and go to sleep.”

He looked into your face for a while longer before seeming satisfied that you were telling the truth. “Right, I'll be holding you to that...guess I’ll get out of your fucking hair then. Gotta get up early for patrol duty anyway…” With that, he finally started walking away. But this time it was you who called out.

“Thank you, Ground Zero.”

He didn’t turn around as he responded but you could hear the smirk in his voice. “I fucking told you already, when are you going to get it through that stubborn head...my name is Bakugo.”

“Bakugo…” You found yourself thinking of the blonde hero for a long time that night.

                                                                ~

In the days after he had rescued you, Bakugo found himself thinking of you quite regularly. So much so that he started thinking of about checking up on you at your bookstore. He told himself that it was only to make sure you had kept your promise.

However, the case continued to keep him busy; the higher-ups were saying that the investigation team were close to finding out where the bastards’ hideout was. His skin crawled and he grinned at the thought of finally being able to fucking destroy them. 

Because of this, he didn’t get a chance to pop in on you until about a week later, after one of his night shifts. He had looked the place up and had been surprised to find that it was actually open pretty late. It was almost 10 p.m. when he walked in. 

Inside, it was warm and he instantly caught the smell of hot chocolate, tea, and coffee, along with something that was baking. All of the walls were lined with books, from floor to ceiling. The only section that didn’t have books was the bit with the cafe part. There, he saw you, your back turned to him. It looked like you were in the middle of making something for one of the few customers here. 

With a smirk, he wandered over to the counter and sat himself down. Hearing the scrape of the chair, you called, “I’ll be right with you.” He noticed that your voice sounded strangely emotionless; there wasn’t a hint of excitement or warmth or even annoyance.

Finishing with the order, you turned back and saw him for the first time since he’d walked in. Upon seeing him, you stopped abruptly, almost dropping the cup of tea in your hands. He had to resist the urge to laugh out loud at the look on your face as you struggled to compose yourself. 

Avoiding eye contact with him, you brought the cup to your the customer, who paid and went back to one of the reading nooks that were dispersed throughout the shop. You then stood at the register for several moments, as though you were trying to convince yourself that he wasn’t there. Bakugo was almost crying from holding back his laughter. 

Finally, you turned around, and glared at him. Walking over, you hissed, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Adopting an incredulous look, he replied, “Heroes need fucking coffee too, y’know. I just got off a goddamn double shift and I’m supposed to go back soon.”

You blinked a little at that. It was a moment before you responded. “Okay, fine. But why here? There are several coffee shops between here and the district you’re working in.”

He shrugged. “You were on my way home.” The shop was actually in the opposite direction and you didn’t look like you believed him. 

After another few moments, you asked, “Fine, what do you want?” He gave you his order and you walked away, muttering something about how this was borderline harassment and why did he have to come here. 

“Well I also wanted to make sure you’d kept your promise.”

That stopped you. Without turning around, you said, “What, are you watching me now?”

“You could say that.”

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”

“Well I don’t need my fucking rescue to be in vain. I saved you and I’m gonna make sure you fucking stay saved.”

You did turn now, anger in your eyes. “My life is none of your business.”

“Maybe not. But I know when to follow my instincts. And someone once told me that a meddling where I don’t technically have to is what makes a hero.” Fuck, he did he just repeat something Deku had told him? What the fuck? 

You shook your head as you went back to making his order. “I just want to be left alone. That’s what’s best for everybody.”

“Why?”

Turning back to hand him his cup, you said, “If you’re gonna insist on hanging around, fine. But don’t expect me to answer questions about myself. My business is my business.”

The blonde held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine; deal.”

                                                           ~

Weeks passed and Bakugo became a regular customer. Due to his irregular work schedule, he came at all times during the day and night. Despite yourself, you found that you had started looking forward to his visits. 

The banter between the two of you started to become a regular part of your routine. You found that you were starting to feel lighter. However, you continued to rebel against this, because you knew what it could lead to. 

You couldn’t help yourself with following his hero work though, which mostly consisted of the investigation going on in that district. One night, while you were cleaning the station behind the counter, you saw him on the news, in full hero costume. After watching a bit longer, you realized that they had finally found the villains’ hideout and he was part of the infiltration team. You could see the almost murderous excitement in the explosion hero’s eyes. 

Guess he won’t be coming in tonight, you thought to yourself. Though you tried to deny it, you could feel the inkling of disappointment in your chest. You told yourself it was the sneeze you were currently trying suppress. However, when it finally did come out, the feeling was still there.

Trying to distract yourself, you busied yourself with tidying the store, rearranging books, picking up trash, and dusting. You realized you had been rearranging the same set off books for almost 20 minutes when you suddenly heard an explosion from the TV and a small gasp from the customers in the cafe.

Running to the dining area, you stared at the TV, which showed a building in flames with several heroes and police officers surrounding it. The reporter behind the camera was describing the scene. “....an unexpected turn of events. It seems that the villains had a weapon up their sleeve that the heroes had not prepared for. Reports are coming in saying that several heroes, including Ground Zero, are still fighting inside.”

At that moment, another explosion ripped through the building. It was so large that it sent a large gust of wind all around the perimeter, causing the camera to be knocked over and the scene to go black. The anchor at the news station came back on screen, exclaiming about the escalated crime scene and that they would get eyes back on the scene as soon as possible. 

“That looked intense,” you heard one of your customers say. “You reckon anybody inside survived that explosion?” The rest just murmured.

The thought stayed with you though and you worried for the rest of the night. There were some reports about the crime scene, how the criminals had been suppressed and caught but the fight had sent some of the heroes to the hospital. Names were withheld. 

For the next couple of days, Bakugo didn’t show. With each day that passed, the seed of worry continued to grow. It also seemed that you had caught a cold so you were doubly miserable. 

You had gone up to your apartment to take some of your cold medicine and drink some herbal tea. When you came back down, you were walking into the cafe while fixing your the medical mask on your face, only to stop in your tracks. There he was, sitting at the counter like he always did. You noticed that there were bandages around his arms still and he had a mask of his own on. 

A sudden anger overtook you and you flew at the blonde. He didn’t see you coming until you were almost upon him and at that point, it was too late. You were smacking him, muttering about how could he let you worry like that. He could have at least called.

“___, what the fuck?! Stop it...my fucking arms…oooowwww…fucking stop, God dammit!” He grabbed your wrists, his grip still strong despite his injuries. 

“What the hell did you just attack me for?!” Your faces were mere inches apart. You realized that you were on the verge of tears. You found yourself scanning every inch of his face, making sure no other part of him was hurt. However, the mask was in the way, so all you could see was some slight redness and puffiness around his eyes…

Wait. Redness and puffiness? And he was wearing a mask? On closer inspection, you saw that it was in the same areas as you. No, no, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening! Not again. 

Breaking his grip, you backed away from him. He watched you with an incredulous look that you normally would have found funny. Shakily, you asked, “How long have you been sick?”

Now he looked really confused. “Huh? I don’t fucking know...a few days? Since after the raid? What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

This time, the tears really did come. “I think you need to leave.” You could barely speak above a whisper.

“What?!”

This time, you screamed. “LEAVE! GET OUT! AND DON’T COME BACK! YOU HEAR ME? GO!”

Completely bewildered at this point, he shouted back, “WHAT? NO, TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!”

“I SAID GET OUT! GO! BEFORE I MAKE YOU!”

You didn’t even care that you were making scene. However, Bakugo was still aware enough to take note of the situation and came to a decision. Getting up, he said in a calmer tone, “Okay, fine. But I am coming back and I expect an explanation.”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away.” The tears were rolling freely at this point.

Shaking his head, he turned around and walked out the door. It was several moments before you moved again. Looking around at the dumbstruck bystanders, you apologized and told your workers that you would be taking the rest of the day off. 

You barely managed to make it back upstairs before the sobs overtook you. All you could do was climb into your bed and wrap yourself in a blanket, curling into the fetal position as you cried. You don’t know how long you lay like that; all you wanted was to go numb. It felt like hours before you became so exhausted that you finally fell asleep.