#thankfully the hosue is still up so i still have a place to live

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 188: Hard Knocks Path to Redemption

Previously on BnHA: The Todoroki kids sans Shouto (and Dabi lulz) visited their mom at the hospital and awkwardly discussed Endeavor officially becoming the #1 hero. Shouto’s older brother Natsuo wasn’t happy about it, saying that the world doesn’t know about “what he did” and how he treated his family. But interestingly, Rei came to his defense, saying that things were more complex than that. She said she doesn’t know what’s going on in his heart, “but he hasn’t left us behind.” We then cut to Endeavor’s fight with the High Tide Noumu, which basically consisted of Endeavor hovering for a few seconds with his flames, and then getting very violently flung through a building. Like, he was basically used as a human laser saw to cut the top of this high rise clean off. A bunch of people nearly fell to their deaths, but thankfully Hawks saved them all with his ridiculously OP Mighty Wings quirk. Speaking of Hawks, idk but it sure is some shifty bullshit that Your Highness Noumu just happened to attack him and Endeavor in this building right when they were having a chitchat about Noumus. Something is definitely up you guys.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor continues to battle the High Heaven Noumu and pulls off some impressive feats, such as dicing a falling building into tiny pieces with his flames so that the spectators below don’t get crushed. Unfortunately these techniques come at a price, and he finds himself beginning to struggle due to the heat building up in his body. Meanwhile the High Hopes Noumu remains mostly unfazed, even dispatching a bunch of disgusting slimy clone things to wreak some havoc and distract Hawks and the other pros on the scene so that they can’t assist. Realizing he has no choice but to Go For It, Endeavor powers up his flames and hits the Noumu with massive flame attack: Prominence Burn. Unfortunately the Noumu anticipates his actions and is able to avoid being completely disintegrated. He regenerates, and then brutally slashes/stabs Endeavor in the most ironic spots possible -- his torso (nearly the same place where All Might was wounded by AFO), and his left eye (don’t think I have to explain this one lol). It’s all very violent, and probably not the sort of thing you’d want your child to witness on live television -- oh hey there Shouto. Didn’t see you there. Uh... well, shit.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 209 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

interesting title!

I wonder which of his four kids this is referring to? ngl I’ve been missing the U.A. kids for these past couple chapters so it would be nice to get Shouto back in here

holy shittttt

thiiiiiiiis is bad. that is some serious destruction. not something they can just shrug their shoulders about later, especially in BnHA where damage like this actually has lasting consequences

lol some other heroes are watching from a distance and they’re all “did Endeavor just Vidalia Chop Wizard that whole fucking building”

meanwhile Hawks is tumbling to safety on a nearby rooftop

and he’s referring here to Endeavor’s opening line in the chapter, “I’ll dice you up and burn you until there’s nothing left”

(ETA: in addition to being the first reluctant hero in the series, Hawks is also the quippiest we’ve had by far. Hawks is all your dialogue polished up by a Marvel screenwriting team or what)

I appreciate Hawks’s efforts at combat banter, but all I keep thinking is that those pieces actually did look remarkably neat and uniform, and that it wouldn’t kill him to show a little appreciation for what was honest to god one of the most insane quirk feats we’ve seen to date

also, looking at this picture more closely, my disbelief is gonna need a little more suspending, because I honestly don’t feel like either of them should currently be able to fly the way they’re doing lol. Hawks’s wings are in a pretty sorry state at the moment

and here comes High Treason Noumu back at them again, and he’s grumbling “bird...” like he’s all pissy at Hawks

lol what is this

what the hell is this quirk. does he shoot air gun fists or something. and this other guy has all of his fingers fucking disconnected for no apparent reason. like, what the hell is that even gonna do besides gross people out

(ETA: and isn’t this Tokage’s quirk as well. getting lazy are we Horikoshi)

now High Score Noumu is doing something disturbing oh god

ffffffffff WHAT IS THIS. WHY DO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT A CLOSE UP OF IT

Endeavor’s hitting it with another fire blast. thanks man

and now he’s doing a mental tally of the thing’s quirks

and don’t forget “can fucking talk.” not to mention what I still think is the most intriguing one of all, “has Kurogiri’s fucking face”

oh and I guess this is a new one

fucking gross ew fuck sick gross ugh!! why are they so gooey sob

I don’t really understand what’s going on but Endeavor seems to have it all figured out, so here

okay so he wants to fight strong opponents like Endeavor so he made some disgusting clones to deal with the small fries I guess

-- hold up. that muscle amplification quirk... that looks and sounds a whole lot like Muscular’s, though

is it just coincidence? that this Noumu just so happens to be so strikingly similar to not one but two captured villains previously associated with the League?? just what in the hell is going on here dammit

meanwhile, as Endeavor observed, the Noumus that emerged from his body look completely different and appear to be just your everyday run-of-the-mill Noumus

just a little grosser is all

Hawks is swooping down and taking them out without much effort. looks like he’s gotten most of his feathers back too

he’s telling everyone to keep evacuating

and he says that to be frank, power struggles aren’t his “forte”

so he’s acknowledging that he doesn’t have the All Might Factor, so to speak? that even though he’s strong and popular, he’s not at that level of always beating the big bads no matter what?

you know, that actually makes some sense. I can maybe understand a little better just why he was bothering Endeavor so much. that is, if it weren’t for the fact that I STILL DON’T TRUST YOU, HAWKS, YOU SUSPICIOUS LITTLE SERAPH

High Speed Noumu is asking Endeavor if he’s done shooting those red hot little slice-and-dice death rays

oh snap this thing really is smart

it’s not just talking and thinking, it’s fucking analyzing. there’s some real brainpower at work in this thing

now Endeavor is talking about his quirk, and I’m just gonna post the panel because like hell am I gonna try to summarize this

he was thinking this a few panels earlier, too. that he’s got a lot of heat built up now

and now he’s thinking about Rei and his kids with their ice powers

fuck me but every single time I start wanting to root for Endeavor he’s gotta go and remind us of this, though

also!? fourth kid alert!?? and this kid seems to have white hair just like all the others, and seems to be younger than Natsuo in this shot. which would seem to go against the prevailing theory? explain yourself, manga

(ETA: lol and I got an ask about this just today. I gotta give this some thought. but I still think it’s Dabi! maybe Endeavor is just confused about what his non-Shouto children looks like because he spent so much time ignoring them all!)

so now Highlander Noumu is making a crazy face and extending his arms or muscle fibers or whatever the fuck these things are again, and saying he wants to test out his new power on Endeavor

shiiiiiit this does not look good

this doesn’t seem like the kind of move he can maintain for very long given what he was saying earlier

he’s shouting at the Noumu that he’ll incinerate him until there’s nothing left, and his regeneration won’t be enough

well this has worked before, to be fair. back in Hosu

but why do I get the feeling that isn’t going to be the case this time, though

lollllll

is this the literal translation. is there some other meaning of “prominence” other than “famous and well-known” that I’m not thinking of. I guess it can also mean “something that sticks out a lot”, but I don’t see how that would apply to this attack

basically, to me this reads as “Endeavor’s I-Wanna-Be-Famous Big Fire Attack”

and damned if that just doesn’t say it all, though

he’s thinking back to what he said at the JP Hero Billboard thing. “just watch me”

and that he won’t disgrace himself by failing here

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit

HE WAS SO CLOSE

THIS THING IS REALLY FUCKING HARDCORE OMG

OH MY GOD

you’re telling me that Endeavor’s attack actually worked, but that he wasn’t able to disintegrate the whole Noumu because HE FUCKING RIPPED HIS OWN FUCKING HEAD OFF AND FRISBEE-D IT TO SAFETY AHEAD OF TIME!?

OH SHIT

goddamn -- fucking --

DAMMIT. COME ON ENDEAVOR. DON’T FUCKING DIE, DUDE. FUCKING GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND BEAT THIS HIGH FIVE NOUMU ALREADY, THE WORLD NEEDS YOU

ARE YOU SERIOUS

ARE YOU TELLING ME THE TWO OF THEM JUST HAPPENED TO BE WATCHING?? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, SHIT

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

motherfucker oh shit you guysssss

(ETA: how does he even still have that eye though)

you guys. oh shit. this is so bad. you don’t understand

shit. because let me tell you, the very first thing that ran through my head was that he’s going to look so much hotter now and fuck, you guys. I KNOW THAT’S NOT WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO BE THINKING RIGHT NOW. BUT I CAN’T HELP IT. noooo what the hell is wrong with me I feel like slapping myself lmao

I fucking started laughing in real life at my own absurd reaction. I am ruining the mood of this chapter so damn fast

nooooooo

the parallels, though. oh shit. the same eye

and did Shouto’s quirk activate just now?? are those flames on his left side? oh shit

okay I need to get myself under control. fucking stop this now. stop thinking about how much hotter Endeavor is going to be with a big ol’ slashy scar along the left side of his face. and maybe an eyepatch. oh god. no, stop

(ETA: I really thought there was going to be an eyepatch. how does he still have that eye)

and now we’re cutting back to U.A. and Aizawa is gently telling Eri he’s gonna take her back to his room and I can’t you guys. first Endeavor losing his fucking eye and now Aizawa being a loving, protective parent on two counts, because LOOK WHAT HE SAYS RIGHT AFTER

now All Might is gripping at his stomach wound nooooo

seems like every big hero has That Moment, huh

oh fuckkkkk

fuuuuuck, Endeavor. going for that hard knocks path to redemption, huh

but I fucking can’t, though, because I just keep picturing Horikoshi’s creative process. like, you fucking troll, though. goes and creates the worst character of all time (not literally, I’m just being dramatic here just let me have this) and does his absolute fucking best to make him as terrible as possible, and then challenges himself to redeem him nonetheless. “how can I make readers actually feel sympathy for Todoroki fucking Enji in spite of everything? oh I know I’ll take away everything he ever wanted and make him finally start to realize what was really important and have him finally start trying to be a better husband and father. and then I’ll fucking murder him”

and like, I really need to stop laughing at this chapter, though. I’m ruining it, I know. if it helps, it’s not mirthful laughter though! the best way I can describe it is “haunted house laughter.” like, this is how I react when I’m walking through any sort of haunted attraction, and I’m really tense and excited and on edge. my weird natural response is usually to start laughing, possibly as my brain’s way of psyching myself up to be brave and reminding myself that it’s not real and they’re only actors. I feel like that, for some reason. and I don’t know why, but it’s actually a very positive thing, because this is the first time in quite a while that I’ve gotten this excited about the manga, actually

so I’m sorry, Endeavor. I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing because OH SHIT THIS IS GETTING GOOD and I’m really loving it. and also because Horikoshi has got some serious balls

(ETA: and because this is Kamino all over again. and I was fucking pumped. angst!! stakes!! tension!! there was just a ton of adrenaline all of a sudden and I didn’t really know what to do with it so my brain was like “well then let’s just do something really weird!”)

anyway, so we’re cutting back to Shouto and U.A., where Shouto is watching his dad die on live television

aaaaaand that’s the chapter end

my god. this went from “eh” to “epic” in like .06 seconds. is this the fight that anon was talking about a while back? because this was pretty damn good, I gotta say. fucking damn

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Nomu!Hero Course Basics

Shinsou is the first to be taken, right after the Sports Festival because his Quirk is ‘villainous’ so AFO sends Kurogiri to collect him.

It’s honestly pretty easy given that Shinsou isn’t able to fight back well (Aizawa hasn’t offered to train him yet so he’s unskilled as a fighter and he can’t rely on his Quirk because Kurogiri won’t respond to him)

He tried that once and it was not pleasant afterwards

He brainwashed Shigaraki and AFO broke his left leg to keep him from getting further.

He refuses to become a villain so they make him into a Nomu.

He gets pretty useless Quirks because AFO is saving the better ones for the others.

“Sorry you get the useless ones. I’m saving the good ones for a friend of yours. You might remember him. Midoriya Izuku.“

Shinsou manages to stay lucid for  few hours even with the three new Quirks eating away at him.

He does slip into a catatonic state eventually though, because he figures nobody’s coming. He figures he’s just a Gen Ed student, who lives in an orphanage no less, so nobody cares.

Boy is he wrong. Midoriya is an anxious puppy about his friend and even Bakugo gets worried when he hears that Shinsou hasn’t showed up, both to school, work, and at the orphanage he lives at, for a week.

It doesn’t help that, when Hosu happens, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki are also kidnapped and forced to become Nomu as well.

It’s at this point that Shinsou ‘wakes up’ from his catanonia because he finally sees something familiar that isn’t these four walls and a man who keeps hurting him.

Unfortunately, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki aren’t that lucky.

Since Shinsou can barely keep keep himself calm when he first ‘wakes up’, he really can’t do anything without falling over so he really can’t just play prison break, even if he wants to.

He’s especially unable to be calm when he sees AFO using his Forcible Quirk Activation stolen Quirk on Todoroki with his new Porcelain Quirk (keeps shattering pieces of Todoroki to test it), Iida with his Blood Knives Quirk (forcing Iida to make weaponry to train him), and Midoriya with his new Fire Breath Quirk (it keeps hurting Midoriya’s throat after prolonged use)

Shinsou is in terrible condition by the way. He can’t eat so he’s got a feeding tube in his nose, he’s routinely got an IV in his arm because he’s always dehydrated because because ‘no, you can’t take the mask off’ even to eat.

Shinsou isn’t really expecting to be saved. And having brainless Midoriya, Todoroki, and Iida around really isn’t giving him any optimistic vibes.

But now he’s ‘awake’ so he can’t go back to ‘sleep’.

To pass time he tests his new wings and masters autonomy of them.

Eventually he gains up the nerve to tug on AFO’s sleeve and points at his wings and flaps them like ‘hey bitch, I wanna train these, you’ve got me stuck here I may as well pass time.’

AFO is ecstatic that he wants to be a ‘useful Nomu’ and agrees, although he basically puts him on a leash and hands him to Dabi.

Cue Hitoshi’s new Memory Read kicking in and he sees Dabi’s memories and just how much Dabi is hurting and in pain and sad and doesn’t want to do this anymore.

He manages to fly pretty damn well for someone who hasn’t had wings his whole life.

Dabi is highly impressed with him.

Shinsou knows JSL, because he grew up wearing a muzzle for his ‘villain Quirk’.

Shinsou uses JSL to talk to Dabi.

‘I know you’re Todoroki Touya‘ “how?“ ‘new quirk.‘ “ah, and?“ ‘your little brother is a Nomu now too.‘

Cue pissed Dabi but he’s thankfully containable or else AFO would have killed Shinsou and Dabi both.

Dabi visits Shoto when his hair grows out with the original red and it ‘wakes him up’ from his catatonia from seeing something familiar.

Sadly Iida and Midoriya aren’t ‘waking up’ yet because they don’t know who the hell Todoroki Touya is.

Dabi, unwillingly, goes through with the Forest Training Arc hoping to any god that will listen that the other students just go with becoming villains.

Damn, did he give himself false hope thinking that.

Mr. Compress captures the entire rest of class 1a just to go overboard like the showman he is.

Almost immediately the students deemed ‘useless villains’ get turned into Nomu. (Aoyama, Ashido, Asui, Uraraka, Ojiro, Koda, Sato, Shoji, Jirou, Sero, and Hagakure)

The others are with the League, where Shigaraki and the others are trying to convince them to become evil.

Haha, bitch you fail. They don’t want to be villains so off to become Nomus do they go too.

Dabi has managed to steal a few things from the kids’ houses that he hopes has meaning to them and he ‘wakes up’ Iida with an old picture of his brother and Midoriya with an AllMight action figure.

The others all wake up to varying degrees when they see AllMight and the other heroes.

So now Aizawa has twenty Nomufied students that are at varying states of their catatonia and the only way to ‘wake them up’ is to give them something from their childhood as a way of cognitive recalibration.

Once all the kids are safe (thank you Mt. Lady and the whole damn Vanguard).

The Vanguard helps save the hero course kids from being in the way. They did not sign up to this to hurt kids. They all thought the kids would just be like…left in a random place for the pro heroes to find.

They’re blaming themselves for kids being hurt like this so they all decide to save them from getting hurt and get them out of the way with Mt. Lady.

Most of the pros are shocked seeing the villains carrying/dragging the students to safety. But hey the kids are safe, help them.

All of their parents are asked to bring something from their childhood of great emotional value to the hospital in Kamino they’re being checked at.

It ‘wakes’ them all up.

And now Aizawa has twenty students with brand new Quirks they can’t control well.

So what does he do? Starts training the simpler Quirks in the hospital so they can get a handle on them and actually focus on something so they can all calm down.

First it’s Kaminari because he’s actually terrified. He’s phasing through everything and crying and Aizawa brings Mirio in to help him allow Kaminari to get a good handle on his new Quirk.

His panics are solved with putting special gloves on from Mirio’s first year prototype outfit that stay tangible even when your body goes through things (provides something stable to use as a grip).

Next is Ashido. She can’t stop using Glitch and she can’t use her Suppression on herself so she’s basically crying on Aizawa, since she can’t use Glitch if she’s touching someone.

Hatsume Mei is a goddess to 1A now. She makes them all suppressors and gadgets to help them with their new Quirks.

Mei gives Mina an inhibitor so her Quirks are lowered to a containable level while Aizawa teaches her that she can grab onto something if she feels a glitch coming on.

Poor Mina glitches when she sneezes and sadly she’s sick with a cold when she’s at AFO’s warehouse.

Aizawa pairs Uraraka with Midnight to try to contain her Laughing Gas Quirk and thankfully, together, they manage it in just over an hour.

Next is Todoroki. The poor boy was manhandled too much getting out of Kamino and now he’s got fractures and cracks in several places and the doctors are scared to touch him.

Thankfully, Sero’s new Mend Quirk is unable to be turned off and so he puts them together so Sero can heal Shoto just as fast as he cracks.

It doesn’t help that Shoto is blind now thanks to the Quirk transfer being too much for his body to handle with his already powerful mixed Quirk and his right eye froze over and was too damaged to repair, even with Sero now healing him constantly.

Bakugo is all sorts of out of it. He’s still partially brainless because, his childhood was just pain and abuse from his mother, he has seemingly nothing he’s emotionally attached to.

That is, until Masaru lets Aizawa send Yamada into Katsuki’s room and Hizashi finds an old worn teddy bear he presents to Bakugo that finally recalibrates his memories.

The Quirk transfer also made Bakugo fully deaf so now he can’t hear, but he can thankfully see peoples Auras and kind of know what their intentions are. Don’t worry if he’s scared he’ll let you know. His hair turns bright fricking purple when he’s scared.

Midoriya has trouble controlling his Light Body Quirk and he keeps accidentally activating it. Aizawa brings in Ashido and tells her to touch his hand and it’s long enough for him to get the inhibitor on him.

He also does this for Iida with his Darkness Body Quirk.

Shinsou has the most mastery of his new Quirks because he actually trained them with Dabi, much to Aizawa’s surprise and horror yet also his pride.

Like, he’s a pro at this, he’s been training these new Quirks.

He knows how to fold his Wings to get through small doorways or just to let people past him, he can turn into energy via his Energy Body and float around the doctors so that he doesn’t get in the way while they’re going past him, he can translate information to the doctors of what’s wrong with the others through his Memory Read.

Someone give him a medal, he deserves it.

Eventually he gets exhausted though and he passes out against Kaminari (who’s exhausted from crying so much), Bakugo (who just doesn’t want to be alone), and Kirishima (who’s been worried about his friends the whole time he’s been ‘awake’).

Dabi is busy with Shoto, catching up, mostly they’re both crying and hugging and Sero is so happy he gets to witness this beautiful brotherly interaction.

Midoriya is with Iida and they’re calming each other down. Uraraka and Asui join them later because their optical Quirks make it hard to look at people without fearing they might hurt them so they opt to wear blindfolds.

Yaoyorozu has determined she will test her new Will O Wisp Quirk and is using it to set small pieces of paper on fire with her fingertips (using the bare minimum to test it) to see the end result of each color.

Aoyama and Tokoyami are basically playing day and night to drive off each other’s loneliness while Shoji makes sure the shadow kid and sunshine kid are okay. Thank god, because he balances the situation a lot.

Once she’s got a handle on her new Quirks, Mina is hanging out with Jirou and Hagakure just so she doesn’t have to be alone. She’s just scared of possibly glitching out of existence and having them hug her is very comforting.

Sato, Ojiro, and Koda made a blanket fort in their hospital room and have fallen asleep there.

It was originally to make something for Sato because he wanted to bake but couldn’t, do something to calm down Ojiro, and provide comfort for Koda.

It worked.

Eventually they all end up in a giant cuddle pile in Ojiro, Koda, and Sato’s room, even those who had already fallen asleep.

Everyone came and they all brought their blankets and made it a giant blanket castle and Aizawa just sits at the door and guards them (and also to alert then when the doctors will be coming in.)

Sadly the four there the longest have eating problems, they can’t chew food because they haven’t in so long so they’ve lost both fat and muscle and are very underweight.

Todoroki is the worst, surprisingly. Since he’s now made of porcelain, his digestion is super fast compared to before so he just burns thought whatever he’s given too quickly (it just makes it worse that he can’t have solid food anymore too).

Thankfully big bro Dabi to the rescue getting all the students tons of food from a Peace Cafe in Kamino Ward, named Heiwa To Chōwa, where the owner of it has basically all but adopted him.

The cafe makes a lot of specialty foods since they’re both

a) close to the hospital so people pick up food for their loved ones there and

b) surprisingly a lot of villains and heroes have eating problems and/or food problems whether from battle, genetic, self-inflicted, or otherwise.

Shinsou and Dabi both work at Heiwa To Chōwa and he and Dabi are like bros when they find out they work opposite shifts (Dabi works day shift aka 8am to 4pm and Shinsou works evening shift aka 5pm to 12pm).

The rest of the Vanguard isn’t just forgiven immediately, even Dabi. The others are in very intense interrogations while Aizawa and the other teachers are helping the students.

The police officers aren’t about to rip Dabi away from his little brother just for questioning until they’re sure Shoto is stable and won’t go back into a catatonic state if Dabi leaves.

Though he does have Hawks following him around as protection for the students.

After two weeks, they move to the dorms and their parents all agree because there’s like limited other ways for the students to learn to control their new Quirks.

[junionigiri]

Ruby Red and Caramel Ch 4: Cabernet Sauvignon

Chapter Summary: Rain, steam, and sunlight.

Relationship: Bakugou Katsuki/Yaoyorozu Momo

Rating: M. (Take note!!!!)

Warnings/Notes: Steam. Sry in advance if u screm Special thanks to Tasia for helping me write this!!!

“Creati, the Everything Hero,” the blonde repeats with an inelegant snort.

Momo giggles and takes another sip of the Cabernet Sauvignon in her glass. Her third or her fourth, probably. She isn’t too sure of it, not at this hour. All she’s sure of is that the air is nice and cool around them, that Mssrs. Monoma and Aoyama are singing a fluent, yet off-key version La Vie En Rose inside the cafe, and that she has Bakugou Katsuki’s company, all to herself, for the past hour or so, and she’s enjoying him. Extremely.

“You think it’s too kitschy?”

Katsuki shakes his head slightly. He’s cradling his head in one hand as he always does, piercing eyes on her and nothing else. “Nah. Suits you. I ain’t sure about that skimpy shit you were planning to traipse around in, though.”

“You know the nature of my quirk! I need as much skin exposure as I could,” she argues. “Although, that’s one of the main concerns of my mother, when I was considering which career track to take…”

“Yeah. Pro Hero, Professional Pianist, Ballerina, Materials Engineer.” Katsuki chortles again. “Woulda been interesting if you decided to do ‘em all. You’d be the literal Everything Hero. Fighting a villain at 1 then giving a concerto at 3 in your little red bathing suit.”

The smile he gives her reminds her of how lightheaded she is. Oh. The wine is very, very good. She slaps him playfully on the arm, but it does nothing to stop his gleeful laughter.

“You know that’s impossible,” she says with a flush of her cheeks. “But that’s the story of how I ended up in Shiketsu High’s general studies.” It’s her turn to stare him down with her hand under her chin, as she asks slyly, “So what’s your middle school pro-hero fantasy, Katsuki?”

He hums with a sly smile of his own. “Who says I got one, huh?”

She scoffs. “You just told me everyone fantasizes about being a pro during middle school!”

“What if I’m not like the rest of the extras?”

She puffs her chest in annoyance. “Is this your attempt at a dark and mysterious persona, Katsuki? Because you’re just being unfair. You rarely tell me anything about yourself--all I know is that you own a cafe, you went to UA with Kirishima-san, you like explosives, and you have the smarts of an encyclopedia and the vocabulary of a pirate, and--”

He gives her a wink. “Maybe that’s all ya need to know about me.”

She pouts. “No. Come on. Pro-hero fantasy stories. Now.”

Her glass is jarringly empty suddenly. She reaches for the bottle, but Katsuki stops her by holding her hand.

Fingers entwine, trapping her. His hands are large, and rough, and so, so warm. She holds her breath as his callused fingertips rub against the back of her hand.

“That’s enough, Momo.” The bottle is placed just out of her reach. “I change my mind about letting you get shit-faced.”

She pouts. “It’s very good wine, Katsuki. You wouldn’t know because you don’t drink, but--”

When she tries to let his hand go to reach for the bottle, he stops her again. This time, both hands capture hers and pin them down on the table. She realizes, with minimal alarm, that the lightheadedness has extended to her alcohol-numbed fingers. Try as she might to struggle against his searing iron grip, there’s no escape. Eventually she gives up and collapses in a fit of giggles over the table.

Another smile, and she feels a little weaker. “Drink your fucking water, doc. Seriously, you doctors are shit at taking care of your damn selves…”

“Fine,” she says, and obediently takes a drink from Katsuki’s glass of water. She drains about half a glass in one go, and unsteadily places it on the surface. She gives him a proud little look when she doesn’t spill a drop. He laughs.

“Hey, Baku-bro! Dr. Momo! There you are!”

Kirishima and Satou come out of the party. As the door closes behind them, Momo catches a glimpse of Mina leading everyone in an impromptu Zumba routine. The redhead gives them both a knowing grin as he ambles behind a suddenly irritated Katsuki. “You two look like you’re enjoying each other’s company, eh?”

“The fuck is it, Shitty Hair?” Katsuki grits, as Kirishima’s arm goes around him quite naturally, almost like it’s muscle memory at this point. Momo is relieved to see that Katsuki just takes it, despite his abrasive reaction to it.

“Nothing! I’m not implying anything! Just stating the obvious!”

“Go state the obvious somewhere else, Hedgehog-head! Preferably the bathroom, so you could start chipping that hair gel off your head.”

Momo giggles a little too much at that, making Satou look to her with concern.

“You okay there, Dr. Momo?” the chef says carefully. He has a bottle of water in one hand, and he refills the water-glass in front of her. “You seem kinda… more giggly than usual.”

She giggles again. “I… may be a little inebriated,” she admits, holding her face with two hands. The numbness isn’t getting worse, but she feels how warm her cheeks are, and guesses that she’s likely a little redder than usual.

Tch, goes Katsuki’s mouth, as it always does. “She finished off this bottle of Cabernet by herself, Diabetes. And she woulda downed another bottle if I didn’t stop her, so… Yeah, she’s fuckin’ more than just a little inebriated. ”

“Katsuki!”

“What, Momo? Mad that I snitched, and Diabetes knows how shit-faced you really are?”

Satou and Kirishima stare at each other questioningly. A second later, they’re grinning at each other, and it is only then that Momo realizes that they heard them call each other by their first names.

“Hm, Katsuki, eh~?” Kirishima says teasingly, earning him a hard shove at the face. “Oh my gosh, you two are so cute, why didn’t you tell me? Ain’t I your best friend? And can I just say, congratulations? Dr. Momo, I ain’t sayin’ your taste in men is somethin’ else, but I can vouch for this guy, he’ll take care of you so good you won’t even know--”

“Shut up!” Katsuki grits out, and the face-shoving progresses into a headlock. Momo is alarmed, but Satou regards this as if it’s an entirely normal thing to happen, and does nothing to stop it.

“W-well, whatever it is, you two,” the chef says, clearing his throat. He looks at Momo with concern and says, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I think it’s time to call it a night, Doc? You got work tomorrow, right?”

How late is it, anyway? She fishes out her phone and gasps. “Oh my, it’s two in the morning! You’re right, Satou-san! I must be getting home…”

She stands up straight and takes a step. She thinks it isn’t too unsteady. But she takes another and her vision wobbles, and in the next instant she’s flanked at both sides by Katsuki and Satou, and Kirishima is in front of her with his hands out.

“Whoa, careful there,” Satou says with a nervous laugh. “You really need to get home. I should get you a cab--”

“No,” Katsuki says. Momo feels a strong hand on her arm, making all the blood rush to her face. “I know where she lives. I’ll take her home.”

Satou and Kirishima look at each other again worriedly. “You sure, Baku-bro?” asks the red-head. “Mina and I have a car, we can drive you guys home…”

“Nah. The walk will sober her up,” Katsuki says, pulling on her arm and forcing her into another step. “You can manage it, right Momo?”

She doesn’t stumble, thankfully, and she’s able to resume walking in her normal charm-school trained gait and posture without any further trouble. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Kirishima doesn’t look very sure when he says, “I guess, but… you gonna be okay, Bakugou? It’s… late and all.”

Where has Momo heard this type of careful, concerned tone before? Next to her, Katsuki bristles slightly, but only grits out, “Yeah, it’s fine. I can take care of Ponytail.”

“Yeah, but you--”

The explosive blonde makes a sound of exasperation. “Fuckin’--if it gets your fuckin’ panties in a twist, shitty mom, I’ll text ya when I get this brainiac home. Heck, I’ll even send a video of me throwing her through her front door, if that’s what gets yer shitty hair-for-brains to stop worrying about me--”

Oh Momo you did not just feel weak in the knees thinking about Katsuki throwing you through your front door with those strong arms of his and slamming you against the wall in the hallway--

“Baku-bro, I’m just lookin’ out for ya, all right? I mean, I know that--”

But seriously, this argument is getting strange. The red-head has a true look of concern on his face, strangely prophetic in a way, as if he expects the blonde to keel over in the next moment. Or turn into a werewolf. Kirishima softly holds on to Katsuki, as if he’s holding something fragile. Before he could finish his sentence, Katsuki rolls his shoulder in annoyance, shaking it off.

“--fucking hell, everyone’s such a fucking worrywart it’s fucking annoying-- ”

“All right you two. We get it, your bromance transcends other dimensions and all, but it’s getting really late and your argument ain’t makin’ it any less late.” Satou towers over them and pulls them apart, slapping Katsuki at the back decidedly as he does so. “Anyway, you guys live ridiculously close by, and this is a safe area, so it should be okay. Bakugou, take the doc home and send us a message once you’re home, okay?”

Katsuki grumbles in affirmation. He pulls on the stunned Momo’s arm in an oddly careful way, and she holds onto his as she steps in time with him.

Kirishima is looking at them, still plainly worried. Momo turns to him and says, “We’ll be okay, Kirishima-san. I’ll take care of Katsuki.”

He brightens considerably at this, even though Katsuki scoffs. “Okay, Dr. Momo. Please take care of my bro.”

She gives them a small wave of the hand, and with that, they leave the still-noisy cafe and enter the quiet and chill of Hosu in the early morning.

 *

 The walk home, in the beginning, is quiet and uneventful. Katsuki leads them through familiar streets and stoplights to Momo’s condominium, not speaking a single word along the way.

Her heels clacking on the pavement is the only noise between them. They echo all over empty streets and bounce off the alley walls. Momo doesn’t mind the quiet very much. It’s comfortable. Peaceful, yes, but it makes her aware of their proximity, and causes her heart to beat wildly as she takes in each and every sensation: the glow of city lights crawling on their skin and clothes with each step; the chill causing thin puffs of fog to form on their breaths; the feel of his arm, hooked around hers, where it’s warmest on her body at that moment. Where it belongs.

The distinct scent of him, subtle in the cold but unmistakable from their distance. She finds it pleasant. Addicting, even.

The rush of blood through her veins. The steady beating of her heart.

Her head is swimming, dangerously so. Katsuki told everyone that the walk will sober her up, but she isn’t sure that being hyper-aware of all these sensations is doing anything good for her sobriety, if it exists at all even transiently at this hour. She tries to use her voice, just to see if it still works. “We’re close to home.”

She doesn’t slur, which is a good sign. Katsuki hums in agreement beside her, a rasp that vibrates through him and magnifies the throb in her chest.

“You still drunk?” he asks at a stoplight.

She hums, a noncommittal sound. Stares up at him. A smile is on her face. She thinks that she might look a little more foolish than usual. She knows she’s acting batty, but she can’t stop it.

He stares at her with an eyebrow raised, and makes an odd sound through his nostrils. “Guess that answers my fuckin’ question.”

His irises are really red, she thinks. Like the stoplight glowing in front of them. Like the wine she apparently haphazardly ingested just a while ago. Like the costume she designed for herself, back when she indulged in her middle school fantasies of pro-heroism. Like the blood flowing through her veins.

It’s a good colour, she thinks again, for the umpteenth time. Her favourite, in fact.

“The fuck you starin’ at?”

She hums again, a little playfully this time, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curling upwards. “You, of course.”

Katsuki swears again, but with the rough laugh-snort that can only belong to him. “I am telling Diabetes to never fucking get you near that shit wine again.”

“It’s good wine ,” she mumbles, as red lights become green. The blonde pulls her forward.

The air around them becomes cooler. She leans in closer to him instinctively for warmth.

Three more blocks to go, and their walk will end with her drunk and alone and empty in her condominium. She racks her brain for something intelligent to say, or just something else, something to change the course of the night. Make it special and memorable, because she doesn’t want this night to end. Not like that.

Still, the good wine is making it hard for her to form any good words to say.

A spot of cold, concentrated and damp, lands on her nose. She blinks and stares upwards, where little darts of rain begin to fall sparsely.

“Shit,” Katsuki grumbles under his breath. As rain often does, in the next moment it falls all at once, covering both of them in a sheet of cold water as they make a run for it.

Through the torrent of rain, she struggles with her heels. The sound of it jars some sense into her drunken self, at least, and she manages to form a crimson golf umbrella in the middle of her chest.

“Here,” she says, covering them both under its shade, for the little good it does--the winds are unexpectedly strong, and even though the umbrella helps, they’re still damp. Cars pass by, splashing her jersey dress and bare legs in grey mud. Water gets in their shoes, and she feels one of her heels bend and break as it gets caught in between a gap in the concrete.

She almost falls, but Katsuki catches her before her face makes contact with flooded concrete. “Fuckin’ rain, this better not be somebody’s quirk or else I’m fuckin’ killing someone…”

“I’m okay. I don’t think I have a sprain,” she tells him as she struggles momentarily with her shoes. Sobriety slaps her, like the dirty cold water on her bare feet. “Give me a moment to make something for my feet…”

“Fuck that.” He turns her back to her and crouches low, his arms bent oddly behind him.

Momo stares at him incredulously, unsure of what he wants to happen before he spits out, “Just get the fuck on, princess. Before we fuckin’ drown. ”

“Oh--” she says quite intelligently. The rain is falling around them even more mercilessly. No time for her to hesitate.

Holding her breath, she ‘gets the fuck on,’ as Katsuki so eloquently put it. She feels herself lifted easily off the ground by two solid arms. He isn’t unsteady at all, but she wraps one arm tightly around his shoulders all the same.

“You good?”

“Good,” she tells him. Holds him closer, smells him along with the cold air. He’s so close, she almost can’t stand it.  

Without another word, Katsuki rushes through the streets. He runs as if the streets aren’t dangerously slick, and as if Momo isn’t hanging off of him like a possessive spirit carrying a ridiculously large umbrella.   

They make a different turn. As Momo makes a questioning sound, Katsuki cuts her off. “My apartment is right there,” he growls, motioning to a complex at the other end of the side street they just ducked in.  

His… his apartment, she thinks with a squeak as Katsuki practically flies across the remaining stretch of concrete. It’s more practical, indeed, rather than to brave three more blocks of rain to her place, but…

A man’s apartment. A single man’s apartment. No… Bakugou Katsuki’s apartment , the private, intimate confines owned by the man she’s been ridiculously pining for, for the past few weeks. This is going far, farther than she ever expected. Her brain is a stuttering mess by the time they’re at the gate.

When they make it into the apartment and Katsuki lets her down, both of them are soaked to the bone, clothes clinging uncomfortably to their cold skin, their breaths thicker than ever. She leaves the silly, unhelpful umbrella out in the hall to dry, and patiently waits for Katsuki to struggle with his keys and the doorknob.

The door opens, revealing a tidy, modest space. From her vantage point, Momo sees bookshelves, a single low table, a television set, a sizeable kitchenette. There is a hardback novel on the table, next to a notepad with scribbles. A closed door at a distance, probably leading to his bedroom.

It’s his, all his. Bakugou Katsuki’s home. Something in the back of her mind swirls like a siren, daring her to take one step onto the wooden tile, to go past the point of no return.

He stares as she hesitates. “You comin’ or what?”

She nods. Clutches her broken heels tightly, to brace herself. One barefoot crosses the threshold carefully, then two.

It’s warm inside, and bright, and smells like fresh linen. Her heart throbs, taking in all the details, inhaling all the scent. Her face warms when she smells him as he hovers close and reaches behind her.

Katsuki closes the door with a gentle click, echoing much louder in her head than it’s supposed to.  

“Pardon the intrusion,” she says softly, her voice a meek whisper that escapes from the chill of her body.

She walks quietly inside, a little ashamed of the trail of water-drops that follow her into the middle of the living room. She stands there awkwardly as Katsuki relieves her of her belongings, disappears momentarily in his room, and comes out with fluffy towels. He places one over her head like a cowl. The other one he rubs into his face and his hair, rougher than what’s needed, in an attempt to bring himself to his senses, if Momo were to make an educated guess.

“Right,” he rasps out. His skin, pale against the cold, recovers its color as they stare at each other, as the warmth begins to seep through. “You’re going to catch a fucking cold if you don’t warm up soon.”

“Y-yes. We both are,” she agrees. All the headiness from the Cabernet disappears, replaced by an entirely new sensation that sends little tremors in her hands, her chest, her feet.

She lets him push her around the living room and into a modest, clean bathroom. He reaches out and turns on the shower, and nods in satisfaction when steam begins to rise.

“In. Now,” he says threateningly. “I’ll get you some clothes. Unless ya wanna make some with your quirk?”

She shakes her head. “N-no… I’d rather avoid it, if I can. The--”

“The economy. I know.” He gives her a little smirk and disappears behind the door, leaving her to stare dumbly at her reflection in his mirror.

Her hair is disheveled, skin bright against the cold, except for her cheeks, which are turning pinker every second. She’s still a little lightheaded, her forehead a little warm, and she’s worried that all the traipsing in the rain might lead to a fever.

The shower is warm and inviting. Carefully she steps in, letting the skin of her feet adjust to the heat. The door opens behind her, and she hears Katsuki’s amused snort amidst the steady sound of falling water.

“So,” he says, his voice teasing, his eyes doing something else entirely. He places dry clothes on the counter, stares her down with an eyebrow raised. “Are you getting out of that fucked-up dress anytime soon, or am I gonna have to do it for ya?”

He says it sarcastically rather than perversely, in his normal mocking tone, the one he uses when he does his little acts of charity like she’s a stray he’s responsible for. Momo catches the subtle little swallow he makes before he speaks, though.  

She’s aware of how she must look--the off-shoulder dress she’s wearing is heavy with rain water and mud, the cut now lower than it ought to be because of gravity. The steam continues to rise around her, moistening her skin, the steady heat making it flush pink. She isn’t ashamed, oddly enough, even when she sees his eyes hover and linger over bare skin, before focusing on her mouth.

“Do you think I need help?” she starts, teasingly, then freezing all at once when he steps closer to her.

She takes a step back, stopping when she feels the glass of the stall behind her. He’s right in front of her, not moving, ruby red piercing through black.

Hesitant, nervous silence. Katsuki is so close, Momo is sure that she hears the rush of his blood through him, emanating from the pulse point at his right hand as he lifts it up to the side of her face. He tucks a soggy lock of her hair behind her ear and looks right into her eyes.  

She exhales as quietly as her quivering mouth allows. Her hands are reaching out for his shirt, undoes the buttons gently and deftly until she’s able to push the fabric, stubbornly clinging on his skin, off, and she’s able to expose the skin of his chest, his abs.

She lets her hands run over them once, slowly. She hears him exhale a little too loudly, feels the rapid throb of his heart under her right hand, under her touch.

“Hey… you’re cold, too.”

She moves her hands to do it again, to appreciate the feel of those muscles move with his breath under her hands. But his warm hands capture hers, and push them back into her sides, where they can do no harm.

“Momo,” he breathes, voice ragged, eyes hooded. “You’re still drunk.”

She shakes her head. “The walk sobered me up, like you said.” She raises her hand and rests it on his face, fingers curling over the warmth of his face. “As did the rain. I’m fine.”

He doesn’t push her hand away. “You’re still fuckin’ drunk. You can’t just--”

Whatever words he’s about to say stops in their tracks, as she moves her face closer and catches his mouth with hers, stunning him into silence.

She hasn’t kissed anyone in a long while, and a tiny portion of her is frightened that the way their teeth and noses collide and the clumsy way she pushes her mouth against his makes it obvious. But most of her mind, the parts that are blindingly sober and aware and decided is ravenous and tells her that she’s waited too long for this.

When has she been this forward, this shameless? Why is she enjoying the way she hears Katsuki’s breath catches in his throat, the stunned look in his eyes, the sweet moment she actually renders him speechless?

She opens her mouth for a short inhale, and so does he. He closes the gap between them immediately, as if the milliseconds they’re apart is too long, making up for the absence by letting his tongue dance inside her mouth, tasting the traces of wine within, making enticing sounds as he does so.  

He pushes her through the stall, and water rushes over their heads, past their ears, covering them in steam and sound. The shock of the rapid temperature change makes her gasp, but she doesn’t let him go.

Still, she feels him tighten his grip on her shoulders, feels him push them apart with whatever dregs of self-control there is between them.

Swollen lips, eyes in an obvious haze, water dripping over his face, his eyelashes, he slurs, “Momo... if you want me to stop at any time--”

She shakes her head. “Don’t…”

He stares at her. He is stunned, obviously thrown off, but doesn’t move.

She moves forward, closes the gap between them once more. His lips are so soft. She feels the burn of his hands over her bare skin, despite the water that runs between them, and it feels so good . She moves down, hears the delicious moan that escapes from him, as she tastes the side of his neck and feels the salt and the burning sweetness flood her mouth.

“Don’t stop, Katsuki,” she breathes against his skin. Pleads. Her hands reach out to run through his damp hair.

So he doesn’t.

He kisses her sweetly, roughly--she knows with each sharp inhale and dig of his fingernails on damp flesh that he’s waited for her too, that he wants her as much as she does. The gravity of his want throws her in a paradox of a boldness that she didn’t know lingered in her, as well as an overwhelming weakness that leaves her knees weak.

His hands run all over the ridiculously soaked fabric of her jersey dress. She guides one of them over one shoulder, to push it down. Another one to her back, where she guides her fingers to the zipper that he tugs down impatiently, sending the doused cloth to drop in a messy heap on the bathroom tile around her.

“Fuck,” he breathes against her mouth, hands running over her sides, feverishly appreciating all her curves with pressure and heat from his callused, explosive skin. “You’re so fuckin’ perfect --so beautiful, all mine, you’re all mine--”

She shudders as his words vibrate through her. In turn, she finally him of the silly soaked shirt, leaving her hands free to roam over those arms she’s spent an eternity admiring from a distance.

“Get this shit off of you,” he grumbles in frustration, slippery hands working on her black satin undergarment set. She laughs when he growls like an animal practically tears the heavy garment off her body, and gasps when his bare hand runs over her fully naked body for the first time.

She whines in the next moment, her clumsy fingers working on the buttons of his slacks. “You have to get rid of this too.”

He laughs and pulls her hands off of him. “Patience, princess.” He reaches out for a bottle of shower gel, works a handful of it into foam. “You’re dirty. Literally. I gotta take care of you.”

She makes a sound of mock-protest--he looks at her, asking her with his eyes if he should stop. She responds by grabbing those soapy hands and letting them roam over her shoulders, her chest, her stomach.  She giggles when he moans appreciatively when he reaches behind her to squeeze her bottom. Eventually, he’s bending over to scrub the mud off her legs, carefully lifting her feet one at a time to really get to the stubborn spots of dirt there.

He looks ridiculous, half-clothed in soaked slacks and soapy from all his efforts cleaning her, so she returns the favor. She gets a handful of soap and rubs it over spots of his bare skin he allows her to reach--his neck, shoulders, abs. She finally gets those silly pants off, and they fall in a mess on the tile with her dress.

“Fuck.” He hisses, as she works on his thighs, the tense area over his boxers straining with his arousal. “I gotta--I gotta get you in the bedroom, fuck--”

He rinses them off in the speed of light and dries them off with a towel even faster than that. She can’t help but laugh at all the sounds of frustration he makes with each movement.

Their mouths barely leaving each other, he finally, finally lifts her in his arms, and after a brief clumsy stumble out the bathroom and across the living room, he shoves her roughly against a different door and presses her against it.

The slam knocks the wind out of her, a surprised sound escaping her. He freezes, momentarily regretful that he might have overdone it, but she holds on to him tighter, kissing him more ferociously than ever.

“You like that, princess?” he asks in between, equal parts incredulous and aroused. His fingers tighten around her hips to the point of bruising.

She whimpers at the pressure and at the way she feels him grin against her skin. “Since the first cup of coffee--”

“Fuck yeah,” He hisses and dips his head down.

“I--” she gasps, as she feels teeth against her collar bone, the base of her neck. She moans as he leaves a mark there. “--like you, Katsuki,” she breathes as she struggles for some semblance of clear thought. “I have for some time now--”

Since I saw you, she wants to say. Realizes for herself, at the same time. She doesn’t speak, though. Can’t speak. Can hardly think, with the sound of blood rushing through her ears--

The door gives way behind them, and she finds herself crossing the threshold into his bedroom. She feels herself breathless and hopelessly aroused once more when he disconnects her mouth from her to lift her in his strong arms, again, to throw her onto his bed.  

(She’s played this scene shamelessly over and over in her mind, but nothing compares to the reality, to the giddiness of being overpowered so easily like this. Staring up at him rather helplessly, half-naked and weak, as he hovers over her, able to do all that he wants to her--)

Nothing but the moonlight through the window, to illuminate his ridiculously strong silhouette, the hunger in those ruby eyes. For a few moments, both too long and too short, he stands at the foot of his own bed.

“Katsuki,” she whispers, his name reverent on her tongue. He’s beautiful, more beautiful than she ever imagined. She’s shameless when she looks at his muscled thighs, the bulge in his underwear, his chiseled abs and chest, his face as he stares her down just as shamelessly.

Fiery eyes dart over the skin of her legs, her belly, her breasts. He stares at her swollen lips a fraction too long before moving on to her eyes.

She’s frozen in place as he crawls over her and places a gentle hand over her cheek.

“Momo.” His voice is rough and intoxicating, his eyes even more so. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she breathes, and pulls him closer. She makes her own mark on him, and his hands wander down once more to the curve of her breasts, to her sides, to the side of her hip.

His head moves down, to explore her further. She feels his hands and his mouth worship her in places that don’t see the light of day. She shudders and moans as he feels her tongue on her and inside her. All she’s able to do is to pull on his hair desperately. This goads him on further, becomes more merciless with his ministrations.

Mine, his voice echoes in her head, as she lets him have his way with her. Or perhaps it’s her voice now, she isn’t too sure. She’s been waiting for this for too long.  

She cries out his name, shamelessly, more than once. He crawls on top of her, places a burning kiss on her mouth, pressing his entire body on to her. Her nails go down his back, and he feels his sharp inhale against her. She feels his arousal against hers.

“Momo,” he growls again, his eyes burning embers despite the darkness. “Do you want--”

“Don’t stop,” she growls right back, pulling his head down to kiss him further.

He hums against her mouth gratefully, and reaches out for a foil in his bedside drawer.

She watches as he tears it open, his eyes never leaving her. She wants to catch her breath as he prepares himself, but he isn’t letting her. One hand is on himself, while the other keeps itself busy below her, inside her, teasing the sensitive areas he discovered with his mouth awhile ago. Her head is still spinning from her last release, and spins still when he bends over to kiss her on the neck, and aligns himself against her.

“Momo,” he rumbles into her ear, in a low and sensual purr. “What do you want?”

“Katsuki, please,” she whispers. She shifts herself so she can feel their point of contact, feels herself shudder in anticipation.

“I asked you a question, princess.” His tongue licks a neat stripe against the column of her neck.

“Please,” she whimpers when his hands press her hips against the bed, trapping her under his grasp. “Please, Katsuki--”

“What?”

She closes her eyes, feels the sting of her cheeks reddening. “I… want you,” she pleads, raven eyes burning into his. “To go all the way. Please.”

That’s all it takes. A frayed thread snaps between them. Katsuki swears. In the next moment Momo is gasping, feeling the sweet pressure as he pushes himself in slowly, deeper and deeper until all of him is inside.

They sigh in unison as they connect. Momo reaches over and kisses him on the mouth.

“Fuck, Momo,” he growls, catching his breath. She takes a second to relish the feeling of him inside her.

And then he starts to move.

Her thoughts scramble and reorganize all at once. She is suddenly incapable of any coherent thought, other than the pleasure flooding all her senses, the incapacitating desire for more, the breathtaking knowledge that Katsuki’s here, so close to her, one with her, breathing the same air, and she’s his, all his.

Mine, she thinks, as her arms go around his back and her nails trail hot searing lines all over.

“Mhm, Katsuki,” she moans over and over, in various combinations. She isn’t usually this vocal during sex, and she’s a little worried of the noise she’s making. The noise they’re making, the wet sounds, the slap of his pelvis against hers, his ragged breathing, the little sounds of pleasure escaping from her throat.

But--fuck all that. She feels the coil tightening inside her, more and more with each rock of his pelvis. Her moans get louder and louder, and when she covers her mouth for some modicum of modesty, Katsuki glares at her.

He pulls her hands off, pins them down above her head. His eyes are on hers, on her mouth, her breasts. His hands are strong, his mouth is eager, nibbling over all the skin he can reach.

It doesn’t take long before she unravels underneath him--stars fill her vision, a sweet throbbing ache fills her head and a strangled cry escapes from her throat. He follows her soon after with a groan.

They catch their breaths simultaneously. He pulls out, reaches over to kiss her once more and stroke her hair. She purrs under his touch and looks up at him with a blissful smile.

“Good?”

She hums. “Good.”

He smiles at her, uncharacteristically gentle and heartwarming, and leaves her to clean up. He returns in a short while with dry clothes on, tosses hers over her haphazardly, and collapses next to her in a heap.

She stares at him in amazement as his eyes flutter closed, his breathing instantly slowing down, muscles relaxing. In the short moment she pulls on his dark shirt over her and pulls on a pair of his boxers, he’s already snoring next to her, practically dead to the world.

Amazing, she thinks, with a fond smile. He’s really out like a light. He must have been so exhausted.

She strokes his hair gently, feeling her heart slow down in tandem with his as he breathes peacefully. She covers them both with a blanket, faces him, and closes her eyes.

A peaceful sleep falls over her consciousness rapidly, quiet and content and warm.

The rain continues to fall.    

 *

 She wakes up from a dreamless sleep when light leaks from the window and gets in her eyes.

She inhales deeply, letting the slightly chilly air fill her lungs and quietly nudge her into wakefulness. When her hand moves up to rub her eyes, she slightly moves an arm resting on top of her, lazily curled around her neck, heavy with sleep.

Seeing Bakugou Katsuki’s sleeping face, without an ounce of its usual tension or ill temper, must be a blessing not many gets to experience. His face is smooth and peaceful. Angelic, even, if she remains blissfully ignorant of his normal disposition, and the ways he had with her last night--

She blushes, and corrects herself. No, that’s probably her doing. She’s the one who made the first move, the one who begged, the one who told her that she thought of him that way since the first cup of coffee. Her cheeks feel warmer for it.

But, she thinks to herself, as she leans in close enough to make the tips of their noses touch, I’m so happy…

That’s all she feels, pure and simple. One hand clutches the fabric over her chest--warmth fills it when she remembers whose shirt she’s wearing, whose scent it is that she’s covered in. She smiles giddily once more.

Ah, but it’s sunrise. She turns, and gropes blindly for her phone, which she finds neatly placed on the bedside table. (Who knows how it got there.) The time on the clock reads 5:59 AM, and she has a number of missed messages from Kirishima-san.

Dr Momo did u make it home? Bkg isnt answerin his phone

Lemme know once he goes home pls

She blushes again. She completely forgot about him, and Satou-san too, who specifically asked her to message them.

Sorry for the late reply, she types thoughtfully. Of course she isn’t going to tell either of them the details of last night, but she supposes it’s sufficient to say, We both made it home safe last night.

The :) she adds, then removes when it feels a little too… evocative.

She presses send, and decides that it must be time for her to go home. The skies are sunny, the streets aren’t that damp, and there isn’t much traffic yet. It’ll be a short walk, with time to shower and dress-up and make it to work by seven.

She carefully peels Katsuki’s arm off of her and quietly walks to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She sighs when she sees their mess on the tile.

Momo, you naughty woman, she thinks to herself, biting her lip as she picks up the soggy clothes off the floor. She supposes she owes it to him to clean up. She finds the laundry room soon enough and gets the machines going. She’d have to send him a message then…

She hears someone grumble behind her. “Oh, Katsuki, good morning,” she says with a bright smile.

“Hrm,” he says eloquently. His hands are on her before she can say anything. “You’re up early. Were you gonna leave without saying goodbye?”

She giggles and puts her arms around his neck. “I need to leave for work, and I didn’t want to wake you. You seemed so exhausted, Katsuki.”

“Whose fuckin’ fault is that, huh?” Her point is evidenced by the huskiness in his voice, lowering it down an entire octave. Still, his mouth is on hers in the next moment, and she melts into it quite naturally.

Momo thinks that she can get used to these types of mornings. “I’m sorry,” she says, with a bounce that says she isn’t sorry at all.

“Right.” He tries to smile back, but instead he grimaces. He pauses, blinks a couple of times, and mumbles a few choice expletives to himself.

Momo blinks in worry when he begins to step back, one hand on his head, his face grimacing more and more each second. “Katsuki? Are you okay?”

“Fuck, shit,” he hisses, and turns to her, eyes unfocused and pained. “Momo, get the fuck away, get--”

Her veins have never felt as cold as it did then. “Katsuki, what are you--”

That’s all she manages to say, before he blacks out and falls to the ground.

[kawaiibobatea-blog]

Chapter 06: Faith

It had only been a couple minutes since Grillby and Sans had entered the smoking house making sure to leave the door open to start airing it out. Grillby went into the kitchen, seeing through the thick smokescreen like it wasn’t even there. All the while, Sans was internally cringing at the loud beeping emitting through the empty home by the smoke alarm. It was reminding him to uninstall it for when this happened again. The sound continued to grate on his nonexistent nerves even while Grillby grabbed a trash bag and held it open awaiting charred items. One after another, items that had once been a part of their daily life were tossed behind him and landed with a clank inside of the trash bag. Sans was just about to throw a blackened baking pan behind him but was stopped by the warm voice.

“Full.”

“… right.”

Sans glanced out of the corner of his sockets, Grillby was tying the drawstring in multiple knots. Bulges from multiple pans and pots poked the polyethylene of the bag begging for a release from their constraints. He had just been tossing everything that had been blackened, charred, or even had a smoke smell-he had been through this situation enough to know that the smell was daunting to get out, if it ever came out-that he hadn’t realized how much he was truly getting rid of. When Grillby opened another garbage bag behind him, he looked at the counters. All black. Some renovations were going to have to be made. Almost everything in the whole kitchen was black and smelled of smoke. This was probably the worst that this has ever been.

“It’ll be fine.” Grillby tried to assure, but his friend’s crackling voice did nothing to sate his worry or his slight depression. He knew that his brother didn’t mean any harm and he wasn’t truly mad at his brother, he never could be. It was still depressing though to watch his best friend leave with almost all his and Paps’ kitchen items to throw them away.

A couple hours had passed and Grillby and Sans had almost successfully cleared every piece of charred belongings from the home. The trashcans outside were miserably full leaving the living room and kitchen a little barren. Sans could already hear his favorite pen scratching against job applications to raise some money to refill their home. He took a deep breath and closed his sockets-trying to drown out that agonizing beep. Priorities. Getting all of this out was priority-and tossed another baking sheet into the trash bag Grillby was holding open. All the bowls that had been in the living room had to be thrown away which meant he would owe his friends some money or replacements. The smoke from the fire had billowed out and into the air. Sans knelt and opened the small drawer at the bottom of the oven leading to more storage space for their pans along with the many metal utensils that Papyrus liked to keep there much to Sans’ chagrin. He had hoped that these had escaped the smoke and fire’s dangerous heat, but no such luck.

“troublesome fire…” Sans muttered and heard an aggravated crackle from behind him. “excluding present company, of course.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Sans wasn’t afraid of much in life, but Grillbs was one thing that terrified him. It wasn’t that his LV was high, neither was his EXP… but Grillby had something even more terrifying at his disposal; he could tell him-and be serious-about making him pay back his tab. He wouldn’t be able to pay it back even if he worked the rest of his long, long monster life. He would also have a hard time getting a decent paying job since some places were still discriminating against monsters working for them.

“heh, sorry grillbs.”

By the time they got back to the front of the house, the smoke had completely cleared. It was nice to see his house again. Sans was just about to speak when the fire alarm gave another beep, like it was desperate for attention. With a gold flash in his eye and a quick ball of blue fire, the fire alarm had given its last shriek of warning with a large explosion. Out of the corner of his socket, he saw Jason flinch backwards so hard he almost fell. If she hadn’t been there to grab his arm, he might have. Shockingly enough, Fall didn’t even seem phased at him using such intense magic without warning. Many humans still wanted at least a few seconds warning before using any level of magic. Then again, there was just something about Jason that didn’t set right with him. It wasn’t because he was her boyfriend either. Just with the way he side-longed some glances at the monsters, and at Fall. He found himself not liking it. Of course, Grillby had told him before that he had been wrong with people… which was true.

“BROTHER, I AM SORRY FOR RUINING OUR PARTY… MAYBE I’M NOT THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL…” If Sans had any blood in his body, it would’ve turned cold. There wasn’t much going on in Sans’ life, however, his docile life with his brother was the thing he cherished the most. Papyrus was always smiling and fun-loving. He was able to make everyone happy without even trying with his cheerful voice and oblivious nature. It was soul breaking to see Papyrus’ shoulders slump in defeat and his smile fade.

“c’mon paps, you know that’s not true.” Sans said and shrugged his shoulders. He trudged over to his younger brother, smirking when he met socket contact with his only family. “things happen, hell, you know that i’ve done some stupid things before. we all have off days, today just happened to be yours.” Seconds felt like hours when Papyrus didn’t answer him right away. What felt like an eternity later, he lifted his head up and the smile had returned with full force,

“YOU’RE RIGHT SANS! TODAY WAS JUST AN “OFF DAY”!” Papyrus complimented and put his hands on his hips and watched as Sans nodded, taking out his comb and running it across his skull absentmindedly before returning it to his shorts pocket. “WELL, NOW THAT OUR HOSUE IS UNABLE TO BE USED FOR THE PARTY, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?”

Sans glanced over at the group of people that were with them; the monsters didn’t seem too bothered with the cold. Fall however, even though she was trying to hide it, was shivering. How could he forget to at least let her inside? After all, she wasn’t really dressed well for this occasion. “c’mon, let’s head back inside. it must be cold out here for you.”

“N-No, I’m alright. Don’t worry…” Fall said, her cheeks red. Sans wondered offhandedly if it was from the cold or a blush at being found out that she had been lying. He settled with both.

“hm, too late kid.” Sans muttered under his breath and walked in with the rest of his friends, having Undyne close the door behind the group and ignoring the sigh that came from a tad bit behind him. With a glance at the clock, he noted that it was too early to call it a night, and Paps would be upset if he pooped out. It was only around nine thirty, but he was so exhausted.

“My bar is closed, but if desired, I can open it up and continue the party there.” Grillby adjusted his glasses, the fire crackling as he did so.

“OH DARLING! THAT’S PERFECT!” Mettaton gushed, clasping his hands together.

“YES! IT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA.” Papyrus agreed, his smile even brighter than it had been earlier.

Sans glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing Fall fiddling with a stray thread on his jacket that she was still wearing. He had been so focused on restoring the house to the best of his abilities he had forgotten. He raised a brow bone and continued to watch her, digging her toe into the carpet. The monsters were chattering among themselves, setting the plan in stone that the party would continue at Grillby’s. “go on ahead, i’ll meet you there.” Sans said and scratched the back of his cranium.

“WE SHALL WAIT IN ANTICIPATION FOR YOUR ARRIVAL!” Papyrus complimented and ran out with some of their friends, the others following close behind.

When Fall glanced at the door and started to head out, he grabbed her wrist. She went rigid and he couldn’t help but think that she was worried about hanging out with a bunch of monsters. Many humans had been like that, even all these years later: they’d pretend they were okay with monsters and want to co-exist with them, but when one touched them or got too close they would revert to their discriminatory ways. Aggravated that he was letting it get to him, he let her wrist go with no words.

“Um…” Fall began, still looking down at the floor. “It’s a walk to Grillby’s and… I don’t have any… pants on…” A tomato red blush covered her face, reaching to the tips of her ears. A small blue blush of his own dusted his cheeks and he scratched at the back of his ivory dome again.

how could i forget that?

Clearing his throat, he glanced at the stairs, “hey, fall, follow me.” He said, seeing her not even hesitate in following him. How could he have been so rude in thinking that Fall was like those other humans he had encountered? He would have to apologize to her later and take whatever punishment she would deem adequate to group her in with those discriminatory humans. Hell, maybe he was a bit of the same way as those humans. He didn’t like that thought though. Thankfully, his door had been closed so his room remained untouched by the smoky smell of the fire. Among the mess in his room, her costume still laid perfectly neat on his sheet-less bed. “hey, kid, putting that back on isn’t going to help you with the cold.”

“Well that’s true,” She agreed holding the costume in her hand with her other on the zipper of his jacket. “Either way, it’s not like I can just keep these clothes.”

Sans was too busy sifting through his messy closet to answer her, not that there was anything to say. He may be lazy and somewhat nihilistic, but even he wasn’t soulless enough to let her make the trip to Grillby’s in just a T-shirt and a jacket. If they teleported, it would knock out all of the walking, but at the same time being at the party in a bar may be a little awkward for her. A smile came to his face when he held up the piece of fabric he was looking for,

“Basket ball shorts?” Fall asked.

“yeah, put these on. i don’t really have much variety in the clothes department, but, something is better than nothing right kid?”

This time, it was her turn to not respond. She held the shorts in her hands, the blush still on her face. How in the world did she have enough gumption to give him her phone number when she was standing here blushing at everything he did or said? Maybe he would ask her about that later, if he remembered. “i’ll wait outside.” He left and closed the door behind him. She hadn’t been phased seeing him decimate his smoke alarm with magic, but randomly teleporting may have been too much for the already frazzled girl. A few moments later, she came out with the shorts on and the drawstring tightened to make sure that they stayed on her hips. She had taken off the jacket and held it out to him, which he declined. “monsters aren’t as prone to the elements as you humans are.” He informed. “so keep it, i’ll get it back from you later.” Shoving his hands in his own shorts, he smirked when she was donned in his jacket again. “y’know, i wondered a lot of the time what i would look like as a girl, but with you dressed like that, i can get a pretty good idea.”

“H-Hey!” Fall said and zipped up the jacket.

“it’s a compliment kid.”

With Fall in tow, he walked towards the door and had a phalange over the light switch. “did you want to walk, or we could-“

“Do that teleport thing you do?”

“y-yeah… how-“

“Well, you’ve been coming to my store for a few years, sometimes you would use your magic outside of the store to get back home quicker.” Fall admitted, playing with the same thread she had been previously. “I don’t mind going that way… as long as it’s not too hard on you.”

“alright.” Sans went over and touched the small of her back. “i need close contact to bring you with.” In truth, he didn’t know how close one needed to be. She was the first person he had tried it with other than... He knew it would work, there was no questions about that. He just wanted to make sure that it would be okay for her to be this close to him. When she didn’t protest, he took a step forward and brought them both in the void between this part of the world and the next. They came out right in front of Grillby’s. Fall staggered a bit and grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt for stabilization.

“S-Sorry…” She stammered but gripped on tighter.

“no need to be sorry, kid. the first person i took with me puked when we-for lack of a better word-landed.” “O-Oh…” Fall blinked, and her grip loosened on his shirt enough to where she could stand up on her own. “Maybe it’s something humans have to get used to.”

“hm, maybe.” Sans guided her into the bar by the small of her back.

By the time they got in the bar, everything and everyone was in full force. Grillby was behind the counter serving drinks and food to his friends, continuously shining his favorite glass. Out of the corner of his socket, he saw Papyrus and Undyne sitting in a booth with Alphys. Jason and…the girl… were sitting at the bar awaiting some food. Muffet was helping to serve the food that all the friends were ordering while Mettaton was providing entertainment in the form of singing and dancing while Napstablook was playing music for them. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

“SANS! YOU MADE IT!” Papyrus exclaimed when he noticed the party of two that had come into the bar. He hopped up out of his seat, onto the table and jumped to the floor in front of them. All the while Sans had his hands in his pockets. It was perfectly normal to watch his brother climb onto things he wasn’t supposed to. “WE WERE BEGINNING TO WONDER WHERE YOU WERE. OH! SMALL HUMAN! YOU’RE WEARING SANS’ CLOTHES.”

“she didn’t have any, so i let her borrow some of mine.”

“SHE LOOKS LIKE THE HUMAN GIRL VERSION OF YOU!” Papyrus said and smiled brightly at Fall who had been taken aback by his very robust compliment. “IT LOOKS VERY GOOD ON YOU!”

“T-Thank you Papyrus.”

“OF COURSE, SMALL HUMAN! ANY FRIEND OF SANS’ IS A FRIEND OF MINE! NOW IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME, I’M TRYING TO SOLVE THIS WEEKS PUZZLE IN THE PAPER ALPHYS BROUGHT.” With another hop onto his table, he sat back down on his side of the booth, intently training his sockets on the words in front of him. Sans shrugged his shoulders and went to the bar, taking a seat and helping her onto his.

“What puzzle is he trying to solve?”

“the horoscope.”

“The…”

“yep.” Sans looked at Fall with his ever-present smile. “grillbs, can i get a burger for the lady here and an order of fries for me?”

Without a word, Grillby headed towards the back to cook their orders after setting a bottle of ketchup down in front of him. It wouldn’t take too long, after all, a flame elemental monster could control the fire in his kitchen better than any human stove or oven could. That’s part of the reason why he liked coming to Grillby’s, other than to spend time with his best friend. The food was always cooked exactly how you liked it, even if you didn’t tell him. Sans was focused on the sounds around him, sipping on the ketchup Grillby had left him. The smell of the food was wafting from the kitchen via the small gap at the bottom of the door. No doubt, the food would be done soon. He could already taste the food that would be sat in front of him. The fries would be worth the headache of throwing away a lot of the kitchen appliances.

“Um… Sans?”

“hm?” He swallowed the ketchup that was in his mouth and turned the barstool, hearing the all too familiar creak.

“How did you know to order me a burger?”

“when we were at my house, i saw you eyeing it with everything you are.” He couldn’t help but chuckle when Fall blushed a deep red. “no need to be so embarrassed about it. grillbs food is the best.” As if on cue, Grillby came out and sat the plates down in front of them, putting another bottle of ketchup on the counter. “aw, and i didn’t even have to ask.”

“Not for you.” Grillby said and pointed a thumb at Fall’s burger.

“fine. you win.” Sans held up his hands in defeat.

“Can I get you anything else, Miss?” Grillby politely asked.

always a charmer.

“Um, can I have a bit of alcohol?” Fall was meek about it. Why? This was a bar, order all the alcohol you want. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course, it isn’t too much trouble.” Grillby assured. “What would you like?”

“Um… I-I’m not too good with names. So just whatever you think would be good.”

“As you wish.”

Sans watched Grillby work at lightning speed, popping a fry into his mouth every now and again. It was nice to hear everyone laughing when just a few minutes ago it was full of sadness at almost catching their home on fire. He was worried that it was going to ruin their night, but of course, he should’ve known better. When it comes to Papyrus, no one can stay sad around him, so he ends up making everyone have a good time. The drink that he sat down in front of Fall was bright, colorful, and smelled nice. Her eyes widened, and she picked up the glass and looked at it.

“Wow! It’s so pretty…”

“well kid,” Sans saw motion out of the corner of his socket near the other end of the bar. “alcohol isn’t meant to just look pretty. taste it.”

“Right. Right.” She took a small sip from the straw that he had placed in the blue-green color show in a cup. “Ooh! Wow… This is really good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The more time that passed, the more Fall drank. The more that Fall drank, the more she would talk. The more that she would talk, the more she would get embarrassed; wash, rinse, and repeat until she was now the staggering mess next to him. She was on her third burger and fifth order of fries. She could really pack away some food. He was glad that she was eating that much bread and stuff that way she wouldn’t get sick. He had learned from her that it was a common thing for humans to do; surprisingly, it was recommended. It had been strange to him when they first arrived on the surface, but now it seemed obvious and normal. Papyrus was slamming his hand down on the table, excited that he had solved another puzzle in the Junior Jumble book that Sans had bought for him.

“Well, Frisk, are you ready to go?” Sans heard Jason from the other side of the bar.

“Yeah, it’s getting late and I’m pretty tired.”

Sans didn’t really care where they went or what they did and continued watching Grillby and a drunk Fall continue their very weird conversation on how Grillby could touch things without getting burnt. Now her inquisitiveness had went to his clothes. However, one thing that sent his attention the humans’ way was what Jason had whispered to her.

“Next time, can you not invite me to parties like these? It gets really uncomfortable with all these monsters around.”

“Jason, stop that.” She had whispered back. Sans wasn’t really too shook about it, considering there were so many humans that still weren’t accepting and from the way that he had been acting through the night, it wasn’t a shock. What came next though…

“What? You can’t tell me it’s not weird. Especially that tall skeleton. Why does everyone try to kiss up to him? They’re all making it sound like he can cook and he’s talented but he’s not. He’s weird and a terrible cook. I mean he almost burned his own house down.”

The pinpricks for pupils that he had disappeared leaving nothing but black sockets devoid of any positive emotion. No one around, but Grillby seemed to notice. He didn’t ask but gave Sans a curious glance that did not get a anything in return.

“No, Paps can’t cook, but he makes up for it with spirit and determination. He doesn’t let anything falter his spirit and he’s a good skeleton.” She commented, defending Paps. It wasn’t like Sans didn’t expect her to defend Papyrus, but that she continued to walk out with Jason washed away her defense like it hadn’t even happened.

“Whatever, it sounds to me like he’s just pathetic.”

Sans squeezed the ketchup bottle, listening to the air escape the nozzle at the top. Just as the jingle of the bell sounded through the store signifying their leave, Sans teleported outside and stood in front of them earning an alarmed sound from Jason and a confused one from her. His eyes held no emotion but loathing and anger.

“S-Sans?” The girl commented, seeing the expression on his face.

“stay out of this.” Sans ordered, his tone deepening a little bit. “this is between me and him.”

“What? You and me don’t have any business.”

“Sans… You-“

“quiet.” Sans commanded, and she listened. “you have a problem with my brother, huh?”

“…”

“i’m waiting.”

“W-Well n- ah!” Jason yelled when Sans threw a bone in his direction scraping against the side of his face. “What are you doing?”

“Sans, stop!”

“monsters are pathetic huh?” Sans questioned, shooting a smaller bone his way, not intending to hit him. “papyrus has more heart than some of you humans ever will.” Papyrus was his weak spot. All their friends knew it, when something was said or done against his brother, all thoughts or morals went out the window. With a snap of his finger, he was surrounded by four Gaster Blasters, all pointing towards Jason. A tug on his sleeve, prevented another attack.

“I said ‘stop’!” Sans’ sharp glare looked down at his sleeve and saw his old friend attached to it for dear life.

“defending someone like him, huh? heh, figured as much. all you humans stick together.” His words were filled with venom as he flung his arm, sending the girl a few feet away from him on her butt. His attention turned from the girl back to the cowering Jason. His smile turned more into a smirk and he snapped his phalanges, making the blasters disappear. “be thankful you have that girl with you.”

“W-What? Why? What does Frisk have to do with this?” Jason asked, falling to his knees his legs being unable to keep him standing anymore. He screamed out when he was pulled towards Sans, nose to nose hole.

“’cause buddy, without her,” Sans chuckled humorlessly, his sockets searing holes into Jason’s eyes. Their gaze was so intense it felt like time had stopped. “Y o u ‘ d  b e  d e a d  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d.” With a flick of his wrist, Jason was sent further away, and a pained grunt escaped his lips upon impact. He knew that he didn’t break the human’s bones, he would’ve been able to tell. He sure was going to have one hell of a bruise there, that was for sure. He shoved his hands back in his pockets, having his back turned to the scene he had created between him and the two humans. He heard the girl get up and head towards where her boyfriend lay, “. . . don’t let me catch either of you around my brother again.”

The girl sounded like she was about to cry with her small, pitiful voice. “B-But, Sans… I-“ He turned and looked at the girl, his sockets still black with anger.

“E i t h e r  o f  y o u.” His tone of finality shut her up in just a split second. He left both humans outside. He couldn’t believe it. She had defended him… Jason… the one who had insulted his brother. Humans really stuck together, even in these times. That must’ve been the reason that she wanted to leave the Underground. She just wanted to go back to the humans… They had been friends for years… At least he thought so. He wanted to believe it, but maybe it would be better if they hadn’t been… then it wouldn’t hurt this bad. Even if she didn’t explicitly agree with Jason, she wanted him to not hurt Jason. Why? He could only imagine how that would’ve hurt Papyrus if he had really heard it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He had lost all faith in Jason (not that he had much to begin with), he lost hope in humans, he lost faith in Frisk.

[hereticpriest]

Amplify Chapter 3

“You’re lucky you had enough residual energy to help fuel this healing. Anyone else, and you’d still have some light healing to do.” Recovery Girl offered Keiko a sad smile, but the young woman simply shrugged.

“Thank you very much, Recovery Girl. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on.” Keiko said, giving a polite bow to the nurse, then heading out to be escorted back to her class. Shouto squeezed her shoulder when she rejoined them, and she assured him she was fine before heading over to Bakugo.

“Hey Pop Rocks, can you walk me home?” Keiko requested, wringing her hands. The blond glared at her like if he looked scary enough, she’d go away. When she didn’t, he scoffed, then shrugged.

“Fine, I guess.”

Keiko smiled. She didn’t speak until they were away from the school.

“Can you hear me?”

Bakugo didn’t respond, hands stuffed in his pockets and his face not turned towards her. She tried a little louder, then once more at about the volume she would use when in a busy area before he finally looked over at her. He scowled when he realized what she’d asked.

“I can hear you. It’s the quieter shit I can’t hear.” he admitted, his cheeks dusted with a light pink blush. 

“Is it because of your quirk?” Keiko asked. He nodded, and she hummed thoughtfully.

“If you tell anyone, I’ll blow your ass up.” The blond threatened, but Keiko simply smiled in response.

“I won’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t want anyone to have an advantage against you. That being said, do you have hearing aids for it or is it not bad enough yet?” Keiko asked. Bakugo wanted to blow up on her, but her voice was so even and without judgment that it took the wind out of his sails.

“It’s not bad enough yet, but I have another test soon. They want me to learn sign language to prepare for it.” Bakugo replied. Keiko nodded, then seemed to have an idea and smiled.

“Hey, that could be useful, you know? Sign language is a good form of visual communication that can be discreetly used in combat, or infiltration, or any number of situations. Non-verbal communication is super important – this could be a huge advantage for you and anyone you lead. You should learn it!” Keiko said rather excitedly. Bakugo eyed her carefully, like he was waiting for her to poke fun at him or call him weak. Instead, he found what seemed like genuine interest on her face.

“The only teacher I know of that speaks JSL is Present Mic.” Bakugo mused.

“Aizawa does as well. Not sure if anyone else does, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” Keiko informed him, “Plus, you said you wanna be number one? You’ll have your own agency pretty quick, so you can mandate that everyone learn JSL.”

“That isn’t a half bad idea.” Bakugo mused, drawing a snort from Keiko. They were drawing closer to Keiko’s apartment building, so she looked over at the blond.

“This is me. If you ever want to visit, feel free. It’s just me, so you don’t have to worry about anything.” Keiko offered, gesturing to her building. Bakugo hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

“Fine.” The blond agreed gruffly, “You live pretty close to me. I guess if you didn’t want to walk alone, you could come with me.”

“Text me if you ever wanna come over. We can study, or the building has a gym so we can use it. You look like you like to work out.” Keiko beamed. A small smirk tugged at Bakugo’s lips, and he raised his gaze to meet hers.

“You’ve been look-”

“Don’t finish that sentence or I’ll revoke your access to my gym.” Keiko cut him off, brow raised. At his answering scowl, she giggled.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Pop Rocks.”

Bakugo watched her until she disappeared into the building, then continued his walk home.

~+~

Placing third in the Sports Festival would have felt like a failure if it weren’t for who she lost to. Shouto, her best friend and someone who knew her power inside out, was a worthy opponent to lose against. She’d gotten him to the point of using his fire to compensate for the freezing on his right side, but he’d melted the ice around her, then boiled it. The steam had given him a chance to get up close and personal directly after avoiding a blast of energy. While she was still running on empty, he’d frozen her in place so she couldn’t use an energy discharge to make her way out of it. The two had embraced after the battle, and Shouto escorted her to the infirmary so they could both get looked at. Shouto was battered from the energy blasts he hadn’t avoided, his face already turning purple from an energized punch she’d gotten in, and he had several muscle tears that would have to be healed. Keiko, meanwhile, had several burns to be looked at from his fire as well as the boiling water. Her arm was also dislocated, though that was mostly her own fault for fighting against an ice trap. She also appeared to have several areas of skin that appeared to be suffering from frostbite.

Endeavor met them in the hall outside of the arena, and Keiko wasn’t surprised when a massive hand clasped around her uninjured shoulder. She was yanked forwards to rest her forehead against the flaming hero’s chest, his hand cupping the back of her neck. Shouto watched passively, used to his father’s way of behaving with the young woman. They both knew some part of it was guilt, especially since he’d been teamed up with her father quite often for years before his death. It didn’t stop Keiko from appreciating the contact when it did happen, though his treatment of Shouto had always made her feel guilty for enjoying when he was kind to her.

“Your parents would be extremely proud of you, Keiko.” Endeavor said as gently as a man his size (and his demeanour) could. Keiko swallowed around the lump in her throat, her hands coming up to grip the fabric of his suit for a second. She coughed, blinking rapidly and wiping her eyes, then leaning back away from him.

“Thank you.” she said, her voice coming out thick and teary. Shouto put an arm around the woman and carefully led her away.

“She needs to go to Recovery Girl, and so do I.” Was his parting comment to stop Endeavor from trying to keep them there. Thankfully, it worked. They stopped just around the corner out of view and Keiko melted into Shouto when he hugged her.

“I don’t know how he can be so gentle with me.” Keiko whispered.

“You don’t have to back out of his affection just because he was a shitty father to me. I know he’s all you have left of them.” Shouto murmured, and Keiko’s heart swelled with love for him again. She squeezed him tighter to her.

“I can’t bring myself to pull away totally. But I will always value you more than him, and if it came down to it, I will always choose you.” Keiko murmured into his neck, holding in a pained groan when he squeezed her tighter. He stepped away after a second, though he let her cling when she refused to let go, simply trying to guide her into the infirmary while she blindly held onto him. After a couple steps and nearly falling down multiple times, Shouto hiked Keiko up into his arms and held her legs around his hips, carrying her like she weighed nothing. It wasn’t the first time she’d played koala on him. Recovery Girl laughed at the sight of them, healing Shouto for his final battle once he’d gotten Keiko to let go and lay down. Once he was gone, the healing hero turned her gaze on Keiko. She helped Keiko change into an undershirt and shorts to better see her injuries, then helped her lay down on a cot. Shortly after, the door slammed open, and Recovery Girl puffed up over the disturbance, but Keiko beamed at who was standing in the doorway.

“Hey Pop Rocks. I didn’t think I’d get to say hi before the finals. Come visit me when you win, okay? I’m tapped out, so I won’t be healed up enough to watch your fight in the stands. But I’ll watch it on the TV and I’ll be cheering for you.”

Bakugo scoffed.

“I don’t need your cheering, I’m going to win no matter what.” The explosive man retorted, drawing a laugh from Keiko.

“Obviously. Just because you don’t need something doesn’t mean you won’t get it anyways, though!” Keiko teased, “Come here.”

“Why?”

“Just come here, Pop Rocks. I can’t hurt you like this.” Keiko threw her pillow at him, and he fumed but approached her bedside. He could see her injuries now, and it made his stomach hurt even though he knew she was going to be fine. Before he could put much more thought into it, Keiko grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him down so that she could kiss his cheek loudly.

“Good luck, Katsuki.”

The blond stormed out of the infirmary with red cheeks, steam nearly pouring out of his ears from anger and embarrassment. No one saw him stop just down the hall with his hand over his mouth, leaning against the wall for a second to breathe.

~+~

Hosu City was a clusterfuck, and Keiko was not having it.

“Stay with my dad. They need you.” Shouto commanded when Keiko tried to chase him. She hesitated, but his eyes pleaded ‘trust me’ and there was little in the world that Keiko could ever deny him. He kept running, and Endeavor’s massive hand clasped over her shoulder to lead her away. The first Nomu they came across was being fought by a small older man in a yellow suit, whose speed was clearly part of his quirk. The Nomu had a quirk similar to hers, if far weaker. The sight of it... it made her almost sick. Endeavor and the other hero took it out while Keiko ushered the civilians away, as per her job. She was well aware of the consequences, and she knew she couldn’t join the fight unless it was to absorb damage or save civilians.

“Stay close. I’m trusting you.” The flame hero said in that steady voice of his. Angry, maybe, but steady. They came across a group of heroes struggling against a huge Nomu, and Endeavor looked at her expectantly. Keiko nodded firmly, bouncing on her feet for a second to build up a bit of kinetic energy, then bursting forwards to take a punch that would’ve felt like a car crash to anyone else in the place of another hero. Several of the nearby heroes were shocked at her appearance, and a quick “Kei!” had her jumping back out of the way just in time to dodge a blast of hellflame from her mentor. The Nomu was right back at her, landing punch after punch on her crossed arms, unaware that each hit was just making the hero-in-training stronger. She was an extremely effective tank, soaking up damage that would tire out other heroes. She was giving the heroes a perfect opportunity to clear out the civilians now that a more well-suited hero was present.

“Get the injured out of here. She can take a punch!” Endeavor shouted at the other heroes, watching with pride as Keiko jumped out of the Nomu’s range and grasped her wrist, pointing a finger-gun above the street.

“Augment canon!” The blast of pink energy was easily double the size of her augment shot, a release of built up energy when she was nearing top capacity. It destroyed a bunch of falling debris and dispersed harmlessly in the night air, saving the heroes and civilians in the street. A nearby building was crumbling, about to crush an injured hero, and Keiko stamped her foot. Pink energy sparked from her feet, giving her the strength to launch herself across the space separating them. The crumbling cement slammed into her back, drawing another burst of pink energy which Keiko used to grab and toss the hero out of the way. She was still standing when the dust cleared, breathing heavily from the release of energy, but relatively uninjured. The injured hero was quickly helped up by one of the other heroes, and they escaped together to safety. Endeavor burnt the Nomu’s head off, and she took barely a second to breathe before chasing after him and the winged Nomu. 

There’s screaming everywhere, buildings burning and streets destroyed, and Keiko’s head is pounding but she can’t stop. Endeavor doesn’t need her help, but that doesn’t mean she can slow down for even a minute. She caught up to her mentor rather easily, his expression surprisingly proud and he gave her a hard fist-bump that likely would’ve broken a man’s hand. For her, it was just a boost of energy.

“Good job keeping up, kid. Don’t slow me down.” Endeavor’s voice was loud, booming almost, but he didn’t sound as angry as he usually did. She gave him a firm nod, and they were off. The winged Nomu led them pretty much straight to Shouto, where the hero killer Stain was standing over its limp body and the battered body of Midoriya.

“Why are you all standing around in a group? The villain should’ve escaped this way.” Endeavor was apparently feeling unobservant today, and had to be warned off by the yellow-suited hero from earlier. Keiko’s hand rested upon Endeavor’s back, wide-eyed in the face of Stain’s hate and the energy that flowed from him in waves. A huge hand reached back to pull Keiko behind him, but she realized at that moment that Stain had fallen unconscious standing up. Perhaps thoughtlessly, Keiko left her mentor to run over to Shouto, clasping him in a hug and reaching out to pull Iida in as well.

“You’re injured! Are you idiots okay? You’re going to give me a hernia!”