Solstice and Eclipse: Part III

Chapter XII: First Name Basis

Author's Note: Before we get started, I want to address something that I think some of my readers will take issue with. In this chapter we will see Yaoyorozu lose her patience with (L/N). Please remember that Yaoyorozu is also a human with emotions and that while she may want to help (L/N), the way he acts towards her takes a toll on her emotional health. Also remember that she does not know the full story of (L/N)'s traumas.

Startled when the door suddenly opened to her, Yaoyorozu's greeting died in her throat as she looked up to find (L/N) framed in the doorway. He was wearing a faded black t-shirt that he had outgrown probably several years ago, the tight fabric allowing her to see clearly the surprisingly well-defined muscles of his torso, chest, and arms. His hair had grown in the weeks he'd spent in the hospital, so his bangs now obscured the blindfold around his eyes, and this combined with his usual intensely stoic expression caused a heat to pool in Yaoyorozu's chest and rise to her cheeks.

Stammering, she tried to compose herself. "Uh... I, um..."

(L/N) leaned one arm against the doorframe, sighing heavily as the other swept the hair back and out of his weary face. He waited expectantly for Yaoyorozu to say something, but her attention had been drawn from his face by the way his shirt had ridden up and exposed his toned abdomen. Inhaling sharply, she closed her eyes and gave her head a small shake before forcing herself to look up.

"Um, hello." She said meekly.

"What do you want?" (L/N) asked callously.

The harshness of his tone caused her to falter, and she shrank beneath the cut of his tongue. "Oh, s-sorry." She squeaked. "I didn't mean to bother you. I, um... I'll just go."

Turning, she took several hurried steps down the hall, shaking her head and scolding herself. So much had happened in the past few weeks that she had forgotten their last face to face conversation. But the sharp edge to his words served as reminder to their most recent exchange and the hurtful things he had said.

"Wait." He called after her. "Momo, wait."

His hand took hold of her wrist, and he pulled her back with more force than he'd intended. Stumbling into him, her free hand came to a rest on his chest to steady herself, the other still captured in his firm grip.

Yaoyorozu's breath caught in her throat as she stood still in his hold. A mere six inches/fifteen centimeters was all the distance between their faces. The last time they'd stood so close had been at the training camp, just after Class 1A had emerged from the Beast's Forest. Looking past the curtain of hair that fell over his face, she could just barely see the scar tissue poking out from behind his blindfold.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so... acerbic." He apologized. "I-I'm just... tired."

She gasped as she felt his hand release her wrist and unconsciously begin to slowly slide its way up her forearm to rest just before the crook of her arm where it gently caressed her smooth skin.

"What is it?" He asked, taking note of the sharp inhale.

"Y-You... you just..." she stuttered, "you just called me 'Momo'."

(L/N)'s eyebrows raised in horrific realization, and he quickly placed more distance between them. "I-I'm sorry." He stammered. "I-I... I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, no." Yaoyorozu said hurriedly, taking a step to close the gap between them. "It's, um... it's okay." She whispered.

Nodding meekly, (L/N) tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but his mouth had suddenly gone dry. Unsure what to say, he instead nervously rubbed his hands together while Yaoyorozu ran her fingers through her hair.