|| Sunlight || k. bakugou x oc || mha x oc ||

. Chapter Nineteen .

Bakugou POV

We're almost at the lookout point. The path is starting to grow smaller and more difficult to climb. Tree roots and small weeds have started to grow over it. The sun pours through the trees in golden beams, making hiking conditions a bit hot. Earlier, Kai insisted on stopping to give Sora some water from her bottle.

Up ahead, the path is cluttered with boulders. I curse under my breath, "Shit. There must've been a rock slide after the rainstorm this last weekend."

"Is it bad?" Kai asks.

"It's not terrible, just a pain in the ass." I mutter. As we grow closer, I glance back at Kai. There's a way to weave in between the biggest boulders, but the ground is littered with small rocks, making for uneven footing. I sigh, "Let Sora climb this on his own. I'll help your blind ass through this. The footing's too uneven and I don't want to deal with your dumbass breaking an ankle right now."

She slowly lets go of Sora's harness, "Fair enough. I'm even having trouble seeing all this."

I look away, feeling my face grow hot, "Here," I offer my hand. After a moment of hesitation, she grabs my hand. Dammit, what the hell is happening to me? She steps closer to me and I scramble to regain composure, "Follow me, I'll try to mention any super rough footing ahead of time."

"Got it." She chews on her lip in concentration. I call out the larger rocks for her to step over, carefully leading her through the ridiculous mess of boulders. Her foot slips and she squeezes my hand, grabbing my arm with her other hand.

I've never really seen her like this.

She's almost always so strong and confident, even in class when I know she can't see the board. She never asks for help, so no one ever offers. But she's still blind, of course there's going to be things that are more difficult for her.

"Tch. Don't worry idiot, I've got you." I squeeze her hand once. Why did I say that? Why did I do that?

"You better. I don't want to explain to someone why I somehow obtained more injuries than I did yesterday."

I raise an eyebrow, "You said your injuries were healed from yesterday."

She scoffs, "They don't hurt or anything. I'm perfectly fine."

"Dumbass. Don't blame me if you reopen your cuts from yesterday."

"I said I'm fine." She mutters, suddenly growing callous, "I've dealt with worse." I don't bother to ask, she won't tell me what I want to know anyways. I manage to help her past the cluttered path of boulders. Up ahead, I can see the lookout point. Sora waits patiently a few meters in front of us.

"Come on! We're almost there. I can see it." I pull her forward, to which she just responds with a huff. Seeing his owner walking forward without him, Sora returns obediently to her side. She awkwardly releases my hand and grabs Sora's harness.

"Let's just go."

* * *

I take a deep breath in, still in awe of the incredible view from the lookout point. Not far from the trailhead we started at, a giant lake glimmers blue under the clear sky. The air smells fresh. From one side of the lookout point, you can see almost the entire city, even UA. From the opposite side of the lookout point, there's only mountains.

I glance to my side, wondering if she'll be pissed that I took her up to a lookout point that she can't enjoy. To my surprise, she tilts her chin upwards towards the sun. She's taken off her sunglasses, her eyes fluttering shut as she takes in the golden warmth. Her hair shines in the sun. When she cracks her eyes open, I'm taken aback at the rich-amber color, all illuminated under the sunlight. Something about the image of her bathed in sunlight reminds me of the first time we really interacted during that training exercise.

I said something about her getting sunburnt, didn't I?

I cringe at my own past self. I probably sounded like my mother more than anything.

"Enjoying the view?" She says smugly.

I shake my head, wishing the heat would dissipate from my face. "Tch. You wish. This view–" I gesture to the glittering windows of the city and the rich green of the forest around us, "–this view is much better. Shame you... can't see it." Too far?

Her jaws drops in fake offense, "Was that a blind joke?"

Not too far, then–I mean—not that I care anyways. I shrug, "You're naturally a joke. It's just good comedic timing that you're blind."

"Well, at least I'm naturally funny." She teases, "I didn't know you were capable of making jokes."

"Screw you. I'm fucking hilarious." I mutter.

"Sure you are." She says, casting a skeptical glance in my direction before perching next to me on the rock I was sitting on.

"From here, you can see the entire city, and some of the mountains. There's a lake near where we started hiking. During the day, the windows of the city reflect the sunlight. During the night, all the lights come on and the city looks pretty fucking cool."

I dare to look at her next to me. Her eyes are closed, she basks in the sun like a cat. Weirdo.

Kai POV

I can picture what he describes. Little lights full of color like the auras I see. My quirk enjoys the warmth of the sun. However, a sigh tumbles from my lips, "We should head back. Some police officer is supposed to stop by my apartment in a few hours."

"Tch. Why?"

I shrug, "Just some questions about yesterday or whatever." Bakugou scoffs, but grudgingly stands up. We take a moment to drink water and begin back down the mountain. The dirt underneath my soles crunches in a satisfying way and the air smells exquisite.

Walking downhill, Bakugou stays behind me. When we get to the cluster of rocks in the path, he places a hand on the small of my back. His touch is light, but his palms are so warm I can feel them through my clothes. I walk forward slowly, letting go of Sora's harness. Bakugou mumbles under his breath before startling me by leaning right next to my ear, "Step down, now." I flinch, stumbling forward. A hand roughly grabs my shoulder and pulls me upright, "Jesus, idiot. Be careful. What the hell was that?"

"You scared me, asshole!" I steady my breath. Bakugou's hand settles on my shoulder and he carefully steps past me.

"Just stay close, dumbass." His hand slides from my shoulder to my arm, gently tugging on my wrist. His skin is hot to the touch, but his hands are surprisingly soft. It's probably thanks to his quirk.

It's quite a difference from my roughly calloused and scarred hands. Years of intense training have erased my gentle touch. Behind my playful jokes and practiced smile, I hold years of blood, sweat, and tears, reflected by the rough surface of my palms. The temperature fluctuation often accompanying my quirk makes my hands dry and sometimes burnt.

Bakugou's lucky, his nitroglycerin quirk keeps his hands from revealing his hard work.

I wonder if it will show when I'm doing hero work. If I'll lend someone a helping hand, only for them to realize how hard I've fought to get to this point. They'll see the scars of a monster, the roughness of an overworked laborer. But maybe—just maybe—, they'll see the calluses on my fingertips from learning various instruments and the ones on my palm as proof of my strength.

Or of the darkness that lingers on me like the acrid scent of cigarettes. Never really going away, even when it was only prominent in my life years ago.

"Watch your step." Bakugou murmurs, pressing a hand against my side to move me away from some obstacle I can't see.

I scoff, "I can't watch shit, I'm blind."

"You know what I meant." He shoves me slightly, causing me to stumble. Asshole.