fear. || { bnha }

twenty four.

"H-how was your shower?"

"Fine," Valui answered simply, looking down at herself with a happy expression. The shirt was so big on her that she could easily slip her arms inside; the brought her sleeve-covered hands to her face. When she inhaled, a wave of comfort crashed heavily over her; it smelled like him.

She wasn't paying attention when Hitoshi looked back at her. The elated expression must have been apparent on her face because he asked, "You like that shirt?"

Valui shifted her eyes up to him, opening them fully after they had slipped halfway shut. "I do." Her voice was muffled by the fabric; her smile was hidden behind it. "It smells like you."

She wasn't sure she had ever seen Hitoshi's face get so red so quickly.

Her simple statement turned him into a stammering mess; he couldn't figure out where he wanted to look anymore, nor could his hand decide if it wanted to be on the back of his neck or in his hair. "O-oh, I didn't— I didn't r-realize."

Valui giggled softly and nodded, dropping her arms from her face and letting them dangle at her sides — only for one to come back up to her mouth as she yawned. The sound seemed to ground Hitoshi, as he stopped being as outwardly embarrassed as he had been before. "Hey, Hitoshi," she said softly, a sleepy tone entering her voice. "I'm gonna go to bed."

"Alright." Hitoshi nodded, closing the distance between them and kissing her forehead. "Goodnight. I love you."

Valui smiled contentedly, rocking lightly back and forth on her feet. "Goodnight. I love you too."

With another forehead kiss and a smile between them, they went in separate directions down the hallway — Hitoshi to his room and Valui to the guest room. She slipped inside the door, habitually pulling the pajama pants off as she climbed into the bed. Her seemingly perpetual exhaustion seemed to overtake her once again once her head touched the pillow.

Except it didn't this time.

Valui's eyes flung open, horrific images flashing repeatedly through her head. When she'd close her eyes, they would become more vivid — she would be there again. She could feel Tomura restraining her; she could feel her fear again; she could remember how the last part of her father's heart disentigrating looked. Her brain began to blur the lines of memory and reality; was she really safe now, or was this another illusion?

At some point it became too much — Valui shot up straight, her body moving on its own. Before her mind had time to register what exactly was going on, her feet had taken her down the hallway and to Hitoshi's room; her hand had opened the door without knocking; her mouth spoke without her consent.

"Can I sleep with you?"

Hitoshi's eyes meeting hers seemed to snap her back to reality. He was laying awake in his bed, one arm under his head and the other aimlessly twirling a pen. He stopped upon seeing her, tossing the pen onto a nearby desk and pushing himself up into a sitting position. From where she stood in his doorway, she could see the worry that etched itself onto his face. "Oh, um, sure. Is something wrong?"

Valui took that as her cue to enter the room, swinging the door lightly shut behind her. "I couldn't sleep," she said as she reached his bed and climbed onto it, crawling up to the spot next to him and flopping down.

"Hm. Me neither." Hitoshi looked down at her, one hand reaching to pet her head only to freeze. "Y-you're not wearing pants."

Valui, who had begun to relax just by being near him, opened her eyes and looked up at him. While the back of her neck and her face burned, she didn't outwardly become embarrassed. "Yeah. I always sleep like this." To punctuate what she said, she tugged on the edge of his shirt to try to make him lay down. "Come on."