Bakugou crackled his hands, creating a small explosion that bounced between his palms. It lit up their faces as they sat crowded together in a dark phone booth. It was raining hard outside, the windows of the booth blurry with water. Inside, the two were drying off after narrowly escaping the storm. She had asked Bakugou for light and he was flushed as he watched her eyes sparkle with amazement.
"You have really good control," she softly complimented, her lips tugging a smile. Bakugou was still nervous around her, his stomach churning just thinking about the other day. His lights danced around, shimmering off the glass and filling the small space with life. Their legs were scrunched up, woven in between each other. "Have you heard of the Otsuchi phone booth? It's a place for people who are grieving to talk to their dead loved ones." Bakugou's nose twitched as she brought up death, something he didn't want to talk about at the moment. At his silence, she squeezed her legs together, compressing one of his. "Ground zero? You okay?" He clasped his hands, killing the light, making the outline of her face like a ghost.
"I'm supposed to be a hero." Her eyes were downturned at his revelation. "I'm supposed to save people, not put them in danger." "Ground zero," she sighed. "No-! You can't—can't just brush this off like everything else! I got angry! So angry that I dropped us in a damn river!" "You didn't mean to." "That doesn't change that I did! You almost drowned!" "But I didn't." He slammed his fist back, shaking the booth.
"I hate when people say that!" Bakugou growled, chest quickly rising. "Just because you didn't die doesn't excuse my actions!" He stuck his hands into his hair, gripping tightly on his skull. "If you had died—I would've been responsible! I would've been—I could've-!" "Ground zero!" She grabbed his wrists, pulling them away from him. She cupped his warm hands, bursting with small sparks. "Stop it."
"We can't undo what happened," she sighed, holding their hands between them, the rain pounding on the walls. She leaned forward, their warm like a blanket. "You can either let this guilt hold you back, or you can let it show you what you need in life." She saw the tear streaks on his face outlined by the small flickers of light coming from his hands. "I've bore a lot of guilt in my life," she acknowledged, "most of it might not be deserved," she looked down at her own hands, "as some things are out of my control."
Bakugou felt her kiss his hot hands. "And all that guilt has done is prevent me from being better. I've made a lot of mistakes and I constantly put myself in situations I shouldn't be in, but if I keep thinking about what could've happened, I'll never see what will happen." He let out a crumbling cry, pulling his legs towards himself in defense. "You'reso—so good," he whimpered, crying into their hands, his tears falling onto them, putting out the small flakes of light. "I'm nothing like you." She shook her head, bringing her hands to his face.
"Ground zero," she smiled, "you're very good." Bakugou's tears dribbled down her hands. His face was warm, becoming hotter the more he cried. "Bad people don't want to change, so I know you're good." She felt him smile. He let his hands spark again, creating a nightlight. She backed away, watching again with joy. Bakugou saw her eyes give a fast glance to his lips before going back to his explosion.
He admired the roses that painted her face, spreading across her nose. He wanted to think that it was just the reflection, but he also wanted it to be real. "I'm still sorry," his voice low as he apologized, "I should know better. I'm trained to handle intense situations. Hell-! I fought villains and I was kidnapped by them! But-" He felt his own face grow hotter. "But when it came to you, I lost focus. I freaked out and I cried instead of looking for you."
"You were kidnapped by villains?" "It's a story for another day." He scooted closer, making the explosion smaller. He met her eyes, the sparkles of his quirk in her eyes. They were locked onto his, a gaze they could hold for hours. Bakugou wanted to see her face blossom.
