"Were you ever coerced into giving any information about UA or heroes?"
"No."
"Were you ever asked to spy on or get information in the future about UA or pro heroes?"
"No."
"Were you ever given any information about the villain group, The League of Villains that could be useful to our mission to eliminate them?"
"No."
"Were you ever physically harmed or assaulted by the villain group?"
"Is that seriously a question?"
"It's for the record, miss. Look at the camera and give a specific answer."
"I was tortured with electroshock therapy and received a gunshot wound to the back, other than that they just really hurt my feelings, y'a know?"
"That's specific enough, thank you."
Let's just say you weren't all that friendly with cops. Let alone bitchy ones who gave you leering disgusted looks.
They knew what happened to you. They also knew you let the villains get away. That whenever you were asked any questions you didn't show the slightest bit of resentment towards any of them.
They would never get it. So when they questioned you for legal purposes, for the record- well it felt more like an interrogation than a line of questioning.
"Concerning your injuries," The woman questioning you wasn't an average police officer. Maybe she was a detective of some kind, one of her colleagues standing by the door.
They didn't have to tell you their identities or even introduce themselves. They got right into the questions. And most of the time, they didn't even give you room to breath between them.
"Medical reports written by your surgeons state that given the placement and depth of the bullet, you should not have survived."
You were staring at the ceiling, acting like the woman sitting in the metal chair across from you didn't exist. It was better than staring back at her with a sort of passive aggressive festering hatred.
You made it abundantly clear you didn't want to do this by yourself in a dark room with nothing but a two way mirror. Because that didn't bring up good memories.
But they forced you.
So here you were. Getting questioned now that you were healthy enough. Sitting across from a bitch and a her tripod camera.
Sniffling at her question and putting two fingers across your wrist, you shrugged your shoulders.
"Nope. Still alive. Sorry."
"Our question remains;" She began, flipping through the pages in her documents, her tone painfully like that of a lawyer. Pissed you off.
"Did you receive help of any kind from this villain group after being hit? If so, did they ask for anything in return?"
You leaned forward when she asked that question. Looked straight into the camera recording you with hooded eyes, dead serious, so intense that no one could even question if you were telling the truth.
"No."
Flashes of Shigaraki's tear stained face as his hand laid on your chest and put your flesh back together from the depths of death passed your mind. You blinked and cast your hair back, sighed to make them go away.
"Given your injuries, miss, that is not plausible."
If that woman called you miss one more time you swore you'd walk out the room. And if she kept using an accusatory tone and tried to blame you, you'd punch her before doing so.
You didn't go to jail for that right? Eh, who cares.
Smirking at her you pointed over your shoulder to your back.
"You wanna cut open my stitches and look for yourself, be my guest- It would be less invasive than this line of questioning."
"We understand your reluctance and that this may bring up post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident, but you are legally obligated to answer all of our questions to the end of this meeting."
"Then shut the fuck up, ask your stupid questions, and stop treating me like a criminal."
You clenched your jaw, your teeth grinding together. You were never an angry person per say, but this was starting to push your limits.
The setting. The timing. The questions. The people asking. It was a combination begging for you to recede into that line of thinking where all that mattered was staying alive and everyone else in the world was an enemy.
"You claimed earlier after your accident that your quirk was taken by the villain All for One, correct?"
"Yes."
"Do you still claim that to be the truth?"
"Yes."
As if she'd caught you in a lie, because she had, the woman flipped another page in her document stash, a hint of a smile passing her lips.
"When All for One was questioned during a polygraph, he claimed to not be or have ever been in possession of your quirk."
Fuck.
"From his understanding, taking a quirk like yours is nearly impossible."
Big Fuck.
"And from data and footage we have of this year's sports festival, it seems your quirk can be classed as highly dangerous."
This is why you don't lie to police officers to protect villains you have childhood bonds with and a mass amount of guilty feelings towards.
You kept your expression undisturbed. Couldn't show that you were freaking out inside.
There was no reason to. Even if they figured out somehow that All for One wasn't even close to having Atomic in his arsenal of quirks, there was no way they could figure out Shigaraki had it.
Atomic wouldn't help him kill if he was still doing that kind of thing. It would only keep him safe. They couldn't trace it back to him....
That is, unless 'the good guys' over here decided to put you in Tartarus for betraying them. Got the information out of you some other way. And knowing their less well known methods of extraction? It wouldn't be as nice as when the league kidnapped you.
The panic in your veins began to show in the way you tapped your fingers a few times. Stayed silent rather than just answer that damn woman.
If only Katsuki were with you. He was always smart enough to say the right thing in these situations. But he was the last person you wanted involved with any of this. No one you cared about could be involved. That's why no one could know.
No one but you and Tenko.
Sniffling again, you wiped your nose, eyes straying from the camera as you stared at the ground.
"You take the word of a villain over that of a hero student?"
"He did not fail the polygraph test... And as I understand it, you are choosing to opt out of the hero track. So our question remains, are you certain All for One took your quirk and not another-"
"Let's be clear. If Atomic was taken from me- my power would reduce the person who stole it to ashes." you interrupted her, but the passion in what you were saying was full hearted. And your words were true now. You didn't have to lie. You just had to avoid the truth by masking it with another. "But All for One is more powerful than that. And your biggest mistake from the first time a pro hero ever encountered him was underestimating his ability to survive."
"That isn't our concern right now,"
"Well, it fucking should be,"
You crossed your arms, leaned back in that uncomfortable chair, kept your face from showing too much anger. It was the same when you were a kid, you just didn't realize it until now.
Nobody cares who the bad guy is. Cops? Heroes? Good guys?
Most of them only care about what people think. They care about tying up loose ends.
Whatever looks best to the public? Whatever keeps their jobs? Whatever keeps society from realizing their bullshit?
That's all they care about.
Not the victims they were supposed to keep safe but threw back into just another version of their original hell.
"Going back to the issue at hand; Your quirk: Atomic... Are you certain it now only exists in All for One? It wasn't transferred to anyone else in the villain group?"
"No... As long as All for One is imprisoned... Atomic is dead."
***
It'd been about two weeks.
Autumn was fully in the air now, leaves turning all sorts of pretty colors, an auburn glow set over Japan.
Katsuki didn't want to talk to a therapist. He hated speaking about himself to strangers, you understood that. Instead, he agreed to just talk to you about things. You and his parents. It was helpful. For him to open up, to agree to get help even if it was only from those he truly trusted.
The change was gradual- like a landscape changing color through the seasons. But over time, the progress in Bakugo's mentality became apparent.
He gained weight, got a lot of his muscles back. He was able to sleep by himself again- albeit had to text you beforehand, had to see your face. The constant reassurance he needed also eased little by little.
You got better too.
Started to communicate more openly just as he was. When something felt off, you said it outright rather than hide it from him.
Whenever he was falling back into the symptoms of his ptsd, of his anxiety, he learned to tell you rather than hide away.
And though there were a lot of nights of you having to dry one another's tears and heal each other's injuries, at least it was without any barriers. Without any resentment or fear of judgement. It was with acceptance and love and understanding.
Oh and you almost forgot.
You and him had a little ritual that formulated without a need for saying.
Everyday after class, for about half and hour or so, you and Katsuki sat on the balcony right outside his dorm room. Each of your backs against the wall, a bit of space between your bodies... a little plane wreckage to fill it.
You tinkered together. Brought out little specialized screwdrivers and glues and a great many things to start fixing that corpse of your little red plane.
And everyday just as the two of you were, that plane got closer and closer to becoming whole again.
"How are your extra classes going?" You asked, holding the base of the plane's belly gently in your palm as Katsuki carefully twisted a screw into place.
His skin'd gained some color back. His eyes too. Though there was still a bit of heaviness behind his neutrality, there was also no doubt in your mind that if something was wrong he would say it.
"Fine," he said, putting down the screwdriver, adjusting the piece of cloth with all the pieces yet to be joined so you could lay down the part. "Icy Hot's pissin me off, but that's nothin new,"
A little smile lit your lips at that particular comment. Icy Hot's pissin me off, yeah okay mr big shot. Not like you saw the two of them walking back together sharing a bento box the day before.
Though him and Shoto were never very talkative with one another, and frankly Katsuki acted mostly annoyed by his existence, there was this odd sort of unsaid pact between the two. Like they were tolerant of one another is only because of their shared goals and mutual loved ones.
"Oi,"
You broke out of your thoughts as Katsuki tried to get your attention back. The boy was holding two halves of a wingtip in the cup of his palm. As if cradling the most fragile things in the world.
"These pieces aren't gonna fit unless we put 'em together this way," he said motioning to the other side he'd already done. "Hand me the adhesive over there,"
You nodded, uncapped the glue and handed it over.
Not so long ago, it would've been difficult for him to even let your fingers graze him in that small exchange. Now, it was essential to him. That finite moment of contact where he felt the lively warmth of your skin.
Once he went to grab the adhesive, his touch didn't just linger. Once he held the container in two fingers, he let his thumb slide down your palm and wrap around your wrist. His middle and forefinger followed, gently placed on the veins just visible beneath the skin.
He did that a lot now. Took your pulse.
It was just something he needed. Sometimes, not so rarely, he'd take it when you were sitting together, hugging, just laying in bed even.
Everytime, you looked him in the face. Gaged the sheer focus in his eyes as he waited for the rhythm of your blood, the rhythm of your heart.
"You're not gonna be scared anymore, right?" you whispered, letting him know how even if that habit of his didn't bother you- that you understood the purpose- it sometimes made you feel insecure.
When Katsuki met your gaze, you licked your lips anxiously, clarified, "To touch me?"
The boy sighed at the question and rather than pull away, start working on the plane again, he took a moment. Interlaced his fingers with yours, gave attention to you rather than just your life signs.
After that night, his fight with Deku, his breakdown, the talk him and All Might had, he never showed any evidence of going back to avoiding you. If anything it was the opposite.
You were nearly always touching when together now. You kissed, showed affection, toyed with one another's hair, teased each other with pinches and tickles and bites, you played, you slept together, had sex, you connected every chance you had.
But you were obviously still worried that might all disappear again. And since you were brave enough to tell him, it was his job to reassure you this time.
"Is this why you let me do that today?" He asked quietly, referring to the little fun you two decided to have in his bed only a half hour or so ago.
You sort of smiled at that, chuckling lightly as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over your knuckles.
"No," you whispered, shaking your head, pursing your lips as you looked back up at him. "I wanted to,"
He was glad about that. He just had to make sure you weren't resorting to getting physical out of fear. He didn't want you to associate being with him as an act of desperation.
"Hey," He said, squeezing your hand once, leaning towards you, as you stared at the ground now, trying to avoid your own diffidence. "Whatever's wrong, tell me. I'm listening."
You met his gaze again, a tad of embarrassment showing in your features.
Through the gentle red glow of his eyes, it was easy to tell how much he meant those words.
Sighing, you hunched your shoulders once, squeezed his hand back before admitting, "Sometimes I'm just scared it's gonna back to how it was... and that you won't be okay again,"
Katsuki did as he said he would, listened, took in your concern with an open mind, tried to understand it. Nodding, he brought his lips to your forehead, communicated with his affection before his words.
"I couldn't get over it for a while- the whole mess- I let it build up, control me," he said, keeping close- close enough to take in your scent, the feeling of your breaths, the slight coolness of your nose as it brushed against his. "But as long as you're here, I'll be okay,"
"I am here," you said, the reassurance he gave all you needed to hold his hand back, to return it. "Always,"
"I know," he scoffed, kissing your lips briefly, smirking at how cute you acted as soon as you felt comfortable again.
Reaching up with your other hand, you cupped his jaw, returned his kiss too. Making sure that smile on his face stayed right where it was, your lips repeatedly pecked his face over and over- his nose, his cheeks, his forehead.
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he loved this. Your bombardement of affectionate, tiny assaults. It made him happy knowing you were at ease. Knowing he could comfort you now. That you could be each other's again despite problems that still needed fixing.
"You're so pretty," you mumbled, starting to laugh at soon as Katsuki sighed and shook his head.
Remembering your little code word, the boy gently brought his hand to the back of your head and gave you one long kiss to hold you over before complaining.
"I already came twice, woman, are you tryin to kill me?"
"Aw," you cooed, raising your eyebrows once to mock him. "Am I wearing you out?"
Katsuki flicked your forehead lightly, went back to working on the plane as you did too.
"You and those fuckin extra classes,"
"Wait till we have to do work studies and internships and you have to take me out on dates too,"
"You're a piece of work,"
"You wouldn't want me if I wasn't,"
"Damn right."
Both of you couldn't stop laughing between your teasing exchanges for some reason. In each of your hands, you diligently worked with your most precious shared possession. At the same time sharing odd, complicated, humorous beautiful conversations that would one day become memories...
"Hey guys,"
You and Katsuki looked up at the sound of the sliding doors in Kirishima's room opening, the redhead drowsy from a busy day peeking his head out.
"Hi, Kiri," you gave a big closed eye smile as you always did whenever you saw him. He was wearing his bandana, his roots in dire need of re-dying.
The boy's smile widened as well. The fact that you and Katsuki were spending more time together made him happy. At the start, he was so caught up in the excitement of actually moving in with his class that it took him a long time to realize how deeply Bakugo needed help. You too.
Over the past two weeks though- seeing the two of you discreetly hold hands every now and then, Bakugo actually sitting, talking to you rather than just wallowing in his silence at your side- It was a nice change.
In the mornings, Katsuki would even have breakfast with Kirishima. Became a part of their little routine after working out together. Their friendship was endearing to you. It was a part of Katsuki's sanity afterall.
When that news reporter came to do a paper on class 1-A you introduced them- This is my non boyfriend, boyfriend Katsuki. And this is his boyfriend Eijiro.
Made for an angry Bakugo and a kind of embarrassed Kirishima but the running joke was worth it.
"What do you want?" Bakugo complained, acting like he was bothered because this was his I'm-fixing-my-stupid-plane-and-my-stupid-relationship time.
"Just came to let ya know Aizawa wants to see ya downstairs in a few minutes," The boy said, giving you a little thumbs up.
"Fine," the gremlin mumbled.
"Thank you Kiri," you smiled with your teeth, always pleased to see his sharp ones showing in a happy expression.
"Sure," He laughed, remembering you'd asked him about his work study earlier in the common room. "I'm gonna intern at Fat Gum's agency by the way. Tomorrow's my first day with him and Tamaki-senpai. We're chasing some big lead,"
"That's so awesome," you laughed, thinking of him and that really shy kid everybody told you about that was a part of the big three. "I'm excited for you,"
Because of the whole house arrest situation, you didn't get to meet any of them; The big three, but now that you were back in school, you'd have to participate just as much as the lot of them. Seemed unfair, but when you heard about the one that passed through the floor and sometimes came up naked, well maybe house arrest was a nice break after all.
"Thanks," Kirishima scratched the back of his head, a bit anxious about the whole thing. "Kinda worried I might not be strong enough for this kinda responsibility though,"
Katsuki made a 'tch' sort of sound, placing a part of the plane down as diligently as he could while doing so.
"You stupid or something?" He muttered, looking back up at Kirishima with a side-eye. "D'you not remember what you said to me at the sport's festival? Don't just stop believing in yourself cause you're moving up the levels, idiot."
Kirishima blinked for a second. Katsuki and him enjoyed each other's company. But he never actually said things like that. No matter who anyone was, they were competition to him. That meant advice, encouragement,- all out of the question.
Now, Well- Apparently his friend was more keen on seeing those he cared about succeed with him.
"Thanks, Bakugo," Kirishima's joyful expression returned.
"Mm," Katsuki hummed, going back to the plane immediately after. "I'm busy, get outta here."
Scoffing and rolling his eyes, Kirishima turned around, made it seem like he was gonna go back in his room before just poking a little fun back at his grumbly counterpart, "Yeah, the walls aren't very thick man- I heard you getting busy-"
Both you and Eijiro laughed a bit to yourselves as Bakugo went to punch him for that. Luckily, Kirishima was quick enough to shuffle out of reach.
"I'll see you downstairs," he yelled back over his shoulder, not bothering to close his balcony door.
"Fuck off," Katsuki yelled back, but you caught that smirk on his face as he shook his head and turned back to you.
It was still so new. Seeing him with a genuine joyful air. And it gave you more than relief- whenever you saw those blissful moments creep to his features, lighten his eyes. It gave you hope that the wound Camino Ward burned into his heart was finally healing.
"Hey," you whispered, flicking his gravity defying spiky hair with your fingers to get his attention. "Look,"
Katsuki's gaze dropped to two pieces of the plane you were holding. You held them up, positioned them a different way than they were before.
"These two wings- if we put it together like this instead- with more support from the other pieces- than it'll fit again,"
You weren't great at engineering tiny model planes. You were better at taking care of them than Katsuki was, but building them was his forte.
However, there were times that analytical mind of yours, that observant part of you, came in handy.
Support. That might've been an ingredient you were missing indeed.
"Mm," He nodded, agreeing as he noted that in his mind. Then taking your hand and kissing your knuckles, he gathered the piece of cloth holding it all together, went to carry it inside.
"C'mon," he said, not wanting to make your teacher wait long. "We'll work on it some more tomorrow,"
***
The moment you walked down to the common room dressed in old sweatpants and Shoto's shirt that you stole since you'd yet to do your laundry, Aizawa was standing by the door.
Katsuki was with you, his neutral semi-frowning expression on his face as he stuck his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.
Made for quite a picture: You skipping like an overzealous student excited to make your teacher's life a living hell while Katsuki walked like an old man ready to yell at kids to get off his lawn.
Aizawa sighed at the sight.
"Y/n," he said, not excited, holding a stack of documents. All Might'd explained what happened with you and Bakugo. He wasn't really pissed anymore. More glad that the two of you looked in much better shape.
Course then you had to open your mouth which took some of his relief away.
"Hey teach, how's the wife-"
"Shut up."
"Sorry Shota," You tsked sarcastically, planting your hands on your hips as non-boyfriend boyfriend man just stood there like he was bored. "You gave me four days house arrest. That means four days of me pestering you in return. Can't blame me, that's how the law works."
Aizawa squinted his eyes at you.
"I forgot how annoying you are when you're healthy,"
You rose an eyebrow, crossed your arms.
"I'm insulted."
"And don't call me Shota."
Katsuki made a little noise then. Sounded like one of his impatient 'mm' hums.
He always made those whenever you were around people and he just wasn't in the mood to talk.
Was a bit of a childish thing. Needy and subtle, but it was the only way he could sort of say, hey i'm tired and i don't want to be alone so can you hurry this up so i don't have to deal with social interaction?
When you looked at him discreetly, he was staring down at you, pouting slightly. Basically asking you to not waste time by being a dick to your teacher.
Aizawa must've realized this too because as he sifted through the papers in his arm, "Bakugo, you don't have to stay. Cause of your extra classes you and Todoroki won't be getting a work study till later on,"
Instantly, the boy at your side tensed. You weren't even touching, but there was such a change to his mood that you just felt it.
"She's still in recovery and she doesn't have her quirk, you're sending her to an agency?" He asked, a bit disbelieving, his voice normal and rough like it always was, but this time laced with more worry than confidence.
"Relax," Aizawa said, calming him with an easy-there hand gesture. "It's not a hero internship. Smartass over here's made it pretty clear she doesn't want any of that,"
A pretty audible exhale left Katsuki's body, the tension in his shoulders and neck relieved as he finally let himself breath again.
You gave him a side glance- was sure to observe him, make sure he was okay.
Once you did, you returned the semi-judgemental gaze Aizawa was giving you.
"Hey now, I spent my whole life moving around and trying to punch and shit," you said, not the most eloquent with your wording. Your hands acted out moving and punching and shit too. Also not very eloquently. "A bullet's a pretty good excuse to sit on my ass, is it not?"
"Mm," Aizawa hummed the same way Katsuki had (probably wanting to get this over with too) then handed you a packet with some information typed out on the front. "Here,"
Taking it from him, you blinked a few times down at the words in front of you. It wasn't an agency you'd heard about before. You actually didn't even know the supposed hero it was run by.
All you saw was the guy's picture in the corner. He wore glasses, has this odd hairstyle, and sort of looked like a way too serious salaryman.
"Sir Nighteye?" you questioned, Katsuki's ears perking up.
"All Might's old sidekick? Give me that."
Suddenly, those papers were swiped out of your hands, Katsuki burying his face as he started flipping through.
You thinned your eyes at him.
"Nerd."
"Shut up."
"What kind of intern does he want?" You asked, getting on your tiptoes to look at the packet again.
"Somebody to assist," Aizawa answered. "Your tasks won't go past following him and his other interns, learning about the hero industry outside of fighting and saving people, etc. It'll help you decide what career path you want might wanna go for if you stick with the hero curriculum,"
"Cool." you said, hunching your shoulders.
It'd be nice to actually go do stuff. You'd been pretty much just reading, talking with your friends, copying homework, and hanging out with Katsuki. Getting back into the world didn't sound so bad.
"Do I get paid?"
Aizawa flicked your forehead for that.
"No. and All Might got you this internship so don't mess it up."
"Is somebody going with her?" Katsuki muttered, looking a tad envious of this opportunity actually. He didn't want a work study with someone who wasn't the best, but still- meeting All Might's old sidekick might've been cool or whatever.
"Midoriya is interning there too." Aizawa told him. "Fieldwork with Mirio Togata."
"Good."
You almost turned around at the tone Katsuki used there. It sounded like he was actually glad you and Deku would be working together. After everything that was a surprise, but at the same time... not.
Because even if Deku was his proper rival, he knew from the bottom of his heart that Izuku would protect you with everything he had if the situation arose.
A hint of pride passed your face as you realized how much Katsuki was maturing on that front.
"Oh and one last thing." Aizawa said, starting to walk away.
"What?"
"All Might... He said he's got some important news for you."