"Damn you." I choked out, falling to the ground after taking a sharp blow to my cheek from the courtesy of my bastard partner.
"Get back up," Bakugo snapped, his arms lifted to shield his face. I regained my balance, rising to give a feigned punch to my left while he missed the way my knee plunged into his stomach. He collapsed to the floor, groaning and writhing in pain while I struck a pose of a manic wrestler and threw myself to the ground with my elbow aiming for his abdomen. He yanked my arm, forcing me to fly to the opposite end of the square that we were currently battling in for training purposes.
I landed in a crouching position, pulling down the boxing shorts that were slowly hiking up my thighs to reveal the newest scars I've accumulated after saving Eri.
"Come on, ugly. Quit playing around and actually attack me."
"I didn't think you wanted to embarrass yourself but alright." With my words, I hopped into the air the way Izuku taught me how, kicking him in the chest before flipping in the air behind him, wrapping my legs around his head as I used the momentum to slam us both to the ground while I put most of my weight over his skull. He writhed under me, cursing me and raising his hand to wrap it around my thigh in an attempt to get me off but the three seconds were already up.
"You see," I muttered, ready to remove myself while Kaminari and Kiri cheered from meters away. I felt his chuckle, he pressed a quick kiss to my inner thigh while I yelped, moving off to face him and yank on his cheek.
"I hate you," I spoke, giving him a roll of my eyes as he helped me stand.
"I love you too, ugly crybaby."
We were walking back to class, talking about the most recent movie we saw last night. It was about a couple who switched bodies with time traveling and separation involved, I had been sobbing by the end of it while Bakugo sat with a glare and crossed arms, but I knew he enjoyed the film.
"Come on, how the hell can you travel back in time like that? The movie didn't make any sense, plus how did she realize she was in love with him if she kept trying to hook him up with his coworker?" Bakugo demanded, we were already at his seat in class and I tugged on my hair, thinking over how to respond.
"I mean, sometimes you don't know you're in love with someone until it just clicks, there's not some guide coming to her shoulder and being like, 'Oh hey, you're actually in love with Tachibana so don't try setting him up.'"
"Was it like that for you?" I paused at Katsuki's question, knowing that he only wanted to fluster me to win the argument.
"I guess, it hit me the way a garbage truck would." I giggled while he scowled and pinched my ribs. Aizawa was rushing us to sit down so I gave him a quick grin as a parting gift before shuffling to my seat.
"The annual U.A School Festival is coming up so pick an idea for our class to do before the week ends." Our teacher's words caused the class to ignite conversations like wildfire. Wow, planning an event like this seems so normal, what kind of entertainment should we do?
I could already hear the class pervert's suggestion. Mineta was proposing the idea of a maid cafe with the girls being workers while idiots like him and Kaminari could enjoy.
"Flo, how do you think a hero history lesson would sound?" Izuku asked me with a hopeful smile. I shot him an apologetic look, shaking my head while he whined and stooped down to cover his head with his arms.
"Izuku, this is already a hero course, people are going to make fun of us," I explained while I felt Ochaco wrap her arms around me, nuzzling her head into my neck.
"We should have a wrestling match! I'll totally win!"
"A fight to the death!" Only the violent aspect of Ochaco's idea had appealed to Bakugo while I laughed, "We train enough, we should do something that's usually outside of the box for our class."
"You're right, Florence, what about a tea taste test?" Momo spoke with a sparkle in her eyes when the subject of teas came up.
"I think a baking contest would be nice," Sato was looking at me because he knew I would agree while I thought of one thing only. Brownies.
"Sato's a man with brilliant ideas, let's go with food." I stated, leaning against my chair while a hand smacked the back of my head. It was Katsuki.
"You're only agreeing because of that shitty snack you like."
"Okay and?" I raised an eyebrow, not seeing the issue with my preference. He sighed, fingers tracing over my collar casually while we continued listening to everyone bicker over what they wanted our event to be. Iida eventually got fed up, doing the same chopping gesture he always did when he demanded our attention.
"We will come up with an agreement by placing all our ideas together and finding a compromise, for now, let's go back to the dorms, class has already ended." I abided by my class representative's words, picking up my schoolbag and slinging it over my shoulder. I wasn't surprised when Bakugo lifted the bag over my body and carried it instead, it was his duty to act gentleman-like while hurling the typical curses to me.
"Want to workout together?" He questioned, I took a moment, listening to the sounds of our footsteps on the pavement and how it aligned with the rustling of the autumn leaves. The days were growing colder, I tightened the jacket around me.
"I promised Ochaco to spar with her, she wants to teach me different forms of self-defense." He nodded, mentioning that he would go with Kirishima to fight with him instead.
"Aren't you going to your remedial courses tomorrow?" I had recalled Todoroki's invitation to walk him and Bakugo home after their classes, he wanted to get some ice cream with the both of us but was too embarrassed to confront Katsuki about it.
Bakugo nodded, handing me my bag back while he got ready to take off. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, running towards Uraraka who stood outside the recreational area for Heights Alliance.
Ochaco spent the next three hours practicing different moves with me while she showed me different ways to heighten my awareness to anyone attempting to catch me off-guard. I spent those hours getting my ass kicked by her but I was grateful, I had been learning so much from her in the last week since the fight with Overhaul, Uraraka insisted that we learn from each other and with that, we grew closer. She would open up about how often she needed to save money to spare her parents from becoming financially burdened and how participating in a work study with Ryukyu helped her in more ways than one. I appreciated that about her, we could understand the pressure of succeeding as a hero to give back to our families.
I was currently placing my hands on the ground while keeping my body up in the air for ten minutes within each interval, working on building my core while strengthening my arm muscles.
"So, how's everything going with you and Bakugo?" Uraraka asked, she was in the same position as me, cheeks pink and puffed out due to our exertion.
"Good. We saw a movie the day after our sleepover with Jirou and the girls."
"Aw, that's so sweet, Flo. Is he the jealous type? Sorry if it's personal, I just haven't had a boyfriend before." I smiled at her polite way of interrogating who she considered her best friend besides Tsu.
"Not really, he's surprisingly calm but sometimes the right person can provoke him to acting like a hormonal gorilla."
Uraraka giggled, her body lowering slightly as she attempted to stifle the laughs. I winked at her playfully, and we ended the meditation.
An hour later and I had remained curled on the sofa of the commons, leaning against Jirou while our class gathered to discuss new ideas for the School Festival.
"What do you think 1-B is doing?" I mused, scrolling through my phone to press on Kendo's contact to conjure up a text and ask.
"Probably something stupid." Denki muttered, grabbing at his hair the way he always does when he's stressed out. Iida was next to Izuku and Tokoyami, who currently had loud grunge music blasting through his earphones, I flashed a thumbs up to him, showing my approval to which he blushed and Dark Shadow cheered.
I hadn't realized I fell asleep on the couch while the class carried on their meeting without me, I woke up to a blanket placed over me from Izuku's All Might collection with a cup of tea I was certain Momo had made.
I stretched out my arms, lowing the blanket while I scanned the now empty and dark room. The only source of light came from the lamp that Mina had brought from her home, she insisted that she needed to leave her mark somewhere around this room. I yawned, smoothing out my frizzy hair before walking to the sliding doors and stepping into the clearing that was our backyard.
I walked until I was in the center, close enough to see the forest beyond me but not far enough from the doors that welcomed me back to my home. I settled in the grass, running my fingers through the blades as I saw fireflies flickering about. I pondered over the last six months, my birthday was coming soon and so much had changed between last October and this one. I was happy now, I wasn't the same weak person I used to be, the one who never smiled and kept my guard up even with my family. I was on the right path to becoming a hero, but there was something new in my heart, the definition of being a hero compared to the standards I saw all over the media were starting to shift.
A male voice whistling cheerfully could be heard.
I hate whistling.
A man I particularly resented would whistle often, always playing the tune of a jolly fellow to mask the evil he carried with his heart, he was a predator, the worst dregs of society that deserved to die.
The whistling didn't stop, I wrinkled my nose, knowing that it was only one of my classmates returning from sparring so I shouldn't act particularly distasteful to the sound.
Still, it was a drill into my skull, even when I pressed my palms to my ears to shut it up, it didn't go away. Still loud, still nagging, it made goosebumps raise in my arms. "Stop." I whispered, fighting the images that were surfacing. I didn't realize that a simple behavior would incite such a particularly revolting reaction from me.
"Even if you tell your mom, she won't believe you. You're stuck here with me."
I groaned, hitting my temples with my clenched fists, "Shut up."
The images were rolling constantly, I was losing the battle to my mind as I saw the tiniest details of the moments that made me want to gag. I remembered the smell, my fear and confusion, the peeling walls, the two-doored closet, the tarnished soccer shoes.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up." I chanted the words, feeling my eyes burning from how tightly I pressed them shut. Blood dripped from my hands, my fingernails must've dug too deep.
I'm so used. Why does Bakugo love me? Do I even love myself? I tried to drown out my voice, she was bitter towards the memories and for that, she decided to punish me for making me relive what I tried to escape from.
The noise stopped, but my heart was still pounding, my body was shivering despite the way my temperature suddenly spiked. I didn't want to open my eyes, crawling back to reality was always the worst part of these moments of weakness.
Get up. You're not some fragile little flower, you're better than this.
I lowered my hands, laying them on my lap as I faced my palm upwards, studying the way the small pools of blood glistened in the moonlight.
"Reyna."
I snapped my head backwards, rubbing my hands against my skirt to hide the blood.
"Hey, Bakugo, I was just enjoying the-"
"Don't try and pretend, I saw you a minute ago, was it Kirishima's whistling that bothered you?"
I sighed. "Yes. It's not his fault so don't get mad at him."
He nodded, sitting next to me while he grabbed my wrists, forcing me to open my hands and reveal the wounds. He muttered to himself, pulling out All Might bandages. I watched as he poured water over my hands to clean them before placing the bandages atop them. I smiled softly, he was rough and brash but his heart was gentle, a contradiction that continued to define Katsuki's character. I moved my gaze to look over his blonde tufts, they were hanging over his eyes more than usual, and the light from the evening brought out the deep red from his irises.
"Wanna talk?"
"It's not something you wanna hear about, Bakugo."
"Your childhood, I'm assuming."
"Isn't it weird how most people see villains as petty people who rob places or act superior because of their Quirk? Society always disregards the true terrors, people who do really bad stuff, they just worry about the rankings of heroes and turn a blind eye to real issues. I'm not the only kid who goes through stuff like that, Eri is a prime example. But no, all the world cares about is how Endeavor's doing taking over All Might's spot and seeing how much money the new heroes make. Where's the justice for those who get discriminated against for multiple things, for all the people getting abused or taken advantage of because of their powers?"
I finished with a shaky breath, studying the scars over my legs. I disliked the current state of the reality we lived in, but I knew my ranting would do nothing about it, the only way I could make a real difference is by becoming a hero and flipping the system inside out.
Bakugo sighed, stretching his body while he studied the stars. "If we aren't satisfied with the way we live, we change it, it's that simple."
"We'll go about becoming heroes the right way, right? Just cause I think this is all fundamentally flawed doesn't mean I want to not be a hero, that's exactly why I want to stay here. To change things, I guess."
"You're damn right we're going to change everything, you ugly girl. The world has never seen heroes like us, we'll be the best to show that no stupid stereotype is gonna define you and I."
We both cocked our heads to look at each other, his defiant smirk met my blossoming grin.
"Seems like we've got ourselves a deal, partner." I stated, raising my fist to meet and bump with his.
He helped me back up while I dusted off the dirt on my clothing. We headed inside, each to our own showering room. I got dressed in comfortable clothing, taking some books to look over while I waltzed to his dorm casually.
Bakugo had opened the door before my knuckles met the wood, preparing to knock.
"Someone's an eager beaver." I deadpanned, pulling his cheek while I entered his room, relaxing on the spare recliner he brought in just for my benefit. He called me a girly bastard while kissing my forehead, moving to sit at his desk while we studied over quadratic equations.
After a while, my body was growing exhausted once more as I laid my books on his desk, standing to make my way to his bed. He followed shortly after, laying next to me while we both faced the glowing sticky stars I had placed on his ceiling, they were all explosion-shaped.
"I'd carry your world." The whisper was the softest I had ever listened to, it was even lower than Tamaki's tone. Still, I would never let anything Katsuki say go unheard.
"Ditto, you smug bastard."
"Do you ever regret choosing me?"
"Of course not. I could lose my sense of identity and still choose you." I wasn't trying to be theatrical or obsessive, I was only conveying my feelings for him in the best way I can.
"Do you think I'm going to be number one?"
"I can guarantee that you'll be the best this world has seen," I assured him, numbers shouldn't matter, but I knew Bakugo would work hard to be the greatest alongside Izuku, that was his dream even if he'd never admit it.
"Hey, Bakugo, what made you like me?"
"I'm not being cheesy with you, save that for another day."
"I could die tomorrow." He groaned in irritation, and I saw him from my peripheral vision, he was looking at me despite the glare on his face.
"You're strong."
"So, you're like Endeavor, you just wanna be with me to produce powerful children?" I was making a poor joke for the sake of conversation, I felt his fingers flick my forehead.
"Shut up. I love you cause you're what I wish I am. You handle everything and you're still kind, your heart doesn't change. Plus, you're not ugly so that's mostly a bonus on my part."
I giggled, attempting to play off the sincerity, "It's a blessing and a curse, baby." I shot him a wink while he only huffed.
"Do you believe in soulmates?"
"No, only if it's you then I guess I'll believe."
"Thanks, Katsuki. I used to read books and watch movies, wishing I was the main character living that romance that sweeps you off your feet, kinda like that movie we saw last night."
"Is it disappointing?" I knew what he was referring to, our love was unusual, it wasn't something woven from the most traditional of romance stories.
"Not at all. I'm glad we're like this, we have our own lives, our own dreams and goals and likes and dislikes but we're still connected."
"Yeah, seems like I'm stuck with your shitty self for the rest of my life."
I hummed, his hand had found mine in the distance between us as our fingers intertwined. My dreams were changing and so were his. We were evolving together, so I could only imagine where we would be at a year from now.
"Would you punch me if I asked you to marry me?" My tone was light, indicating that I was only up for banter.
"I would decline that offer so quick," He mumbled, finally laughing as I turned my head to see his open mouth in a smile, the slightly high-pitched giggles that left him made his shoulders shake.
I ended up joining him as we both laughed so hard that tears fell from our eyes, we didn't care that we both sounded like cats getting ran over as we struggled for air from the hiccups that escaped after each wheeze.
When it was finally over, we were both so exhausted that we fell asleep the way innocent kids would, laying side by side with our hands still clutching tightly together, the last image of the day being the glowing stars from his ceiling.