KATSUKI BAKUGOU | Distance Makes The Heart
DING
Hey, do you have a minute?
DING
I want to hang out, like, on the phone, if you're free. If not, that's okay.
DING
What's wrong?
DING
Nothing, I just want to hang out.
You've been waiting for a while now since that last text, your heart racing from the sadness that overwhelmed you. It was a storm inside filled with a tumultuous rage only masked by the numbness that coiled and suffocated your head. You laid your head on your pillow, still with your hand on your phone before another text snapped you out from your anxiousness.
DING
That name flashed across your screen, one that you didn't want to see before laying the phone back onto the bed. The last thing you wanted to see were empty words, filled with no meaning.
DING
You tried to ignore your phone for a minute or two, yet your curiosity only grew, slowly lifting the phone in your grasp while its screen glowed upon your face. Two names appeared, immediately opening the message thread of one of them ignoring the other.
Two minutes.
A twinge on the corner of your lips perked in a smile, a sad one that you felt before you took deep breaths, holding back the prick of tears. Happiness. You thought you felt it, still confused and filled with a disgusting feeling.
RING
"Hey, did I disturb your sleep schedule?" You teased through the tears.
"What is it, Lightweight?" Growled the voice in your ear, bubbling a chuckle in your chest while you curled in bed.
Of course, you probably interrupted his schedule.
"I had the best patrol today," you chirped while forcing a smile, hoping that would keep you from spiraling. "We got to stop a few petty robberies, and I took down one of the biggest lugs you would have ever seen. I mean, he was giant, like colossal. I mean, don't know if you'd be proud or jealous but that's what I call a victory."
Silence. Just dead air. You couldn't hear the usual grumble or grunt in his voice.
"Bakugou?" You asked, still with no response. "Oh come on, I didn't bore you, did I? Okay, if the great future Pro-Hero can't encourage a fellow, I'm not sure that makes for a good role model in your future."
You wanted to kick yourself in the gut.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend," you apologized. "It's late, I asked you if you could hang out since, you know, you guys still have curfew, and-"
"Are you in bed?" He interrupted.
"What?"
"Are you in bed? Or are you aimlessly floating around like the airhead you are?"
You peered down at your bed, mere inches from you while you cuddled into your pillow in your arms, pushing its soft plush against your face.
"... I'm not that far away," you replied with unsteadiness in your voice.
DING
Another text message, and you knew from who. That anger returned while you tried to suppress it, ignoring these emotions from the hurtful words you took earlier that day. It was almost a weekly affair, growing worse with every encounter drowning you.
"I was just so excited I wanted to tell you," you continued. "And... I wanted to know how your day was."
Dead air again. You choked on the growing sadness that swelled in your chest and tried to force its way in your voice.
"Damn nerd almost killed himself," Bakugou spoke calmly.
"Wait, what?"
"Before I get the chance to beat him myself, he goes and does something completely idiotic. And Half-and-Half, if he wasn't blind in that eye of his, he ought to be. Damn IcyHot almost got me killed. We're now out there and they're getting in my way. Last thing I want is for them to ruin any chance of me certifying with the Pro-Hero Board, damn extras."
Laughs
"It's not funny."
"No, no it isn't," you breathed between bouts of laughter. "It's just, I'm sorry, you're already out in the field and I'm still going through work studies trying to catch up to you, and..." You couldn't help bursting in laughter, hugging onto your pillow while you still floated aimlessly in the air, crying tears.
"... what did he say?" Asked Bakugou, breaking your laughter. "What did he say to you?"
Your laughter died into the silence, turning towards the tears that spilled. Hesitating to succumb to the sudden intake of breaths and hiccups, you dug your face into the pillow still with your phone to your ear.
"Tell me Lightweight," he continued.
"He just made me so mad," you answered through the strain in your voice. "And I wanted to hit him so much. It's like he doesn't respect my choices and I decided to be a Pro-Hero. I chose this path, and he undermines what I want, and I'm so tired. I'm just so tired of hearing him tell me how to go about my life and who I could have in my life."
"... you know that I think he's a moron right?" asked Bakugou, his voice surprisingly calm.
"Yeah, yeah I know but-"
"And when have I been wrong about people?"
"Actually there had been-"
"Don't answer that!"
You flinched from the phone against your ear, pulling it away to ease the slight ring before returning it back. Bakugou sighed grumpily on the other line, hearing him turn in his bed.
"He's a moron. He's a moron to think that he could control you. Don't listen to that crap. Got it, Twinkle Toes?"
Through the prick in your tears, your smile returned, brimming from corner to corner hearing those words from the most stubborn man you had ever met. Comforting words even.
"So Midoriya and Todoroki got in your way?" You asked, wondering more about Bakugou's day.
"Like hell they did," he retorted.
That smile of yours still stayed while you talked for most of the night with Bakugou, until you realised the time. It wasn't often you found yourself with Bakugou past midnight.
SHOUTO TODOROKI | Midnight Rendezvous
DING
I can't sleep.
DING
Sorry.
DING
Not at all. Are you okay?
DING
Not really.
DING
Can I see you?
You stood by the dormitory door, toes digging into the carpet while you wrapped a thin blanket around your shoulders. A yawn, deep and slow, escaped your throat, tugging on your blanket tightly while you stared at your phone.
No reply.
Your eyes darted around the other doors, hoping you hadn't disturbed anybody. Sero and Sato were next door to Todoroki's dorm, thankful you hadn't heard any doors creaking open. Creeping up the stairs was a challenge in itself, hoping that you hadn't woken Uraraka, or worse, Bakugou across the hall.
DING
I haven't fallen asleep yet either.
DING
I'll come to you.
You gasped quietly, looking around wondering what to do, afraid to move to cause a ruckus until the dormitory door slowly opened before you. There in his pajamas, stood Todoroki, slightly disheveled from crawling out from his futon bed. You stared in his eyes, a little flabbergasted, a little embarrassed while he stared, aloof and unassuming.
"... Hi," you slowly greeted with your hands on your blanket.
"Hi," he replied dryly. "You were out here this whole time?"
"No, I mean, yes, I mean, I was anxious about the practical coming up tomorrow morning and I couldn't wrap my head around how efficient I could be and figuring out ways of keeping me conscious because, you know, I'll just shiver and I won't be able to move and then I'd be a dead weight who can't use their Quirk and-"
A pair of large hands grabbed hold of your shoulders, snapping you out from your ramble to stare eye-to-eye with Todoroki, his aloofness still present and his calm demeanor centering you in place.
"Want to come in?" He asked.
"Yeah, yeah sure."
You were breathless while Todoroki led you into his room, shutting the door behind him. This wasn't a surprise for either of you, sharing study time between dormitories and training together ever since the first practical that partnered the both of you. But now past midnight, you couldn't sleep, filled and fueled by worry while you slumped into Todoroki's futon bed.
"You shouldn't feel nervous," he started while he slid the paper thin doors open to allow the moonlight to cast its light inside. "We've been training all week."
"I know, but the cold is still a problem, and I can't keep staying and flanking on your left forever," you explained with exasperation. "What happens when you get flanked on your right?"
"Then I'll take care of it, as long as you keep my left protected. We've trained for this, you have my back and I'll have yours."
Todoroki sat beside you, feeling his weight dip into the futon while you felt his heat and warmth radiate against your skin and the blanket you wrapped yourself in. He held you against him, rubbing his hand on your shoulder, comforting and easing what concerns you felt.
"Who do you reckon Aizawa would pit us against?" You asked, leaning into his shoulder.
"Who would you prefer?" He replied with a question of his own.
"Not Bakugou. Nice guy, but he's so intense."
"That means that Aizawa might just do that."
"What? No way, he's not that tyrannical."
A warm chuckle bubbled from Todoroki before you spotted a smile on his face. It only made you smile along with him, laughing inwardly at the thoughts you had.
"I'm worried," you continued.
"I know," he agreed. "But can I trust you to have my back?"
"Of course, always."
"That's all I need to know."
Whatever anxieties, worries, concerns you held over an exam, slowly melted away. The more you spoke with Todoroki, the more logical he sounded. He was oddly calm, this much you've learnt from him, and he helped keep you focused in any way possible.
Soon his warmth engulfed you at such a late hour, falling asleep into his shoulder. You hoped tomorrow would be a good day.
HITOSHI SHINSOU | All-Nighters
DING
How many cups of coffee have you had today?
DING
Enough to keep me sane.
DING
Are you studying again?
DING
Didn't you just run laps this afternoon?
DING
Sleep is for the weak.
DING
I'm going to call in a minute.
Your thumb hovered over the set of numbers on your screen, gulping that lump in your throat while you contemplated your choices. Should you call him at this hour? Sure, you were studying in case Aizawa was to pull out a quiz out of nowhere, but you needed a break. Some normal human conversation, and everyone in your dorm was asleep. Everyone was asleep.
You fought against yourself, pulling your thumb to and fro every so often, staring at his name-
RING
You jumped from the vibrations of your phone tickling in your palm, finding that name emblazoned on screen: Hitoshi Shinsou. A momentary lapse of relief washed through you until you answered the call.
"You took too long," he greeted on the phone, his tired voice echoing in your ear.
"Yeah, well, you hate to be disturbed," you responded with a teasing tone.
"Oh really? For a minute I thought you missed the sound of my voice and was begging to talk."
"No... I mean, don't put yourself up on a pedestal. How's Toka?"
"Sleeping."
"Like you should be? You've been pushing yourself a little hard."
"Look who's talking?"
You giggled with anticipation and elated happiness despite the late hour. Not often were you able to hold a conversation with the General Studies student, growing closer with him everyday.
"But you wanted to talk, huh, Kitten?" Asked Shinsou, breathing a sigh from your lips at his deduction.
"Yeah, I was going a little stir crazy with my studies, and I'm literally on the second floor of my dorm that I could just walk out without disturbing anyone," you admitted, staring out of your window by the balcony.
"Never knew you felt like getting fresh air was an option."
"No, it's the fact that I can hear voices."
Your heart seized realizing what you had said, eyes opening in panic until-
"Voices?" Questioned Shinsou suspiciously.
"I mean, everyone's asleep, I'm trying to study, and it doesn't help that people dreaming also involves some very interesting and.... vivid thoughts," you explained, both astonished and slightly revolted by the fact. "I wanted to talk with someone to help me focus, and-"
"I'm the first one you thought of," interrupted Shinsou before you sighed heavily. "Why don't you head outside? Or step out on your balcony?"
You turned back to the balcony, standing from your dimly-lit desk to slide the window open, feeling the warm breeze enter into your dorm room. It was refreshing to breathe while you stepped out, staring at the rows of trees that lined along the large path through Heights Alliance. The lamps lit the way, spotting the numerous dormitories that stood like giants.
"Well, I'm out here now," you informed, leaning against the balcony railing. "It doesn't help with the voices but I got some fresh air."
"Would it help if you turned towards the path and waved?" Asked Shinsou, catching you by surprise. Sure enough, on the brick-laid path was Shinsou, dressed comfortably with his phone to his ear. In the dark, you couldn't tell his expression except for his hand in the air, returning with one of your own, still in surprise.
"I couldn't sleep," continued Shinsou on the phone. "Want to join me?"
"But curfew-"
"Eh, we'll stay on the grounds. I'd rather your company with nobody around."
You smiled happily at the sight of him, chuckling a little only to halt from waking anyone in your dorm building. "I'll be ten minutes."
"I'm counting."
You still stayed on the phone throughout until you made your way to the front doors of your dorm building. A stroll with Shinsou was the saving grace you hoped for.