Isobel's POV
When my class came to visit, I was happy. I missed talking and hanging out with my classmates. The first group asked how I was doing. I smiled and told them that I was fine, just tired. We eventually began talking about random things, just like usual. The second group was similar. They checked on how I was doing, and then we discussed star wars the rest of the time. I admitted that I was not supposed to watch much tv but that I smuggled it anyway. Everyone gave me a little gift. I ended up getting a few bouquets and a large stack of boxes of chocolate. I noticed that Bakugo was holding a small cardboard box and was not engaging in the conversation. That's fine. If he doesn't want to talk to me, I won't force him!
Present Mic came into the room and told the class that their homework was transcribing two chapters from a Japanese book to English. He excused me from the assignment because he knew I could already do it. After the class left, I pulled out a book that I had convinced Midnight to bring to me from my home. I curled up and continued to read from where I had left off. The main character had just saved the princess, and they began to make out. A voice interrupted my reading, "Hey, Little Miss Angel." I felt my cheeks grow warm. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
He grinned as I hastily spoke, "Now is fine!" Quickly, I folded down the corner of the page and set it down next to me. "I thought that you all had to leave?"
He scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, we were supposed to. But I wanted to give you this." I took a cardboard clamshell from his outstretched hands. My eyes widened as I stared at a beautiful chocolate dessert that had raspberries on top of it. "I know that it probably won't be that good because it is store-bought, but I heard Round Face say that you liked chocolate, so I got you a chocolate lava cupcake."
I was over the moon, "You got this for me? It looks so good!" I unwrapped the fork that was taped to the lid of the box and took a bite. It tasted like Heaven. My eyes fluttered closed, and a soft moan bubbled out of my mouth. Did he hear that? I hope not. I took another bite and savored the silkiness of the chocolate in contrast to the slightly tart raspberries.
Bakugo made his signature tch sound, "It can't be that good."
I looked at him incredulously, "I don't know, this is just about the best thing that I have ever had! My parents did not let us have many treats, and when we did, I was never able to enjoy them." I could never enjoy anything around my parents. I was too busy making sure that I looked and acted perfectly.
"I could make a better chocolate lava cake."
I raised an eyebrow, "How can you say that if you have never tried this one?"
I was frozen as he ran a finger across my lips, wiping off the little bit of chocolate from the cupcake. My eyes followed his finger to his mouth, where he sucked the chocolate off. I wonder what his lips feel like, "Yeah, I can make better."
My face was getting warm, and I knew that it was turning red. I lifted my chin in defiance, "Well, you couldn't taste the whole thing." I had seen his hand move, so I needed to act. I shoved the last bite into my mouth and grinned.
I was not expecting his hand to continue to move and clasp around my book. I reached to take it from him, but it was too late. He held it out of my reach and flipped to where I had left off, "Now, let's see why Little Miss Angel got so flustered when I interrupted her reading." He looked down at the book and chuckled, "I guess that Little Miss Angel is not as pure as we all thought she was."
My face was now on fire, "It's not that bad! All they do is kiss! They never actually do it in the book!" At least, I don't think so. I haven't finished it yet.
He tucked my book in with the gifts before turning back to me, "Were you thinking about kissing someone in particular?" I let out a squeal as Bakugo moved closer. I shook my head in response to his question. My pounding heart was giving me away. "I think that you are lying." He was so close that I could feel his breath against my lips. "Because I am thinking about kissing you. May I?"
I let out a breath as I quietly said, "Yeah."
He pressed his lips against mine. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards me. It felt like there was fire lit inside of me. A burning desire was pulsing through my veins. I wanted to keep him here forever. I never wanted to let go.
We jumped as someone cleared their throat. Bakugo tried to pull away, but I accidentally pulled him closer. He ended up falling towards me. We carefully untangled ourselves from the blanket and each other. I looked around him at a grumpy-looking Aizawa. "I hope that I wasn't interrupting something." Shit! We angered Mr. Aizawa! "Bakugo, Isobel needs to rest. I will drive you back to the school."
Bakugo leaned into my ear as he stood up, "I did taste the whole thing, and I can still make better." I felt my breath leave my lungs as he said that. Then he turned and quickly left the room, with Mr. Aizawa following him. I closed my eyes and prayed, Please let Bakugo be okay! Aizawa, please don't kill him! I sank into my pillows and tried to go through my thoughts: Why do I feel this way? I thought that he irritated me. He still does sometimes. I had drifted off to sleep before long.
I was allowed to go home the next day, so long as I stayed out of physical training for a couple of days as my body finished recovering. Shoto was also let out, but he was to stay out of training for a week. We surprised the class by showing up at lunchtime in our uniforms. People from the other courses came and asked questions, especially questions directed at Shoto. Our classmates stepped in and forced them away from us. Whispers followed us through the halls. Rumors about why his father had gotten arrested were flying through the school.
Mina decided to lift the mood with a party the upcoming weekend. Momo volunteered to let us use one of her family's houses. Mina loved the idea the moment Momo told her there was a pool in the backyard.
Saturday morning, I walked into a heavenly smell. I followed my nose to the kitchen, where Bakugo was pulling something out of the oven. I sat down at the island and watched him begin to work on some, sort of glaze or frosting, "What are you making?"
He looked over at me with a puzzled expression, "You are joking, right?" I shook my head. "Tch. I am making cinnamon rolls for the party today. Surely you have had cinnamon rolls!"
I shook my head again. "Nope, what part of, "My parents didn't let us have sweets" did you not understand? If they had a special guest, we would have some cream thing that had caramel and wafer cookies."
He sighed, "Well, I am going to have to fix that then. I swear that I will make sure that you try every type of baked good there is."
I flushed and fiddled with the edge of my shirt, "You don't have to-"
"I want to. Besides, I still need to show you how I can make a killer chocolate lava cake." He grinned at me.
Everyone else came down, and I smiled as Bakugo scolded Mina for trying to steal one of his cinnamon rolls. She came over to me and sat down, "Are you ready for the party tonight? Do you have your swimsuit and a change of clothes packed?"
I looked over at her in confusion, "Why would I need a change of clothes? And why would we swim?"
She stopped and stared at me, "First, it is a sleepover. I thought that you knew this. And second, why else would we go to a house with a swimming pool?"
"I thought that we were just going to party and then come back." I chose to ignore the second question because it was embarrassing. I didn't know how to swim.
Mina stood up, "Come on then, let's go grab your clothes real quick." I laughed and let her drag me back to my room. I unlocked the door and set her free to pick through my clothes. She handed me two pairs of shorts and two shirts. "Put on one set of those. I am looking for your swimsuit. Where is it?"
"Umm, I don't have one." I looked down at my feet, "We didn't go swimming as a family. And I had my viola that took up my free time."
"Stay here. I will be right back." Mina left me and hurried to her room. I took this opportunity to change into my daytime clothes. I slipped on the shorts, thankful that they were my slightly longer ones so they would cover up my scars. Just in case, I stepped into my bathroom and applied makeup to them. I waited for Mina. She came back with an extra swimsuit as well as Momo. "Alright! Here is my extra one. I wasn't sure if it would fit you, so I asked Momo if she would be willing to come and help."
I looked at the two pieces of clothing in Mina's hands, "Umm, isn't that super revealing?"
She looked down at it, "Yeah, I guess so. Sorry about that. I didn't know that you would rather be more modest. What size are you?"
"No thanks! I'm fine not getting in the pool." I waved my hands in front of me, "Just fine! If anything, I was hoping to stop by a clothing store and get a few new shirts. Thanks again, but I don't think that I will get wet at all today." I grabbed my messenger bag, "Do you want to come with me?"
Mina squealed, "Yes, let's go!" We left the dorms and walked to a small boutique. I tried on a few shirts. Mina helped me decide on a black blouse that was off the shoulder and was a crop top. She also helped me chose a white dress with an off-the-shoulder ruffle neckline and a flowy skirt that ended about ¾ of the way to my knee. I also bought a pair of cute sandals with a black ribbon tied in a soft bow.
When we finished buying my clothes, we headed straight toward Momo's house. Everyone else was already there. Mina stepped into the bathroom to change. Then, she ran and dove into the pool. I sat on one of the pool chairs and watched as Mina, Tsu, Uraraka, Kirishima, Midoriya, and Iida were tossing a ball around, trying to keep it from hitting the water. Kaminari sat down next to me, "So, you must not be a fan of the pool either if you aren't in a swimsuit."
I shook my head, "No, I don't really like pools. My family didn't take us to the pool much, and I never enjoyed it." The lie slid off my tongue like it was weightless. "What about you?"
He sighed, "Electricity and water don't mix. I am constantly worried that I will hurt someone."
At that second, Bakugo came out of the house in his swim trunks. I felt my mouth begin to water as I took in his abs. He caught me staring. I looked away quickly. Mineta came out next and began to drool over the girls that were in the water. I pulled out a book from my bag and smacked him over the head. "Don't you dare!" I dragged him back into the house, "Sero, Mineta is acting like a pervert already! Can you help me tie him up?"
Sero helped me tape Mineta to the wall near the front door. I thanked him and headed back outside. Almost everyone had gotten into the water at this point. There were only a few of us who were sitting in the pool chairs. Bakugo got out and sat next to me. He leaned into my ear and whispered, "Hypocrite. I saw you drooling over me." With that, He walked away into the house. I felt my cheeks flush.
I got a few people who raised their eyebrows and asked me what he had said, "Nothing. It's nothing." I sat in the sun, enjoying the warmth. I slid a pair of sunglasses on and lay in the pool chair. A pair of arms wrapped around me and picked me up bridal style, and carried me to the edge of the water. I flailed and tried to get out of their grip, but they jumped into the water. Their arms, which had been terrifying a minute ago, were suddenly gone. My last safety net was suddenly gone.
I was disoriented.
I was lost.
I needed to breathe! I moved my arms and legs, but with no sense of purpose. The pair of arms wrapped around me again and pulled me until my head broke the surface. I gasped for air and coughed. I felt tears in my eyes as I panted. The strong arms kept my head above the water as he pulled us to shallower water, where I could stand on the floor of the pool. I turned and glared at Bakugo, "What was that for? You almost drowned me!"
He looked down at his hands, "I thought that it would be funny."
I felt my temper rising, "Funny! Almost drowning someone is funny?"
"I thought you could swim. I didn't realize-"
"Didn't realize what exactly? That the person who wanted to stay out of the pool probably had a reason to stay out? Well, I'm done!" I waded through the pool towards the shallow end. Everyone moved out of my way as I stormed past.
"Isobel, wait!" I ignored Bakugo. "Please, Isobel. Wait, please." I looked over my shoulder at him as I spread my wings. I flew up to the roof and slid down the other side until I found a spot that got a nice patch of light. I lay down on the warm roof and looked up at the sky. I wonder how high up I can go? I ignored the sound of popping for as long as I could. Bakugo slid down the roof next to me. "Please listen to me." I huffed but stayed put. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to almost drown you."
"Stop. I appreciate the apology, but the problem isn't that you almost drowned me. The problem is that now, everyone knows that I can't swim." I wrapped my arms around my knees. "You know what my parents did to me. Do you think that they would waste time teaching their daughters how to swim?"
"I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you?" He seemed sincere, so I nodded. He took my hand and led me over the roof, and we slid down to the backyard. Everyone was looking at us. He glared at all of them, "What are you looking at, you damn extras?"
He led me inside and gave me his towel. "Dry off. I will run and grab your bags." He turned back outside and grabbed my messenger bag and my shopping bag.
"Thank you." I took the bags from him and went into the bathroom to change. I changed into the cute dress that Mina and I had bought earlier. "So, how are you going to make it up to me?"
He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen, "I am going to teach you how to bake brownies." He carefully measured out the ingredients and had me gently mix them. I offered to help with measuring out the vanilla extract, but he shook his head, "Nope, I've got this part."
He slid the glass pan into the oven as I ran my finger through the bowl, collecting chocolate. I hopped onto the counter and let my legs swing as I continued to eat the last little bit of chocolate from the bowl. I pouted when he took the bowl from me and put it in the sink, "Hey, I wasn't done with that!"
He grinned, "Well, I wanted your attention, and that was the only way to get it."
I slid off the counter and turned so that my back was to him, "Well, you took away my chocolate. I'm not sure that I can forgive you." I squealed as he wrapped his arms around me and buried his head in the crook of my neck. He laid down a few kisses and turned me round to face him.
"I'm sorry." I silenced him with a kiss. He put his hands on my hips and went to turn me so that my back was to the counter, but I had other plans. I let him turn me and then used that momentum to keep turning us until he was the one leaned into the counter. "Hey, I wanted to-"
"Tch, not today." I grinned at his flustered expression. We went back to kissing. He nibbled on my bottom lip, asking permission. I grinned yet kept my mouth shut. At least, until he growled, and opened his mouth to speak. We fought for dominance for a minute. I won. I spread kisses down his neck and to his shoulder. I kissed until I found his sweet spot.
"Aww, look at you two!" Mina was standing with her phone pointed at us. "I didn't know that you were the bottom Bakugo!" I quickly took a few steps back. Both of us flushed as we looked at Mina.
Bakugo pushed off the counter and stalked towards Mina, "Give me your phone! Delete whatever evidence that you have!" She laughed and ran out of the room. He turned to me, "Next time, I am the dominant one."
I flushed at the thought of "next time". "Hey, Bakugo. Can we talk for a minute about us?"
He turned to me, "Yeah. What about us?"
"Well, what are we exactly?"
Bakugo laughed, "You are mine. And I- am- " He flushed, "Yours. If, you want me! I don't want to pressure you."
I smiled, "Yeah, I would like that. But, I have a few boundaries." I paused, "I am good with kissing and making out, but I don't want anything more. We should probably actually get to know each other better as well if we want to be a couple."
He grabbed my hand and led me to the living room. We sat down next to each other, "Alright, I'll start. My favorite color is orange, I like cooking, I have anger issues. I am an only child. And I am glad that you don't want to do that yet because I am not comfortable with it either."
I giggled, "My favorite color is probably yellow, I like to draw, I am struggling with trusting people, and I'm working on getting past my past. I also have two little sisters."
"This is nice." He said smiling, "What is your life goal?"
I straightened up, "I need to become one of the best heros so that I can help as many people as possible! What about you?"
"I am going to become the number one hero and prove that despite my personality, I can help people." His red eyes sparkled with motivation. I thought that they looked like rubies. How cliche. Of all the red things, I think of rubies.
"My turn, how do you handle money?"
He rolled his eyes, "What is this, a job interview? I guess I try to save as much as possible, but if I'm buying a gift, I try to get the best quality thing. What about you? What do you do with your money?"
I shrugged, "I haven't needed to save for anything. I didn't get to buy anything. I got a credit card when we moved here because I had to move to the dorms. They paid close attention to what I bought, so I guess that I am super careful and tend to get the cheapest things. But on the other hand, I was forced to get higher priced things so that our families reputation was upheld."
He crossed his legs and shifted a bit, "How do you like to communicate if you are upset?"
I laughed, "I don't show it when I get upset-" I drifted off and wrapped my arms around myself, "I don't know. Aizawa said that I should work on showing all of my emotions more. He said that I need to work on not hiding when I hurt or am feeling sad."
I felt Bakugo's strong arms wrap around my shoulders, "I guess that we will work on that together."
"Yeah. Thanks." A loud beep made both of us sit upright, "What was that?"
He laughed, "That's the timer for the brownies. Let's go check on them." He grabbed my hand and led me back to the kitchen. I watched as he pulled the glass pan out of the oven and put it on the counter.
I inhaled deeply, "That smells amazing!" I grabbed a metal spatula from one of the drawers and cut out a piece. As I picked it up, my finger touched the hot glass. I pulled my finger away, "Ow!"
A hand on my shoulder sent me into a spiral. I dropped to my knees and felt my lungs beginning to constrict. I closed my eyes, but that made it worse. I was stuck back in my home with my father. He laughed, "That's what you deserve." He pressed a glowing hand into my shoulder. It hurt. Tears pooled in my eyes as I let out a scream. Why is this happening to me? I thought that I was free of him!
A popping noise helped bring me to my senses. But I still couldn't breathe, "Isobel! Isobel!" I looked up at Bakugo, my heart racing and my lungs seizing. He was kneeling next to me. "Breath in and out. That's it. In and out." I struggled to match his slow breathing. "It's alright. What are some things that you can see?"
I cast my eyes around, "You. The island, the cabinet, the counter, the floor."
"That's it. You're alright. Do you want to tell me what happened?"
Voices and hurried footsteps came close. Shoto and Hitoshi were the first into the room, "What happened?"
Everyone else entered the room, "We heard a scream. Are you alright?"
Bakugo helped me up and glared at everyone, "She burned her finger. Move, you damn extras. We are heading to the bathroom. Icy-Hot, Insomniac, I want you to come with." He wrapped an arm around me and gently led me to the bathroom. He pointed at the toilet, "Sit down. We are going to talk." His voice softened.
"I don't want to talk about it."
He turned to Hitoshi, "Insomniac. Do you have Aizawa's number?" Hitoshi nodded, "Good. Can you message him and let him know that Isobel had some sort of breakdown or panic attack?"
I looked up, "No, you don't need to bother him with this!"
Bakugo knelt next to me, "I'll tell you what, how about you talk to me? Then we can assess whether we need Aizawa or not. How does that sound?"
"Fine." I sighed and wrapped my arms around myself, "When I burnt myself, and you touched me right away, I thought that it was my father hurting me again. It felt like he was burning my shoulder." I can't believe that you fell apart in front of someone! You are going to need to punish yourself again. Bakugo said something, but I wasn't listening. Stupid, stupid. You really shouldn't even get close to any of them. They only feel pity for you and are giving up their time for you.
I felt a gentle hand on my elbow, "Hey, Isobel. Let's sit on the couch. Icy-Hot is grabbing something for you. Come on." I let him lead me to the couch. A moment later, Shoto came over and handed me a cup filled with ice. He also passed something to Bakugo. "Isobel, just hold onto that cup. Focus on feeling the cold glass as it presses against your hand." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "Would you like a piece of chocolate?" Being there, with Bakugo's arm around me, some chocolate melting on my tongue, and the cold cup in my hand, made me calm down.
I snuggled into his side, "Thank you."
Everyone seemed to want to come and check on me, so Shoto stood in the doorway and prevented them from coming in. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Shoto left his post and answered it. Mr. Aizawa was standing in the doorway wearing casual clothes and his hair tied in a ponytail. Shoto led Mr. Aizawa into the living room. Aizawa sighed and sat down on one of the couches that faced us, "So problem child. I heard that you had an accident in the kitchen. Are you alright? Would you like me to take you back up to the school?" He looked past us towards the doorway that led outside. "Would you mind minding your own business?"
Shoto used his quirk and created a wall of ice over the door to give us some privacy. "Thank you, Shoto."
Aizawa turned back to me, "So, do you want me to escort you back to the dorms? I could arrange to have you meet with Hound Dog today if you would like me to."
I shook my head, "No, Bakugo and Shoto took good care of me. I feel a lot better now."
He sighed, "Alright, then. But I expect you to tell Hound Dog about it when you go and see him tomorrow. I could take you to my place. Then you could be with your sisters."
I shook my head, "No thanks, I am fine!"
"I know that you are not fine." He rubbed his eyes, "And it is okay that you are not fine. You just left an abusive household. It will take a long time for you to recover. That is okay."
I snuggled into Bakugo's side and smiled over at Aizawa, "I might not be fine overall, but I am happy right now."
Aizawa glared at Bakugo, "Don't do anything to my little girl. I do have someone on the inside who will tell me if you do anything."
I flushed, "Zawa, leave him alone. Bakugo and I already talked. We are not going to do that!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shoto flush and hold in a snicker.
Bakugo tickled my ribs, "Did you call him ''Zawa"? When did you get to know him well enough to give him a nickname?"
I could barely catch my breath. "Well, Aizawa and Mic were the ones to watch over me in the hospital. When it comes time to be adopted, I'll probably ask them if they want us." I froze and flushed as I looked over at the doorway, where Aizawa was still standing.
He had a soft smile on his face and was wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, "If you would like, we could spread the adoption process up if you are sure that you would like us to adopt you."
I nodded, "Yeah, I would like that. I think that Shona and Elsie will fit in well with the dynamic." I hesitated, "And thank you for getting us out. I will always be super grateful for that!"
Aizawa smiled again, "You're welcome. I will go and speak with Nezu. To be honest, Hizoshi has been begging to adopt Elsie. They bonded last night. We had a movie night, and Elsie enjoyed it. Would you like to join Hizoshi, Nemuri, and your sisters in a walk around downtown tomorrow after your appointment with Hound Dog? Elsie was talking about it this morning and asking if you were going to go with them."
"I would love to, but who is Nemuri again?"
He rubbed his eyes again, "I forgot that you problem children don't know the names of the staff. Nemuri is Midnight. Be prepared for her to complain about you not choosing her to be your guardian. Although, I wouldn't want to let her raise kids." He waved, "Okay, I got to go. Hizoshi is supposed to have a shift soon, so I need to keep an eye on your sisters. See you later. Let me know if anything else happens."
Shoto melted the ice, and everyone was standing at the door, waiting to come in. "What was that?"
"Why was Aizawa here?"
"Is Isobel alright?"
"Are one of you in trouble?"
Bakugo stood up and yelled, "SHUT UP!" He glared around the room, "Listen up, you damn extras. Isobel burned her finger, and Aizawa wanted to check in because he's taking care of her sisters for a while. Their parents are in the middle of a mission, so they are away for the time being. Aizawa was also letting her know that she's allowed to go spend the day with her sisters and Present Mic tomorrow." He looked over at me. "Am I forgetting something?"
"Nope." He sat down next to me again. I whispered into his ear, "Thank you."
Mina took the opportunity to take over, "Alright! Let's play some games! I suggest Hide and Seek first." No one had any objections, so Mina went to her bag and pulled out a bundle of straws held together by a rubber band. She took the band off and held it out to everyone. We all grabbed one, and Mina ended up with the short straw. "Alright! Some rules, 1. You need to stay on the property 2. If your quirk makes you invisible, you need to keep your clothes on so that we can see you 3. Have fun!" Mina had said the second rule while looking at Hagakure.
I grabbed Bakugo's hand and pulled him outside. "Hold onto me." I pulled him into a hug and spread my wings. Quietly, I flew us up to the roof. He opened his hand to make an explosion, so I quickly shook my head, "No! That is too loud. I want to win."
We slid down the side of the roof and settled into a nook. There was a part of the roof that stuck out and formed a shadowed part. I used my quirk again, and my wings transformed into my tattoo. Bakugo looked at me, "When you do that, what happens to your wings?"
I laughed, "Oh, right. I have only shown Momo." I turned around and pulled my hair over my shoulder. I giggled and arched my back away from the finger that ran across my shoulder.
"Beautiful." We snuggled together and accidentally fell asleep.