I open my eyes and am surprised to find Bakugou still asleep. Every morning here thus far, he's been up and at the gym before I wake up. Perhaps he's decided to give himself a day to rest. Given what's in store for us today, he's going to need the extra energy.
It's our second and last day at Yasuragi Island, and most of us will spend it exploring the town, mainly the shops and restaurants. I'll be bringing enough money to buy souvenirs for my mom and siblings.
I tiptoe past Bakugou as he's in a deep slumber on the couch. Casting a quick glance at his face, I've never seen him so relaxed. All that usual tension in his forehead and jaw have dissipated. Even his breathing is less aggressive than usual, his chest rising and falling like a soft wave crashing along the shore.
My lips curl into a small smile before I enter the bathroom to shower and get ready. Not knowing how much time I have before Bakugou wakes up and has to get ready himself, I keep a quick pace. When I emerge back into the room, towel around my waist, he's still asleep with no signs of waking up. Because of this, I forgo going back to the bathroom and just get dressed by my closet.
After making my bed, I lie on top of the sheets and scroll through my phone. We still have plenty of time before we need to meet with our group to depart the ship. I'll probably sneak to the food court for breakfast beforehand, but there's still no rush. So, I take the time to relax and wait for Bakugou to wake up.
I had a lot of fun with Bakugou last night. We played a few rounds of chess again once we left the sports bar. Of course, he beat me every single time, but they weren't as humiliating defeats as they were the previous night. But more importantly, it was just nice to spend time with him. I could tell by the way he acted toward me that he enjoyed it just as much as I did. Sure, he was mostly smiling because he kept winning, but it was more playful banter rather than him outright mocking me.
It felt like I had the old Bakugou back.
Suddenly, I hear a soft whimper from the couch. Setting my phone down, I sit up straight and peer toward the front of the room. I can only see the back of Bakugou's head from this position, but that noise had to have come from him, right? Maybe he's waking up.
Several seconds pass but he doesn't move. Perhaps I imagined the noise.
But then, surely enough, it happens again. It's much louder this time, so there's no mistaking it. And it's definitely coming from Bakugou. He's now craning his neck back and forth and I get a glimpse of his face. That relaxed expression he had minutes ago has transformed. His brows are furrowed and his lips are pursed. He almost looks in pain.
I jump from the bed and shuffle to the couch. I kneel beside Bakugou, not knowing what to do. If I wake him up, he'll probably punch me. But it also doesn't feel right to watch him suffer if he's having a nightmare.
Before I can make a decision, he speaks.
"Just do it already," he mumbles. "Stop torturing me."
He clutches onto his comforter and lets out a few more small whines. It hurts to see my friend like this. Wait, are we friends? Oh, who cares? The point is Bakugou's almost certainly having a nightmare right now.
It can be a number of things. Bakugou's dealt with plenty of traumatic events over the last few years. The last war being the most recent of events, but this goes back to even before we started at UA when he was attacked by a sludge monster. I remember he confided in me last year how scared he felt when it happened. He played it off in public whenever anyone talked about it, not wanting to be seen as anything less than brave.
And then he did the same when he was kidnapped by the League of Villains a few months later. That one hit him even harder because it was the night of his rescue that All Might fought his last battle and ended up retiring. Bakugou's really been through a lot, and I think because of his rough exterior people don't take it seriously. Maybe it's time someone does.
Bakugou parts his lips as his breathing gets louder and heavier. He's no longer scrunching his eyebrows, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing. He probably still needs comfort.
I lightly shake his arm. "Bakugou," I whisper, "are you okay?"
"Yes," he gasps. "Oh, God, yes."
I pull my head back. That was unexpected.
"Keep going," he mutters. "Don't stop."
I pan my head back and forth as if we have an audience. Is he talking to me? I hardly did anything. Though I'm guessing by how tightly his eyes are snapped shut, it probably has to do with what he's dreaming about, whatever that could be.
"So good," he groans. "Oh, yes. Yes."
I smile as my body relaxes. At least it doesn't seem like he's having a nightmare.
"To...ro..." he mumbles. "So pretty."
Tilting my head to one side, I puff my cheeks as I ponder what he's dreaming about. Something pretty, if I'm going off of what he's saying. Maybe the beach we visited yesterday.
"Just like that. Oh my God."
I shrug and stand back up, not having the slightest clue of what's going on in that head of his. I retreat back to my bed as Bakugou continues talking in his sleep. It's just a string of the same phrases over and over, yet they're all positive so that's good. I scroll through my phone again, killing time until I have to leave for breakfast.
But then Bakugou's whimpers get louder, faster. He tosses and turns, mumbles a few short phrases, then lets out an abnormally loud groan.
"Fuck," he cries out.
A few seconds later he sits up and presses the comforter into his lap. He snaps his head toward me and, upon realizing I'm staring at him, his face deepens to a dark red.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
He blinks a few times, his body completely stiff. "Yeah."
"That dream sounded pretty intense."
"Shit," he mutters. "You heard that?"
He blushes even harder, which makes me feel bad. I don't want him thinking I was intruding his thoughts or anything, though I suppose I kind of was.
"Not really," I tell him. "I mean, you weren't saying anything coherent. You were just moving a lot."
He tilts his head down and nods. Then, after a rather long uncomfortable silence, he speaks. "Get out. I need to get dressed."
My mouth twists into a pout. "Huh? Why can't you just get dressed in the bathroom?"
"Cause I don't want to. Get out. I'll be quick."
That's unusual. Granted, it doesn't surprise me that Bakugou is so cranky in the morning, but this is odd behavior even for him. But then I shift my eyes toward the comforter he has in a death grip, then back to his flushed face. Slowly, I put the pieces together.
"Did you...pee the bed?"
He clenches his jaw, twisting his face in disgust. "What the f- NO! WHY THE FUCK WOULD I PEE MYSELF?"
"It's okay if you did," I tell him. "I used to pee the bed until I was twelve. My therapist told me it was probably related to my childhood trauma."
"I really didn't need to know that," he replies.
I shrug. "I'm just saying if you did, I'd understand. You've been under a lot of stress lately."
He taps his fingers to his temple. "WHAT'S NOT CLICKING IN YOUR HEAD, STUPID? I DIDN'T PEE THE FUCKING BED!"
"Oh," I say, "then what's the problem?"
"JUST GET OUT!"
I throw my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay." I rise from my bed, walk past a highly enraged Bakugou, and step into the hall.
I wonder what all that was about. Then again, this is the first morning where Bakugou woke up after me. Maybe he's always changed in the main room and I never knew because I was asleep. I guess it'd be wrong of me to disturb his usual morning routine.
As I sit outside, a loud boom erupts from the other side of the wall.
Did he really? No, there's no way. Even Bakugou's not that reckless.
But then I start to see smoke seep from underneath the door. Frantic, I jump to my feet, swipe my card key, and push myself in.
Bakugou, now dressed in his day attire, stands over the couch that's now burnt to a crisp. The sprinklers have been set off, drenching the both of us in water. Still, the smoke alarm is off, but I think that's because Bakugou turned it off.
"You blew up the couch!" I say, water getting into my mouth.
He frowns. "I didn't blow up the couch. Just the sheets. The couch was in the way."
Once the smoke evaporates, the sprinklers shut off. My clothes are now soaking so I activate my quirk to dry them as well as myself.
"So you did pee the bed," I tell him.
Bakugou grips my shirt and brings my face dangerously close to his. "How many fucking times do I have to say I didn't pee the damn bed, Icyhot?"
I gulp. "Then why'd you blow up the sheets?"
He releases my shirt and pushes me away from him. "Those sheets were hideous. I want nicer ones."
"But you didn't have to blow them up to get new ones. You could've just left them in the hallway."
He huffs. "Too late."
Eyeing our destroyed couch, I feel my anger rising. "Why didn't you rip the sheets off before setting off an explosion? Now we don't have a couch, and we'll probably have to pay for the damages."
Bakugou averts my gaze. "I didn't really think of that."
I check my watch and let out a sigh. "Well, we'll have to worry about that later. We need to get to breakfast soon. We're supposed to exit the ship in an hour."
He grunts again, then looks down at his outfit, which has been ruined by the sprinklers. "Fine, but I need to change again first."
"Okay, should I step in the hall again?"
Bakugou looks once again at the burnt couch and sheets before glancing back at me. "Nah, I'll just change in the bathroom."