Finished - November 22, 2022
Word Count - 4151
Music - winterhold -Tartalo Music
********************************
The presence of frost on the window proved that winter was coming quickly and the close of the semester was rapidly approaching. With the change of weather, the trees had lost all of their leaves, which created a crunchy blanket of foliage over the U.A. campus grounds. Even the tightest of windows couldn't keep the cold from seeping inside the large, old dormitory.
This was one of the many reasons why Allira strayed from her bedroom; the chilly walls of her dorm lead her into the main heated part of the building. More specifically, the kitchen. Where the oven was getting ready for a baked good, thus heating the large room.
In procrastination and avoidance of her school duties, Allira set her focus to the kitchen. This was one her ways of coping with stress, to bake her troubles away.
Besides, with the arrival of December, her taste for warm holiday flavors accelerated.
Therefore right when she was supposed to be training or studying, she found herself downstairs cooking instead.
Allira used a wooden spoon to mix the batter softly, making sure not to over mix the contents. This recipe was fairly simple, all she needed was flour, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin. Plus, of course the other essentials of baking powder, salt and baking soda. She merely put all the ingredients together and added to taste.
Lastly, she poured the contents into a bread pan and placed it into the oven. Now that the fun part was over, Allira had no excuse to stay away from her real work.
With a sigh, she set a timer and stretched her arms. In one last attempt to stall her homework, she cleaned the entire kitchen and all the mess she had made.
Now that she had nothing left to distract her, she grabbed her school work. Notebooks and papers took the place of the many pans and utensils she had used for cooking. She had over an hour before the pumpkin bread would be ready and she decided that this would be the time to get her work done.
The empty kitchen remained silent as Allira scribbled and studied her papers. The only noise was the flipping of pages from her textbook or a heavy sigh of frustration from the tired girl. Her brain flooded with equations and confusing word problems, she gripped her hair in tired annoyance.
As she continued to answer silly homework questions a set of footsteps made their way down the stairs, turning Allira saw Kaminari. A colorful robe hid most of his pikachu pajamas, but did nothing to conceal his bright fluffy pufferfish slippers. With sleep heavy in his eyes, the boy looked almost as if he was sleep walking.
Allira watched him as he walked over in a daze, not saying anything as his loose footing waddled across to the kitchen. He then plopped himself in the chair beside her and laid his head face first onto the counter. A moment later she could hear distinct, light snoring escape his mouth.
The entire altercation made Allira laugh, though she tried to keep it quiet not wanting to wake up the obviously exhausted teen. Instead, she gave him a quick rub on the back and turned her attention back to her school work.
While Kaminari drooled next to her, Allira somehow found it easier to concentrate and she became very productive. She was able to finish her Math and English paperwork. Something about Kaminari's presence gave her the energy to complete her work.
Just as she had finished, more people joined her downstairs. Allira recognized the voices of Kirishima, Sero and Uraraka. The three fellow students joined her in the growing kitchen, their noses high.
"Are you baking something again?" Uraraka asked sweetly.
Allira stuffed the last notebook into her school bag and nodded.
"Smells amazing!" Sero jeered.
"Thanks." Allira inspected the timer to see that she still had about fifteen minutes left before the cake was ready.
"What's with him?" Uraraka asked, pointing to a passed out Kaminari on the counter.
Allira lifted her shoulder. "I don't know, he just came down and fell back asleep."
"Ha." Kirishima laughed. "He does that sometimes."
"Really?" Uraraka asked in confusion.
"Oh yeah." Sero folded his arms with a smile. "Denki is full of weird habits. He does this thing when he gets lonely and tired. He sleepwalks to the first person he can find and just passes out next to them."
"What? Why?" Allira contained her giggles.
"Don't ask me, the guy likes to be around people." Sero shrugged.
"Come on, let's bring him to the couch." Uraraka activated her quirk by pressing her hand on his shoulder, a second later Kiminari's form started to float.
She then took a hold of his wrist before he flew away and pulled him to the couch. The boy glided across the room, his sleep completely uninterrupted.
Uraraka then shifted him to lay flat over the couch and carefully lowered him down onto the cushions. The boys continued to sleep as if nothing had changed, his snoring only growing louder.
"Do you have to do this all the time?" Allira asked and joined her friends on the couch.
"Sometimes." Sero explained. " Uraraka is the only one who can move him without waking him up. He definitely sleeps better on the couch than on the counter."
"That makes sense, he looks a lot more comfortable here." Allira smiled.
"Yeah, just like how Bakugo fixed you during class." Kirishima recalled the memory from class.
"What are you talking about?" Allira turned her haid to the side, not understanding the reference.
Immediately, Uraraka's hands covered her mouth in shock and delight. "You don't know."
"Makes sense, she was the one sleeping." Kirishima laughed.
"I-I don't know what...?" Allira stuttered, almost scared of what she would hear.
Sero held out his hand as he explained the short story. "Last week, when you fell asleep in class Bakugo repositioned you."
"What?!" Allira squeaked in embarrassment.
"It was so cute!" The girl held her fist up to her face in glee.
"He shifted you into a more comfortable position when you fell asleep." Kirishima gave her a thumbs up.
Allira had no memory of this at all and found it a bit overwhelming. Had Bakugo truly done that? In front of the entire class, during a lecture?! The thought caused Allira's head to spin. If she had known something like that would happen, she would have forced herself to stay awake. Now the whole class had not only noticed her fall asleep, but Bakugo felt the need to step in.
"Seems kind of out of character." Uraraka tapped her chin and looked to the ceiling.
"Not at all actually." A new voice joined the conversation from behind. All heads turned to see Midoriya, who had just finished his descent from the stairs. His large eyes and bright smile lifted the room's spirits fourfold.
"You think so Deku?" Uraraka greeted him into the conversation with a question.
"Oh yeah." Midoriya sat next to her on the couch. "As kids he was always very attentive and kind. Only around Middle School did he create this hard outer shell, probably as a defensive mechanism. But he is truly very kind and considerate."
"No kidding." Sero laughed lightly.
"I'm not really surprised either, that actually makes sense." Kirishima smirked in pride for his best friend.
The conversation continued and probably changed topics, yet Allira was stuck. Her mind dwelling only upon what she had heard and the meaning behind it all. Allira had recently become aware of her feelings towards Bakugo, but this emphasized her affection even more.
Bakugo was never good at expressing himself through words, but he showed it through his actions. Small acts of kindness that could easily be overlooked by someone who didn't know him well. But Allira noticed these little hints. How he made her tea, taught her to fight, made her lunch and even helped her sleep. Even if it was coincidental, Allira soaked in all the things Bakugo did for her. It made her feel special and cared for.
It was all too much for Allira's heart to take, she wasn't used to people caring for her. She grew up by herself, taught herself almost everything and learned to fend for herself. To have someone take care of her? This was a foreign idea that she never allowed herself to think about.
Was it really possible that someone would want to take care of her?
A sudden beeping noise broke Allira from her thoughts, only after a moment did she realize it was the timer for the pumpkin bread. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reset her brain and shook the thoughts away.
Not wanting to wake up Kaminari, she rushed to the timer and turned it off. She then grabbed an oven mitt and opened the heated compartment to check the bread.
Allira pulled out the tray and set it atop the stove. She opened a cabinet and reached for the toothpicks, which all looked alike. She picked a random pick and pushed it into the center of her bake. The toothpick came up clean and she knew the pastry had cooked all the way through.
Satisfied, she turned off the oven and took the bread out of the hot pan to chill on a drying rack.
After her first baking project of Apple tarts, Allira had invaded her own kitchen and brought her over her own baking supplies. She preferred cooking with tools she was familiar with and the equipment gave her another piece of home.
As she waited for the food to settle, she joined her friends back upon the couches. Ashido and Shinso had somehow snuck down their stairs and sat amongst the group.
The rosy tanned girl sat on the floor with a clamorous collection of tiny bottles of paint. From which she shuffled and examined each vial carefully. They looked like nail polish, but Allira had never seen such a large assortment before.
Ashido finally picked a pretty teal color and opened the cap, causing a tangy smell to fill Allira's nose. The girl noticed Allira's starring and smirked.
"Soooo..." She gave Allira a teasing smile. "What actually happened during your training with Bakugo."
"W-What?!" Allira squeaked in shock.
"Oh come on." Ashido rolled her eyes knowingly. "Bakugo doesn't go sweet on just anyone."
"Go sweet?" Allira repeated nervously.
"You heard me."
"Nothing happened." Allira mumbled. "We just trained in his normal spot. We showed each other a few moves and-"
"Wait, backup." Kirishima interrupted, his fingers trawling backwards. "He took you to his training spot?"
"Yeah." Allira shrugged. "He said he trained there all the time."
"No way." Sero's eyes widened. "How did you follow him?"
"I walked behind him." Allira didn't understand where this was going.
"And he didn't see you? You must have some sorta ninja powers." Midoriya looked almost jealous.
"Of course he saw me, he kept looking back to see if I was still there."
"Wow, you're not kidding. He actually took you to his training place." Kirishima flopped back on the couch in awe.
"I don't understand, why is that so important?" She questioned.
"Bakugo has kept his training location a secret for years." Sero explained. "We've tried following him dozens of times, to see where this 'special place' could be."
"He always catches us and threatens to murder us in our sleep." Kirishima laughed.
"Kacchan likes his privacy, says his training place is the only place that is his. No one else's." Midoriya's eyes flitted to Allira's, an expression of serenity in his eye.
With that one glance, she understood that Midoriya knew and he was happy. This one look from Miroriya told her an entire story. He knew what was going on and he supported her, he wanted Bakugo happy more than anyone. Midoriya could see that Takari was a person that made Bakugo comfortable and he was loyal to anyone who Bakugo chose.
Allira didn't know that Bakugo's forest location was a secret, he hadn't said anything about it being private. But again, would he have said anything? Knowing this made her proud to hold his secret.
"So?" Sero nudged Allira's arm gently.
"So what?" She asked.
"So where is it?" He finished, a large smile upon his lips.
Allira held her hand out in front of her in denial. "Oh, I don't think-"
"Come on, we've been waiting years for this!" Ashido stood from her place on the floor and invaded her personal space.
"You can tell us."
"We can keep a secret."
The entire room was suddenly pressuring her to reveal the location, but it wasn't her story to tell. How could she betray Bakugo after he trusted her with his precious retreat?
She was beginning to feel overwhelmed and overstimulated by the squeeze of her friends, demanding an answer. Would they shun her away if she didn't tell them? Would they be mad?
Allira sat frozen on the couch, her peers still drilling commands into her ears. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to lie, but she had to say something.
"Hey!"All heads turned, all except Allira's. She knew the voice, even without looking. "What the hell are you doing, leave her alone!"
Bakugo joined the conversation with a boisterous entrance, having just walked downstairs. The presence of his voice already seemed to calm Allira's panicked heart. Plus, he had just saved her from the situation.
"Can't you see her breathing?" Arms came into view on either side of her locked head, and shewed away the people standing in front of her. "What ever you were doing is giving her a panic attack. Use your eyes, idiots!"
"Sorry, I guess we was just a little excited." The students backed off and retreated to their seats.
Once again, Bakugo positioned himself behind the couch, right behind where Allira sat. His arms finished their waving, they found their place on the backrest of the couch behind her shoulders.
Allira still was not able to look up, her heart still pounding from the pressure of trying to keep a secret. Yet, she refused to look unstable and tried to calm herself. She took deep breaths and activated her Amethyst necklace to help her relax.
Bakugo had walked in on something, though he wasn't sure what, but it definitely shook Takari. This panic attack was not as serious as the one he had seen at the library, but enough to shake her. He realized that this was probably a regular occurrence for Takari, panic attacks.
He shifted his hands from beside her shoulders, to behind her shoulder blades. All his classmates had returned to their seats and changed the subject, while Takari still calmed herself. Bakugo took the opportunity to take one finger and gently rub the back of Takari's back. To sooth her anxiety and also satisfy his own desire to touch her.
Allira felt the connection immediately, but refused to move, lest her classmates notice. She was certain Bakugo would stop if he was caught. She did not want him to stop.
The physical contact was gentle and sweet. A single finger traced circles on her lower neck and yet it sent shivers down her spine. Bakugo gently caressed her worries away and Allira found herself return to "normal" quicker than expected.
Bakugo took pleasure in the fact that Takari did not shy away from his touch. Her skin was smooth under his hand, he only used one finger in fear of accidentally using his quirk.
He was always hyper aware of his hands, where they were and what damage might occur if he made an explosion. His quirk was dangerous and very temperamental. Therefore he hardly ever touched anyone, in fear of hurting them. Or worse, them being scared of him.
The two touch starved students revealed in the tiniest of physical contact, neither one paying any attention to the conversation of the peers around them. Their attention solely focused upon the connection they were sharing.
"Hey Takari!" With the mention of her name, Bakugo immediately withdrew his hands from the couch. Which caused Allira to unintentionally groan in disappointment as his contact left. The warmth of his presence was replaced with the cold winter air.
"Can I paint your nails?" Ashido had turned herself around to look up at Allira, excitement in her eyes.
"Sure...I guess." She answered.
Sudden glee overwhelmed Ashido's being as she snatched up all her paints, nail files and accouterments. The girl situated herself on the couch cushion beside her, sitting on her knees.
"I think these colors would suit your skin tone." She held up an array of different colors.
Allira examined the bright hues of pink, purple and yellows. She wasn't particularly drawn to any of them. Though she had never painted her nails before, she didn't quite know what to expect.
If Ashido had asked Allira this question a few months ago, she would have declined. If she had asked a few weeks ago, Allira would have submitted to anything, not wanting conflict. But now, she felt comfortable voicing her opinion, to say what she truly wanted.
"Can we try black?" Allira suggested gently.
The option caught Ashido off guard and her face fell for a moment. Disappointed that she couldn't use some of her "prettier" colors.
"But you wear so much black already."
"That makes it easy." Allira played with the hem of her skirt by habit. "It will always match."
The colorful girl was obviously disheartened, but she could not deny the request of her friend. Especially when Allira never asked for anything, ever.
Allira watched in awe as Ashido cleaned, filed and prepped her fingernails. She had never paid so much attention to something so small, it almost seemed silly. To put so much time and energy into something that would chip and crack after a few days. But Allira could not deny her astonishment of the process.
"All done." Ashido made her last inspection before giving Allira her hands back.
It took a few minutes, but soon Allira's nails were scrubbed and polished. A dark black color staining each finger delicately. The color contrasted greatly with her ghostly complexion, but Allira liked it.
"Thank you." Allira stated softly as she wiggled her fingers around playfully.
Since Ashido had finished it was time for Allira to get back to the cake sitting on the counter, getting cold. She stood up from the couch and started walking towards the kitchen.
"What do you think you are doing?" The rose girl peered over from the back of the couch.
"I'm just getting the pumpkin bread." She pointed her thumb in the direction she was headed.
"Oh no you don't!" Ashido practically vaulted over the couch and dragged her back to a sitting position. "You are not moving from here until those nails dry."
"What why?"
"Those babies came out too good for you to mess them up." She held a finger dangerously close to her nose.
"But-" Allira tried to argue.
"Bakugo!" Ashido turned her attention to the boy still standing behind the couch, a book in his hands.
"What!" He raged and had obviously not been listening to the previous conversation.
"Do not let her move from that spot for the next fifteen minutes!" Ashido demanded.
"What the hell?! Why me?" She yelled back, matching her energy.
"Because she'll listen to you."
"What makes you think that?!" He slammed his book closed, certainly not interested in its contents anymore.
"Just do it. I'll go get the cake." Ashido rolled her eyes and left.
"Cake?" Sero perked up at the mention of sweets
"I definitely heard the word cake." Kirishima sat up, his head searching for dessert.
"There is pumpkin bread in the kitchen." Allira stated with a sigh.
"Oh, is it ready?" Midoriya asked.
"Yeah." Allira waved a hand. "Help yourself."
"No way, thanks Takari!"
All of her classmates stood up and left to grab the food she had prepared. All expect Bakugo, who now sat in the vacant spot next to Allira.
"Aren't you going to get pumpkin bread?" She asked.
"No." He huffed in annoyance. "I'm stuck babysitting you, apparently."
The statement caused Allira to chuckle, of course he would use that as an excuse. "I bet it will all be gone before we get there, I can always make more anyway."
Allira rested her back against the couch and sighed. She didn't quite know what to do with her hands, since her nails were still drying. So she rested them carefully on her knees, her eyes on the ceiling.
In general, Allira felt very awkward. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Bakugo at all about their interaction in the forest. She didn't know if she ever wanted to talk about it. Neither of them were known for their eloquence, or their skill of speaking their minds.
If she had read the situation wrong or interpreted a feeling that did not exist, she didn't want to expect anything. She always thought the worst, therefore she could never get disappointed. Her feelings couldn't be hurt if there wasn't hope in the first place. After a childhood like hers, she learned quickly not to expect anything.
Nevertheless, there was a tiny flame of hope deep within her gut. Hoping that this time it would be different. That Bakugo hadn't regretted kissing her and he had actually wanted to kiss her.
"You know, I don't really mind." Bakugo's words shook Allira out of her trance.
"Hmn?" She hummed.
"I don't mind...this." His eyes were glued to his shoes and only flashed up to hers for a moment. Although he couldn't help himself from reaching out to her again, his hand hovered over hers, careful no to smudge her pretty nails. "Babysitting you I mean."
"I don't mind it either." Allira laughed again, a blush tinted her cheeks as their fingers crossed.
From that short conversation, they both got what they needed. Just those few sentences reassured both of them of what was going on. They didn't need to say it outloud, they just knew. Something was happening between them and it was new.
"Wow Takari, this cake is amazing!" Uraraka's cheeks swelled in joy as she stuffed her face with pumpkin bread.
"It's bread, not cake." Ashido countered.
"Yeah, but pumpkin bread is more cake than it is actually bread." Sero pointed out.
Bakugo was not too happy about being interrupted, and fought to urge to let go of Takari's hand. He wrestled with the consequences of being seen holding hands. Surely he would never hear the end of it if they were caught. But he also didn't want Takari to get the wrong impression if he let go. He was finally confident in his feelings, not ashamed of being human. He cared more about Takari than his pride. Therefore held on.
"Does it have frosting? No, it's bread." Ashido plopped a fork full into her mouth.
"Sometimes it has powdered sugar. Which is what icing is made of." Kirishima added proudly.
"I agree, pumpkin bread is cake." Midoriya shrugged.
Bakugo watched the room carefully, watching people's eyes to see who would notice. Who was observant enough to see them holding hands? He could tell that Deku, Ashido and Kirishima noticed immediately, but they didn't say anything. Instead they just nodded with a look of approval.
Thankfully something else grabbed their attention before anything else transpired.
"Cake?" From the corner of the room, a wobbly Kaminari awoke from his nap. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he observed all his friends eating sweets. "What? What did I miss?"
"Cake. In the kitchen." Kirishima pointed the sleepy boy in the right direction.
Kaminari rolled off the couch and practically landed on the floor, barely awake enough to function his body correctly. Though he was somehow able to retrieve a piece of pumpkin bread, no plate, no napkin. Just a large piece of cake and a smile from the sweet flavors.
"Okay Bakugo, your turn." Ashido held out a new assortment of polishes.
It was expected that Bakugo would refuse with colorful words and stomp away, but he did not. The entire room was astounded when Bakugo reviewed the options and said one word.
"Black."
"Wait. That's a yes?" Ashido took a physical step back in shock, she never expected in a hundred years for Bakugo to actually agree.
"Wait any longer and I'll change my mind." He huffed.
Ashido didn't waste another second before she set to work, this opportunity rarely came and she would not squander it.
Ten minutes later, Bakugo had a matching set of black painted nails. Just like Allira's. She couldn't help but feel happy that he had chosen to match her, the edginess somehow connected them together. Making them feel like a matching set, like salt and pepper. Sugar and spice.
Two opposing elements that were connected by a common thread, each complimenting the other in more ways than one.