Previously on Latibule:
As soon as Bakugou latched onto Kirishima with one of his hands, the other wrapped around me, allowing me to reach one of mine out to grab onto Kirishima as well, the red-haired boy supporting both of our weights.
"You idiots!" Bakugou exclaimed with a smile that indicated that he very much supported that idiotic action said idiots had just taken.
I looked back at the battlefield, where things had already intensified. You got this, All Might!
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Latibule — Chapter 63///Finding Comfort
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We finally landed on a roof, far from where the fight was happening. The landing was... not too graceful, for we were on quite uneven levels. Bakugou and I tumbled away from the others, leaving them to pretty much crash onto the ground, panting as they sat up.
"Are you guys okay?" Midoriya asked right away, looking at Bakugou and me worriedly.
"We're—" the word fine died in my mouth as I looked down at my hands. They were shaking slightly, the adrenaline was wearing off and I felt so so tired.
Bakugou glanced at me, noticing how I didn't want to talk about what happened just yet. Instead, he toughened up his expression and helped me up from the ground as he took the answering upon himself. "We're okay."
Iida nodded solemnly. "Good. Then let's move out. We'll have to meet up with Yaoyorozu and Todoroki."
Quietly, we started walking. Memories flooded my mind. I remembered the time I got my quirk. My parents had been so excited, happy that I'd get to fulfil my dream of becoming a hero. I scoffed inwardly. Look at what that led to.
I remembered the time I got accepted to U.A., the pure joy I'd felt and the fireworks that had lit up the sky. Now I understood that being a hero had downsides, too. It wasn't only saving people from evil and seeing how they reunited with their families. It was seeing people die. It was putting yourself at risk every day in exchange for some stranger's happiness. It was risking you'd lose everything you held dear if your identity and family location got out. It was risking losing bits and pieces of yourself until you were nothing but a shell.
I sniffled. Don't cry, I told myself, but for some reason I couldn't help but imagine what would have been if Bakugou and I hadn't made it out alive. I imagined how our classmates would've reacted. I wasn't necessarily close to any of them but the way they seemed to crumble to pieces in my head was still making me feel as if I was being ripped apart from the inside out. The worst was seeing in my mind's eye how a policeman walked up to our front door and knocked. Seeing how my parents came to answer only to crumble to the floor in grief.
My throat felt tight and suddenly the tears were falling and I couldn't hold back a sob. Immediately, Bakugou beside me stopped. The others stopped, too, but far enough to give us some space. In the eyes of the boy in front of me I saw an emotion I couldn't quite place. It was like a mix of hurt and concern and something else I'd only seen when my mum looked at my dad or vice versa. The last of them wavered away soon and I would've liked to think that it was because of my tears but the other side of me was sure that I'd imagined seeing it in the first place.
He doesn't care about me the way I care about him.
The thought made me cry even harder and I furiously tried to stop the tears, embarrassment and disappointment in myself growing in my chest.
Bakugou placed a hand on my shoulder. And then his other hand on my other shoulder. And suddenly I was hugged close to his chest, his warmth bringing me the comfort I needed.
"It'll be okay," he said gruffly. It was obvious that he wasn't good at comforting people but I still appreciated it. "We'll figure something out. I'm sure All Might or Mr Aizawa or Principal Nezu or the other staff will know what to do."
I nodded into his chest, sniffling as my tears stopped coming slowly.
A minute later, I pulled away, rubbing my eyes to make sure they were dry. "I'm sorry," I said, only to immediately add, "and thank you, Katsuki. I don't know what I would've done without you."
He only smiled softly, trying to hide the regret I still saw seeping into his eyes. Furrowing my brows, I asked, "What is it?"
He took a step away from me, putting some distance between us. "It's nothing. Let's go."
I looked at his back with a frown as he made sure to stay a few steps ahead of me. He was acting like a stranger again and yet five minutes ago I was crying into his shirt. Why are you so confusing, Katsuki Bakugou?