It was late when there was a knock on her door. She was awake, but it was well after midnight and she couldn't think of any reason that anyone else would be. She set aside the book that was open on her lap and got out of bed, making her way to the door as she heard another soft knock.
Momo opened the door, slightly startled to see who was standing before her. "Bakugo? What are you doing here?"
He wasn't looking at her, not really. His eyes were focused on the ground, sometimes glancing beside her head, but they refused to settle on her. It was unusual behavior for him. Bakugo was the most direct person she knew and he never hesitated to look in someone's eyes.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"It was you, right?" he asked her. She tilted her head in confusion and he elaborated. "You were the reason that those idiots were able to find me?"
"Oh! Yes!" She smiled softly at him. "I'm really glad that we were able to come for you. I was really worried."
He was quiet again. His fingers twitched, making her think of his habit of creating explosions whenever his temper was high and she wondered if he wanted to do that now. She wondered if he did, why he would he would resist. Bakugo wasn't known for his restraint.
"Can I come in?" he asked. "Everyone in these dumb dorms are noisy as hell."
That was a surprise. What could he want to talk about that he didn't want anyone else to hear? Nonetheless, she opened the door wider and stepped to the side.
Bakugo started pacing as soon as he was in her room. She remained at the door after she closed it, watching him, worrying about him. "I can't talk to Kirishima about this," he said. "He looks so damn proud that he got me back, so fucking happy, like he fixed every one of my stupid problems with his dumbass rescue."
"Bakugo?"
"I would die before I tried talking to Glasses or Half and Half. I'm not even sure why they came to rescue me in the first place and I don't want to even try to think about it," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "And Deku is Deku. There's no way that I could talk to him." He paused in his pacing, finally looking straight at her. "You're kinda of my only option."
"What's wrong Bakugo? What do you need from me?"
"You were there, so you felt it, right?" he asked her. "That awful aura..."
A shiver immediately went through her and she wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah... I felt it. It was so strong, so terrifying... We all thought we would die."
Bakugo was nodding, eyes sliding past her and staring at nothing. His eyes looked haunted and she understood entirely. The thought of that aura still haunted her, too. "I have dreams..." he admitted.
Momo walked forward, reaching out for Bakugo and pulling him into a hug. It was the only thing that she could think of to do. She wasn't sure what she could say that would bring him comfort, so this would have to do instead.
To her surprise, he returned the embrace. His arms were shaking, a full body shudder seemed to passt hrough him, and he clung to her.
"You're not alone, Bakugo."
His body went stiff for a moment, but he relaxed afterwards. "Can I..." his voice was low, nearly a whisper, and she strained to hear him. "Can I stay here. I don't want to be alone."
"You can stay," she told him. "It's not ood to hold things like this inside. You need to talk about them. And if you don't think you can talk to anyone else, I'm honored that you would talk to me."