Note:

"Utsuro" = Nickname, means hollow. At first used to pick on Koge and be an insult, it became her permanent nickname, and she quite likes it. It references to her constantly blank expression.

Koge wrung her hands together nervously as she watched the news broadcast that was blaring from her television, trying to control the trembling of her body. Pale blue eyes darted from the smoke on the screen to its equivalent out of the window, watching it rise into the sky and mix with the ever darkening storm clouds. What an awful day for a strong villain attack… She thought to herself as she noticed a few raindrops on the glass of the windows. Although she could see only the smoke from the carnage outside, as it was a few miles away deep in the city, she felt like she was right in the middle of it with the sounds of the news reporter pouring out of the television speakers.

"This monstrous villain is tearing through downtown! Oh- oh my, he just threw a car! Those poor people!"

The screams of the citizens could be heard all the way up to where the helicopter hovered in the sky, safely out of reach of the villains attacks. There were heroes already on the scene, though the massive size and power of this particular villain was making it hard for them to capture him. Though, that wasn't what was making Koge nervous. She knew that they could do it eventually, and that area of the city had been mostly evacuated. What made her nervous was that her long-term boyfriend had gone to that area to do some shopping, and he had yet to answer his phone when she tried to call him.

Koge knew that he was going to end up getting involved in the battle, even if he was off duty. He had no equipment, no costume to help protect him from attacks, but that wouldn't matter. With such a strong opponent, he wouldn't be able to resist. So reckless… Koge gripped the fabric of the blanket that rested across her lap tightly, watching as the villain slammed his foot into the ground, causing the buildings around him to shake violently. Katsuki, if you do get involved, you'd better be careful-

Just as her silent threat crossed her mind, there was a huge explosion near the foot of the villain, sending him screaming and fumbling backwards. It was as if it had come out of nowhere, but as the news camera zoomed in on the source, Koge felt her stomach bubble with nausea. Ash blonde hair and that all too familiar piercing scowl became visible as the smoke began to clear, and the news reporter immediately went into a frenzy.

"Ah! It's pro hero-" static interrupted her for a moment, the camera becoming fuzzy along with the break in her voice. "- he's in civilian clothes! Was he here by chance? Did he come all the way here to save the day? Ah, look! His hand is still smoking! And he's still carrying his shopping bag! What a sight!"

Although she was nervous, Koge couldn't help but to find humor in the fact that he was still holding onto the plastic bag he had gotten from the store. Just as the reporter had said, his empty hand was still smoking from the blast, but Koge didn't get to observe him for long. Before even letting the villain catch his footing, he took off after him, tying the plastic bag to his hip though the belt loop on his pants. Koge sighed as she watched him do so, tightening the grip she had on the blanket. Why don't you just put it down… It's going to rip that way. Silly…

"Wow! He's flying through the air using the explosions from his hands, a trademark move!" The reporters voice was drowned out by the sound of another explosion, this time from the chest area of the villain, and Bakugou was once again devoured in smoke. "- that was a huge explosion! Still, the villain doesn't look injured at all! Only his clothing got torn! He has some seriously tough skin!"

Koge swallowed the lump in her throat, watching as her lover avoided the enormous flying punches and open palms trying to grab him. With every close call, she felt every muscle in her body tense. She knew that he would be fine, that he was incredibly talented and intelligent, and a slow moving villain such as this one had no chance at beating him. He had been a pro for two years now, and he knew exactly what he was doing. But, that still didn't quell the fear within her that something may go wrong. She wished that he was beside her on the couch instead, screaming and ranting at the situation instead of being in the middle of it himself. It was incredibly selfish of her to think this way, and she knew that, but her wishing for him to always be safe was something that she couldn't easily subdue.

"Ooh, that was a close call! I-" Sounds of multiple huge explosions, starting from the villain's hip and moving all the way up to his neck filled the air, mixed in with the deep screams from him as well. "- can't keep standing much longer! Ah, look, in the villain's hair!"

A speck of blonde was visible only for a moment before an explosion larger than any before erupted from the scalp of the creature, sending the news camera man falling backwards. In an instant, everything was cut off and the news anchors appeared instead, comfortable and safe in their studio. Panicked and able to hear the explosion all the way in her apartment, Koge fumbled with the remote to the TV, flipping through stations until she found one that was still reporting the incident live. Also in a helicopter, they were further away, but still had a decent view of the action.

The smoke had yet to clear from the area, only the feet of the villain visible. Silent and holding her breath, Koge ignored the frantic talk from the reporter, looking for any sign of her lover in the chaos. With huge gust of wind from the approaching storm coming through, the smoke was cleared, revealing the villains in his entirety. Standing completely still, his eyes were rolled to the back of his head, mouth agape and lips twitching. As a blonde speck jumped from his hair like a flea, the monstrous body began to fall backwards, crashing into street in an unconscious state.

As the camera zoomed in on Bakugou safely on the ground, Koge let out a drawn out sigh of relief, the cheers of the news crew perfectly reflecting her happiness. Always so flashy… You could have just done that from the start, Katsuki. And the bag is even still in tact. Feeling calmer now that it was all over, she turned off the TV, placing the remote down beside her before picking up her phone. She knew that now he would call, once he was able to escape the reporters that would want an interview or statement, especially since he had gone out and done that while off duty.

Just as expected, her phone began to ring after about half an hour, the name Cutesuki appearing on the screen. Without hesitation, she answered it, holding it up to her ear.

"Hello there."

"I got held up, but I'll be there soon. Sorry."

"That's okay, Katsuki. I saw it on the news. You were a little flashy today."

"I was not being flashy! That asshole had thick skin, alright!"

"Did you lose any of the groceries?"

"No, they're all still in the- ah fuck!"

"What?"

"There's a hole in the bag! Damn it! I have to go across town, that'll put me back another hour."

"It's okay, Katsuki. You can just come home for now, if you want-"

"No, then dinner will be screwed up. I have plans, we'll just have to push dinner back."

"That's okay. My stomach is all sick from watching the fight anyway. Just be safe."

"Stop worrying so much, Utsuro, it's annoying. I'm not some idiot- ah fuck, it's raining! I'll be back soon."

"I see the storm, it just hit here, too. I'll see you soon."

After sharing a farewell, she hung up the phone, sighing as she leaned back against the couch. Eyes locked on the pouring rain, she felt a bit of loneliness set in without the sound of his voice. Today had been their only day off together in quite some time, as her schedule always conflicted with his. Bakugou had been quite serious about making this day something enjoyable, but this whole incident had taken up a good two hours of their day already. Koge had wanted to go with him, but he had refused to let her, saying that it would spoil what his plans had been for dinner. She was a bit excited about it, and decided not to pry at the time, but now she was seriously curious about what could have been so important that he would go rebuy the ingredients.

Not wanting to be bored waiting for him, she turned the TV back on, a bit surprised to see that the news channel was still reporting about the event. They were currently just showing video of the reporter talking to Bakugou without the audio, the anchor woman speaking about casualties. As Koge watched, she noticed that Bakugou was rubbing his left wrist as he talked, and this only made her worry return. He had just gone through a battle recently that had been very hard on his quirk, getting too excited and over exerting himself. Now, after that huge explosion he had used to take out that large villain, she could tell he was hurting again, even though he refused to show any external expressions of pain outside of casually massaging his own wrist.

Eventually, the news moved on, and Koge found herself flipping channels until she landed on a cooking show. Curious, she decided to stop and watch, interested in the way the cook used his quirk to cook the food, holding a skillet over his head and blowing flames from his mouth. How stupid looking. She was a bit surprised at herself as she thought this, giving a small sigh. Ah, he's rubbed off on me more than I'd like to admit.

After watching a bit of the ridiculous show that had no educational benefit whatsoever, she turned her gaze back to the window, noticing that it had begun to pour down outside. The rain was so thick that she couldn't even see the buildings a block away, and she knew that he was going to come home soaked. Standing, she made her way to the bedroom, starting to dig around in a dresser for clothing he could change into. "Black, black, and more black… I swear." By the time she got the clothing set up in the bathroom, the doorbell rang multiple times, very quickly and very aggressively. Hurriedly, she made her way to the door, unlocking all three locks she had bolted before opening it.

Koge gave a small gasp as she observed Bakugou, standing before her drenched to the bone and trembling. Not from cold, she assumed, because of the scowl he had on his face. If possible, she knew he would blow the storm away, his anger nearly enough to make the water evaporate off his skin. She moved out of the way so he could come inside, shutting the door after him. "I put out dry clothes for you in the bathroom." Not responding, he made his way that direction, dropping his bag of groceries on the floor along with the water dripping from him. Koge followed quietly, trying to restrain her giggles, finding that he resembled a wet cat.

"I'm glad you got back safely. But you should have taken the umbrella." She put her hand over her mouth to restrain her snickers as she watched him shake the water from his head once he reached the bathroom, his hair sagging straight down with the weight of it. Snatching the towel she sat out for him, he viciously rubbed the top of his head, grumbling in frustration. "I was not going to carry that stupid girly thing around." As he pulled the towel from his head, Koge finally lost her control and began to laugh, his hair sticking up and fluffed out in a ridiculous manner. "Katsuki, your hair!"

His glare turned towards her, reaching up behind him to grip the back of his soaked shirt. "Shut up! I can't help it!" Koge leaned on the door frame to the bathroom, still snickering as he pulled his shirt off up over his head. "I know, you just have a fluffy head." She squeaked as the wet shirt was thrown at her face, sticking to her head with a gross splat. Peeling it off of her, she held it out from her body with one hand, letting it drip onto the floor in the bathroom. Her other hand free, she reached up and wiped the water from her face, pushing her bangs back. "That wasn't very nice." By the time she looked back at him, he had finished changing, using the towel wipe off his skin, scowl still on his face.

"Well you're the one making fun of me, I didn't-" He paused as he moved the towel over his left arm, a small wince breaking his glare. "Damn…" Tossing his towel into the dirty clothing bin behind him, he flexed his hand, not noticing the worried gaze on Koge's face until he looked up at her. Quietly, Koge walked into the bathroom a bit to put his wet shirt in the same bin, before she gripped him gently by his uninjured arm. With a small tug, she led him back into the bedroom. "You overdid it again." Bakugou followed her, and the sigh he released told Koge he was about to try and hide it.

"No I didn't, Utsuro, I'm fine. You're just-" he was cut off as she placed her hands on his chest, pushing him over to make him sit on the bed. Grumbling, he pulled his legs up onto the bed, glaring after her as she walked away back into the bathroom. "You're just worrying again, like I told you not to!" Koge ignored him as she dug through one of her drawers, soon finding the specific item that she wanted. As she came back, she opened the lotion bottle, squeezing some out onto her hand. "I saw you rubbing your wrist on the television, too. I know what you act like when you overuse your quirk like that."

Sitting down, she tried to reach for his arm, but he quickly held it away from her. "Hey, don't rub your flowery shit on me!" Koge narrowed her eyes at him, holding her hand up to his face, the blob of lotion right under his nose. "It doesn't have a scent. Don't be grumpy at me just because you got all wet and hurt yourself. That isn't my fault." Though his glare softened at her words, he kept his eyes narrowed, taking a second to sniff the lotion. With a huff, he turned his head away, allowing her to have his left arm. "Fine. What do you even want to do?"

Taking her hand back, she rubbed the lotion in her hands for a moment, gently moving his arm into place where she could easily reach it. Starting at his wrist, she gently began to massage the lotion into his skin, moving up to his elbow and back down again. Koge could feel the heat filling her cheeks as she did this, not entirely sure why she was. "I… thought this might help you." Too flustered to look at him, she kept her gaze on her own hands, surprised that he had nothing to say. Occasionally, he gave a snort, quiet hiss and his fingers would twitch when she hit a tender spot. She felt bad for hurting him further, but if it wasn't working at all, he would have told her to stop by now.

Eventually, she looked up at him, feeling the heat in her face grow more fierce from the relaxed expression on his face. "Does it feel better at all?" Bakugou gave a small nod, watching her hands. "Yeah. Thanks." Koge looked back down, beginning to massage his hand and fingers instead. His palms were calloused and rough, just as hers were, from a lifetime of abrasive quirks. In that moment, she thought that he would like it better if her hands weren't so rough, especially for something like this. "I'm sorry my hands aren't very soft, it would feel better if they were. I hate that I can't fix them."

"Tch, I don't care about that. Your hands don't affect why I love you in any way. You're just overthinking again."

Koge couldn't stop a small smile from crossing her lips, tracing the lines of his hand with her fingers gently. Though, before she could speak, he closed his hand around hers, and she looked up at him. He seemed flustered now, his voice quiet, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear them. "I didn't mean to snap at you." Koge nodded, bringing her free hand around to rest over the top of of his fingers. "It's okay. You've been stressed all day, especially with that battle and running around in the rain. Though, blowing up that guy probably helped you calm down a bit. You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Bakugou gave a small chuckle, nodding. "You know me too well, I think." Koge's smile grew, finding his relaxation to be infectious. "You're easier to read than you think." Her gaze moved back down to their hands, listening to him sigh as he leaned back a bit, free arm propping him up. "And you're impossible to read, Utsuro. But, your voice usually gives you away. And when you're worried. You can't ever hide that." Becoming a bit embarrassed by his statement, she tightened her grip on his hand, the heat still present in her cheeks.

"Does it really annoy you that much? That I worry?"

"Eh, yeah. It's pointless to worry, I'm not going to let anything happen to me." He squeezed her hand, though Koge could no longer find it within herself to look up at him, her smile fading. "I don't see how you could expect me not to worry. You have much more dangerous tasks than I ever do, when they come up. How would I move on if something happened to you-" She gasped as he gripped her chin, forcing her head up to look at him, his expression once again stern. "You would. Because you're strong. Koge…"

The use of her first name instead of that ridiculous nickname Utsuro immediately brought tears to her eyes, but she stayed quiet, letting him finish. Though, instead of words, he leaned in and caught her lips with his own in a firm but reassuring kiss. As his grip on her chin loosened, the kiss softened, his hand sliding down to rest against the side of her neck. Koge felt her emotions swell, her free hand moving up to grip onto the front of his shirt. You're an idiot, Katsuki, she could only scold him in her mind, tugging on his shirt as she moved to lay down, not wanting him to leave her. The taste of him and the heat of his body made her head swim, barely able to finish her own thoughts as he melted into her.

I'm not as strong as you think. But I will be, for you. As long as you stay with me.