Koge woke to the sound of shuffling and feeling of movement, blinking a few times to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Bakugou was up, working on putting on all of his clothing items in silence. Laying still and quiet, she watched him for a bit, the concerned furrow of his brow worrying her. She could tell that there was a heavy sense of regret weighing on him, with what they had done last night being nothing but a mistake. It had been like that all night, with Koge only able to get a few words out of him and barely even a glance in her direction. He didn't seem to care about her holding him or resting against him during the night, but he was tense and uncomfortable.

Maybe giving into their urges had been a mistake.

With a sigh, Koge sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Morning already?"

Bakugou stood, shrugging on his cape once he was otherwise fully dressed, only give a small grunt in response. Narrowing her eyes at him, Koge snatched her shoes, having already dressed back in her pants and bodysuit before they went to sleep. "We're doing this again, huh? Just like after the bath house… I really don't understand it, Katsuki."

"You don't need to."

"No, I really think I do." Koge stood once she had her shoes on, picking up the blanket off the ground and shaking it out a bit. "You don't have to shut me out. I'm not… some whore that you picked up off the street. I know that you care about me more than that, it's so obvious, and yet you've got this wall of shit that you just won't let down-"

"Shut up!"

The intensity at which Bakugou barked at Koge made her jump, his voice booming through the inclosed cave. They stared at each other in silence for a long time, until Bakugou finally decided to speak. "Just… shut up. Let me deal with my shit my own way. I don't need you digging around in my head or trying to solve my problems for me!" Snatching up the bag that held their supplies, Bakugou began to storm his way back towards the entrance of the cave, leaving Koge alone in the suffocating darkness. Her eyes welling up with hurt and frustrated tears, she folded up the blanket before picking up her cloak, pulling it on. But the time she finished tying the string in the front, she could not longer hold back her sadness, sitting down onto a boulder to sob quietly into the blanket.

What am I thinking? He just wants to use me… Last night was nothing to him.

After getting out the initial wave of sadness, Koge stood and began her trek back towards the cave entrance, going slow and at her own pace to try and rid herself of emotion before she got back. This wasn't her first heartbreak in her many years, but it sure did feel the most painful. Why did the first human she could ever speak to have to have such an awful attitude? Or was it her fault? Was she pushing his buttons in a way that she shouldn't? Maybe she wanted him too badly and it was scaring him away.

Perhaps I should… back off. Give him his space, and his time… No matter how badly I want to be close to him, it's obvious that I won't be able to. Maybe after we save Red… Maybe then he'll recognize me as more…

When she reached the entrance of the cave, Bakugou already had the horse set to go, feeding it an apple from their food resources. He stroked down the length of its neck as it ate, his expression still stern and filled with confliction. Koge didn't say anything as she approached, carefully shoving the blanket into a pouch on the horses' saddle. Neither of them shared a glance or a word as Bakugou led the horse out of the cave and into the white wilderness outside. Over night, the storm had covered the land in a thick layer of snow, just high enough to where the horse could still walk through it without issues.

Typically, Koge loved snow, but she found little joy in it now. The dragon stench from somewhere in the distance was already making her dizzy, and she knew they couldn't be more than a days ride from its source. Silently refusing Bakugou's attempt to help her onto the horse, she used her own strength to climb up, scooting up as far as she could on the saddle to give him room. The annoyed click of his tongue fell on deaf ears as he swung himself up as well, giving the horse a nudge on the side to start moving.

After a long while of a slow meandering stride, Bakugou finally looked down at Koge, though all he could see was the back of her hood. Over her shoulder, he could see her hands gripping the pommel of the saddle, fiddling with a loose thread that held the leather together. Giving a heavy sigh, he spurred the horse to go faster, and Koge was forced to lean back against him for support.

"Are you going to pout the whole time?"

"I'm going to pout until you apologize… I'm not your whore, Katsuki. You can't just fuck me and treat me like a pile of shit. You want me to help you… You should treat me better…"

Bakugou knew that she was right, but he couldn't find it within himself to apologize. Not because of his pride, but because then he would have to admit to himself that there were stronger feelings hidden beneath his wall of shit.

And that wall was beginning to crack.

…

Koge gave a large groan as she stretched, having hopped off the horse to take a quick break, both of them needing to stretch their limbs and relieve their bladders. Bakugou cursed as he had to trudge through the snow to get behind a tree, where Koge decided to just squat next to some bushes.

"Why are you going behind a tree? It's not like I haven't seen your dick already." Koge chastised him, balancing herself with her tail. Bakugou scoffed, glaring at the bark of the tree in front of him. "I can piss where I want, you don't control me."

"You're stupid."

Bakugou felt that familiar twinge of anger, something that had been happening to him the entire ride. Damn it, she's pissing me off! She hasn't stopped talking back to me since we left the cave! All because I won't apologize.

"Fuck you."

"You did that already. Asshole."

Growling, Bakugou finished his business and stormed out from behind the tree, glaring at her back as she stood by the horse, drinking some water. What could he do? He couldn't fight her, and snapping at her with words didn't seem to work. He couldn't leave her nor could he put her in time out like she was a child.

So what could he do?

Snowball.

Bakugou scooped up the fluffy snow into his hands, molding it into a near perfect ball before throwing it at her. It hit her in the back so hard that she squeaked, nearly dropping the water canister as she coughed. Popping the cork back in, Koge turned a glare towards him, but was hit in the face by another snowball before she could say a word.

"I'm fucking sick of you talking back to me! Why don't you treat me with some respect, huh?!" Bakugou dodged a ball of snow as one flew at him, tossed by an angry red faced halfling. "Me show YOU respect?! How have you deserved it?!" Koge scooped up two more handfuls, flinging them at him with no success. "Respect requires you to show respect back! Here you are, begging for my help, to save Red and whatever else! I'm not your little plaything!"

Bakugou was unable to dodge a third snowball hurled at him, though it did little but hit him in the chest. They began to circle each other, like some type of ridiculous ritual, each armed with the fluffy snow. "You sure are acting like one. Begging for me to fuck you like some animal that's in heat! I never begged for your help! You offered it!"

"Well I take it back! You can take your stubborn attitude and shove it up your ass where it belongs!" Instead of throwing what was in her hands, she kicked a large chunk of snow at him, forcing him to block it with his arms. "I won't help you! If this is how you're going to treat me, then do it yourself!" She squealed as another snowball hit her in the face, this one much larger and thrown harder. Bakugou pointed an accusing finger at her, the snarl and glare on his face fierce enough to kill just by looking at him. "You wouldn't! You owe me."

"How do I owe you? What, for buying me clothes like a decent person would?" Koge's tail was flicking about angrily behind her, using her cloak to wipe the stinging snow from her face. "If anything, it's you that owes me! I've gotten us this far to find Red. Without me, you'd be lost! Why can't you just admit that I'm right, Katsuki?" Koge's voice hitched as she resisted the urge to cry, swallowing the tears. Bakugou gave annoyed click of his tongue as he turned away, tired of this nonsense as he headed towards the horse. "Fuck off, then! I don't give a shit- HEY!"

Suddenly, he was tackled down into the snow, the sudden weight against his back catching him off balance. Being much stronger than the small woman that attacked him, he quickly turned the tides, pinning her down beneath him, even as she struggled. "What the fuck-"

"I don't want to fuck off!" Koge snapped at him, the hot tears streaming down her cheeks sticking the snow to her flushed skin. "I don't want to leave! I want to help you, but you've crushed me." Even as she cried, she glared up at him, the intensity of her emotion shocking Bakugou enough to loosen his grip a bit. Koge sniffed, struggling to speak as she sobbed. "I just… want you to treat me better. I deserve that, don't I?"

"Yes."

The truth slipped from Bakugou's lips before he could even think, releasing her arms to instead cup her chilled cheeks. "Yes… You deserve it. That's why you should leave. Because I… I can't treat you better."

Koge felt her heart drop, her stomach swirling with nervous butterflies. "W-what? Katsuki, I don't want to leave you, I just-"

"I know what you want." Bakugou spoke firmly, keeping his hold on her cheeks. "But I can't give it to you. You should go home." Careful not to hurt her, Bakugou stood, making his way towards the horse. Koge laid there in shock for a moment, staring up at the grey sky as her chest began to heave with panic. As the satchel that held their food and water was suddenly tossed beside her, she sat up, staring up at Bakugou as he climbed up onto the horse. "K-Katsuki, wait-"

"I don't need you anymore." Bakugou spoke sharply, his glare locked on the horizon. "I can smell them from here. I can save Red on my own. I want you to go home."

Without another glance Bakugou spurred the horse on to a gallop, leaving Koge frozen in her spot. She watched him until he vanished over the hill, leaving her with nothing but the satchel and the clothing she wore. Pulling her cloak around her tightly, Koge hid her face into her knees, her soft sobbing swallowed by the howling wind.