Chapter Thirteen: The Confession

Veronica stirred lightly, her eyes opening to another blurred scene. This time however, it wasn't brightly lit. She sat up quickly and realized her hands were no longer bound.

"Woah not so fast!" Aizawa spoke as he came back into the room.

"Sho?" Veronica blinked a few more times as her vision slowly began to clear up.

She was in her flat again, she had no clue how she had gotten there. She reached her hand up to her lip, pulling it away to see blood on her fingertips. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what happen, only to have Aizawa kneel in front of her.

Aizawa took a warm cloth and gently dabbed it across her lip and cheek where blood had dried on "You really should be more careful."

"How… how did you find me?" She looked up at Aizawa.

"Your cat…" Aizawa spoke in a soft voice as he helped clean off the blood "I'm not going to let them get away with this."

Veronica's hand reached up to his and held it for a moment, her eyes meeting with his as they sat in silence.

"I'm sorry Veronica… You should not have been dragged into all this." he spoke softly as he leaned against her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I wanted to help, and I got a lot of information because of it." She smiled reassuringly.

"You…" he paused and leaned back, looking at her "Did you… did you get caught on purpose?"

Veronica looked at him before looking down.

"Why would you do something so stupid!" he stood up and turned away from her "What would you have done if we didn't know?!" he looked back, his eyes showing anger and hiding pain.

"I did what I had to do!" she stood up and looked at him "I knew that would be the best way to get as much information as I could!" she added.

"What if you had gotten caught!? Or worse, killed!" he walked close to her, looking down at her. His eyes shifted to show more pain.

"I…" she began, her face was only inches from his "I can handle myself…" she tried.

"You're so selfish…" He stared "How would I have lived with myself if I had lost you… if we… had lost you." he spoke quietly, correcting his wording.

"I didn't know you cared so much. I was just trying to do my job Sho…" she began.

"Well I do care!" he turned away.

Veronica grabbed his hand and turned him to face her "You do?" she asked softly.

"Yes…" he looked away from her, unable to keep eye contact.

Veronica thought for a moment as things began to slowly make sense. The way he looked at her at the hospital. How he was upset at the meeting. Him talking to her before she left on Saturday. She pulled herself close to him and her lips pressed against his as her arms wrapped around his neck.

Aizawa wrapped his arms around her waist as he melted into her kiss. After a moment, he pulled back just enough to speak.

"Oh kitten…" he whispered.

"K-kitten?" Veronica repeated, a soft blush crossing her cheek.

"Yes, sorry. It just… it sort of… came out." he spoke softly, even his cheeks reddened.

"No… I…" she looked down "I like it…" she blushed a bit bright, certain he could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks.

"Oh?" he looked at her and caressed her cheek "Is that so… kitten." his lips curled up slightly.

Soon his lips were against hers again and he pulled her against him once more. He led her back towards the couch and laid her down. He knelt over her and gently brushed her hair from her face, his fingertips lingering on her cheek once again.

"You know, you really should be taking it easy…" he smiled as his voice was a low, calming whisper.

Veronica looked up at him and wrapped her arms lightly around her neck "What if I don't want to… take it easy?" she asked softly.

Aizawa's lips curled into a slight smirk as he chuckled softly. His hand wandered down her neck and over her arm as he watched her reaction beneath him. He laced his fingers with hers and then, in one quick motion, pinned her hand above her head and leaned close to her ear.

"I wasn't giving you the option." he breathed before turning her face to his and kissing her again.

Veronica's cheeks flushed brightly, and her eyes widened as he held her hand above her, his voice hot in her ear and the space between them gone. When her lips were against his again, she kissed him feverishly… a longing desire behind her lips. The softest moan escaping her as her eyes closed and she melted beneath his weight.

He pulled back just enough to speak again, running his hand down after releasing hers and stroking her lip gently where the cut was still fresh. He could taste the blood and the desire in her kiss, the moan only further confirming.

"Don't worry, I fully intend to make you mine… you're just going to have to wait." he smiled, stroking her hair again. With desire high, he didn't want to risk hurting her more after what she had already been through. She had only just woken up and he wasn't sure the lasting effects of the drugs they had used. As much as he wanted her, he wanted to be sure she was not only ready, but fully aware.

Veronica whimpered lightly and pouted, only to be kissed again. Something about the way he kissed her, his hand in hers, his weight pressing her into the couch… it felt safe to her. Comfortable even. Her brain was still foggy but the longer she laid with him, soon something very apparent crossed her mind. She'd never actually been this close to someone, 'Not since…' she shook the thought quickly and backed slightly up from Aizawa.

"Is… is everything okay?" he looked back at her, concern taking over his face.

"Y-Yes sorry… I just…" she looked away, her cheeks flushed again in a soft pink hue.

He placed a gentle finger under her chin and turned her to look at him "You know you can tell me anything Veronica. Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?" he asked.

When her eyes found his again, a feeling of calm overcame her "No… it wasn't you." she reassured him. "I just…" she paused as she tried to think how to say what was on her mind "I've never actually… been… with anyone…" she finally admitted. The pinks in her skin now turning more red.

He offered another smile and caressed her cheek "That's okay, we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with and we can take things as slow as you need to." he nodded.

The vision from the camp attack played once again and she took a deep breath "There is something else… you need to know." she looked up at him. She knew if she was going to start any sort of relationship, she wanted to be sure he was aware of exactly what he was getting into.

He nodded and sat back, helping her get up into a seated position and rested his hands on hers "Alright, tell me." he looked at her. He was concerned on what it could be, though he knew that whatever it was, it wouldn't change how he was feeling.

"Back when I was in America." she began slowly "I was in University, and there was a professor there. He helped get me set up with an apartment. Well…" she looked away, her chest feeling heavy "After I graduated… he wanted to take me out to dinner. I agreed. Dinner was fine but he drank quite a bit. After we got back to my apartment, he…" she looked down as her eyes began to well up.

Aizawa squeezed her hand firmly but stayed quiet. He had a feeling he knew where this was going and could already feel a rage building up within him.

"He forced himself in and… he had me pinned and tried to…" she stopped and looked up at Aizawa as tears started to stream over her cheeks "One of my shadows pierced his heart… he died right in front of me." she finally spoke. "I didn't mean to… I… I had been on the run since. Never staying anywhere too long." she finally concluded.

Aizawa pulled her into his chest and held her tightly, his fingers running through her hair "You're safe now, I will make sure no one… I mean no one, ever tries to hurt you like that again. You only did what you had to do to protect yourself. You need to let that guilt go…" he spoke softly.

'You need to let that guilt go…' something Yamada told him often.

Veronica sobbed softly as she buried her face into his chest. It took a few minutes before she finally leaned back and wiped her cheek "That's the thing, I still don't know how it happened. I didn't use my quirk, at least not on purpose. That's why I'm always so worried… I don't want to hurt anyone else, deserving or not… I want to be in control of it." she shook her head.

Aizawa ran a thumb over her tear-stained cheek "Maybe there is more to your quirk then you realize?" he spoke softly. "I'm assuming, if you were surprised that I found you… you weren't in control of your shadow cat coming to get me either then."

"N-no… I… I didn't even think about that…" she looked around the room.

The bright purple eyes always lurking in the shadow…

"Look, you need to rest… Nezu already has your classes covered and instructed me to take care of you." Aizawa smiled and picked her up carefully "Let's get some rest and we can figure out more of this quirk when you're feeling a bit better." he offered.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him tightly as he walked back towards her bedroom. He laid her down and pulled the blanket over her.

"You're going to stay with me… aren't you?" she asked softly, rolling on her side to face him.

"Of course, I won't leave your side until you're sick of me." he smiled.

Veronica gave a soft laugh and pulled the blanket up to her chin as she watched him. He sat on the bed and continued to run his fingers through her hair until she finally fell back asleep.