Notes: So this fic was actually on hiatus for over a year, but I updated it again so yay! I'm gonna finish this!

When Kaminari swiveled around in his chair to face her, the glow of his many computer screens plunging his face in shadow made his abrupt comment, "You know, you kinda look like the female victims," a lot worse than it was. Uraraka startled in her seat, sitting upright and blinking at him, not sure how to take it. All of the female victims had been attractive young women, but they were also all dead. Being compared to them was not exactly a compliment.

"Uh, thanks?" Uraraka replied.

Kaminari jumped in his seat. "Oh, I didn't mean-" He spun back so fast that he nearly went all the way around, but his feet caught onto the legs of his desk and kept him facing his computer screens. With a few clicks of his computer and mouse, he was able to bring up the pictures of only the women. "You have some physical similarities, is all. Different species, ages, and class - but, you know, some similar looks."

Medium-length brown hair, big brown eyes, various shades of lighter skin, bright smiles, relatively short, medium build. He wasn't wrong. They were all different and some of them she could tell right off the bat were different types of magical creatures and beings, but in a way, they did look very similar.

And she did look like them.

"Huh," Uraraka said, staring at the pictures, "I didn't notice that before."

"Well, Midoriya brought up their physical similarities before when we were trying to figure out a pattern," Kaminari continued. He brought up the rest of the photos of the other victims, using their IDs instead of the pictures taken of them at the crime scenes. "But then they were like super spread out and there were other gendered victims as well that had different looks, so I didn't think much of it until now."

"Kind of weird," Uraraka said thoughtfully.

Kaminari nodded. "Super weird." He clicked away from the photos and look back at her. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I don't think they're targeting me," Uraraka told him.

"They burned down your entire apartment building and killed someone in the place you were staying," Kaminari pointed out, both anxiety and disbelief in his voice. Despite his tendencies to let his mouth do the talking before he thought things over and his poor taste in jokes, he was a caring person. His seemingly never-ending amount of energy made him appear quite immature, but he was excellent at his job with computers and any sort of tech. In the end, all that energy came in handy, but it did work against him sometimes, like with his anxiety.

"Well, I don't think they're going after me in that way," Uraraka corrected. He hadn't exactly been wrong. They were targeting her, just not for these reasons. The murders had started before she'd become a fixture on the force. "Even if they are, they've got about twenty-eight days before the next murder."

Shrugging his shoulders, Kaminari said, "I'm just saying: if a guy dates girls that look alike, people would say he has a type." He gave her a pointed look. "You look like their type."

Uraraka rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the cheerful observation."

Kaminari's smiles were almost always happy, but this one had a more sheepish angle to it. "Sorry."

She waved a hand at him. "It's an interesting if not somewhat disturbing revelation, but certainly not the worse one I've had this week."

The gears switched in Kaminari's head as he made a move to change to subject to something lighter. He blinked behind the vizor he wore to connect himself completely to his computer even if he was away. "Any good revelations? Specifically any concerning a certain werewolf?"

"And I think I'm done here," Uraraka stated as she bounced to her feet.

"Aw, c'mon, we need a little joy in our lives after all of this," Kaminari complained, although it was half-hearted.

Uraraka pointed a finger at him. "You just like to gossip."

"I do not." Kaminari sat back in his seat, placing a hand against his heart and giving her a mock-offended look. He knew she was right. He was absolutely a compassionate and kind person, but he also liked to be in everyone's business too. Maybe it had to do with the fact that part of his job involved digging into the personal lives of suspects, criminals, and victims. He didn't need to be in her business too.

"Mmhm," Uraraka replied, not a hint of belief in her voice. "Then who was the one that started the rumor about Deku and Todoroki?"

"I didn't mean for it to spiral!" Kaminari exclaimed, this time sounding genuinely distraught.

"Of course you didn't - but it still did."

Kaminari hadn't meant for that to happen and he had apologized profusely. He'd only wanted to point out that the two of them were close and there was a spark between them. He liked to say he could see things like that. (He could not.) It had embarrassed the hell out of Deku, seeing as how Todoroki was close to being engaged, although she wasn't sure if the rumor had ever reached Todoroki or not. He seemed either oblivious or undeterred by such things.

Ever since he had seen Uraraka and Bakugou together, he'd gotten it into his head that there was something going on and he wouldn't let it go. He knew better than to bring it up to her a lot, but every now and then, he couldn't help himself. He was endlessly curious. While he had apologized about the Deku and Todoroki mix-up, Kaminari was quite insistent about her and Bakugou. Something about the two of them belonging together. Somewhere not-so deep down, he was quite the romantic.

His view of Bakugou was entirely wrong though. There was no way he was that interested in her. Everything that had happened between them recently was due to the full moon. That was what he'd told her at any rate right before that night and he hadn't said anything to the contrary since. In fact, ever since the morning after the full moon and his interrogation, he had kept his distance from her. She hadn't noticed it until they met Todoroki at the bar to discuss the case, but he had barely looked at her and muttered a goodbye before leaving with Kirishima.

Deku told her Bakugou wasn't mad or upset with her. The events on the full moon had shaken him up and he needed some time to figure things out. He was embarrassed.

That was a laughable thought. Uraraka couldn't ever remember seeing Bakugou embarrassed. Even when she had walked in on him coming out of the shower, he hadn't been phased when she had been a sputtering mess. She could see him being angry with her, but not that. He was probably sorting out whether or not she was worth his time, especially with her magic being more involved. He had not been comfortable with all that talk of magic at the bar the other day.

She was starting to realize that they really did have two completely different lives. Maybe they were never fully be able to cross. It was a sad thought.

"Thanks for letting me hide down here," Uraraka said as she gathered her things.

Kaminari saluted her. "Any time. There's always a safe space for you here."

"That means no talk of Bakugou," Uraraka told him.

A mischievous grin twitched onto Kaminari's face. "You do know you not allowing talk of Bakugou definitely means that there's something to talk about, right?"

Uraraka was not going to respond to that. If she did, it would only mean he'd managed to get a rise out of her. It was unfortunate that her lack of a response also seemed to help him come to the same conclusion.

Making her way through the station, Uraraka did her best to avoid everyone. A lot of uncomfortable and judgemental looks were thrown her way as she walked through the hallways. IA had yet to decide if she and Deku would keep the case. In the meantime, a lot of people were coming up with their own conclusions on the matter. It didn't help that neither one of them were the most well-liked people in the department, although Deku was friendly with everyone even if they didn't like him. As a witch and transfer, she was still considered something of an outsider.

Maybe they would never fully trust her, but the prejudices against magic still frustrated her. How could people hate something they didn't even understand?

(Her thoughts turned to the decay spells being used at the murder scenes. She couldn't understand that. Why would anyone use such magic? It should never have been created in the first place. Magic like that was what turned people away from it in the first place.)

She could hear the whispers about her as she walked through the station. It wasn't just about her being a witch or a magic user that condemned her now. She knew what they said about Bakugou. She even knew what they said about Deku now. It was hard not to snap at them in return, but she bit her lip and kept her mouth shut. She wasn't going to fall to their level.

Unlike many of her colleagues, she could hold her head high. She hadn't been the one to let horrible prejudices color her behavior and the way she did her job. Yes, she'd gone far out of her way to protect Bakugou, but it had only been because those two cops had nearly gotten him killed simply because of false assumptions and their refusal to do their jobs properly. Officer Shinso had at least apologized, but she caught eyes with Officer Monoma in the bullpen and met his condescending smirk with a heated glare.

In the lobby, Uraraka took the entry port that would take her to the closest location near Deku's apartment. As nice as it would have been to stay with Tsu, the logical answer had been Deku since they were both working on this case. After what had happened to Sero and Bakugou, Uraraka could not stand the idea of dragging any other innocent civilians into this mess, even if the latter would've been insulted by being referred as one. At least with Deku, he was already very much involved and was already potentially a target, even if so far she had been the only one focused on.

If anyone knew she was walking around late at night by herself, they'd probably berate her, but Uraraka needed this brief walk to give her clarity. Her mind was so muddled with everything that had happened in the past few days that it was making it difficult for her to think straight. Sero's death, the mob, Bakugou's transformation, his subsequent arrest, the realization that there were multiple killers, the decay spell… She couldn't focus on anything.

It was more than that though. She felt as if the ground had shifted underneath her, particularly when it came to Bakugou, but she was alone in it. After what they'd gone through together, she had felt as if they were closer, especially the morning after, but now he was distant with her and she didn't know where they were. She'd known this would change things between them. She should've anticipated this being the outcome.

Not surprisingly, Deku's apartment wasn't as nice as Bakugou's. Maybe it would've shocked others, considering Deku was an elf and Bakugou was a werewolf, but a cop's salary wasn't exactly glamorous. Whatever Bakugou did clearly paid well. Deku's place was still nicer than Uraraka's, but then he did get paid more since he was the senior officer in their department. She didn't think it would be long before he was able to take the Sergeant's exam - unless this case put a black mark on his record. An IA investigation could harm his career even if he was found totally innocent of insubordination or misbehavior.

There was more of a hominess to Deku's place than Bakugou's, reminding her more of her own. Here, there were hints of magic, at least in a lot of the items he possessed, whereas Bakugou owned more practical, modern things. Instead of old-timey magic stuff like she'd once owned, Deku's was a mixture of modern magic. They were more like magical gadgets than artifacts. It was whimsical in its own way and entirely him. He liked odd stuff. It was comforting in a strange way.

Uraraka was in the middle of fixing up the tiny spare bedroom which also served as an office when she heard the front door open. She called out, "Deku?" but when she didn't get a response right away, she tensed up. Immediately she slipped her wand out of its place in her long sleeve shirt into the palm and stepped out of the bedroom aiming in the direction of the door.

Only to catch Bakugou freezing on the spot, his brow furrowed when he caught sight of the wand pointed at him.

"Oh, it's you." She dropped her hand and slid her wand back in its place.

"How do you know I'm not someone else under a glamor spell?" Bakugou asked.

Uraraka pointed at the rug he was currently standing on. "Because the rune under there would've taken care of it."

Bakugou lifted a foot and glared down at the rug as if it had personally offended him and then stepped off of it completely. She rolled her eyes. It wasn't like the rug was going to catch fire, but he didn't seem to want anything to do with that area of the apartment now that he knew what was there. Unfortunately for him, everywhere he looked was a bit of disguised magic. At least at her place he'd known what was magic and what wasn't. At Deku's place, it would be impossible to find out if the coffee machine was charmed until he went to make coffee.

There was something magical about that, but she knew Bakugou would hate it even more. He didn't like it when people hid their use of magic. It made them suspicious, in his opinion.

When it came to this murder case, he wasn't wrong to believe that.

"What are you doing here?" Uraraka asked as she walked back into the guest bedroom.

"Deku called saying he and Todoroki were going to be at the Magisterium for longer than he anticipated," Bakugou explained. He followed her further into the apartment, leaning against the threshold of the bedroom and watching her fix the bed to her liking sans-magic.

Uraraka frowned. Deku had spending a lot of time at the Magisterium ever since they'd become aware of an elf's involvement in the murders. Elves had a special hierarchy that she didn't really understand and Deku had a difficult time explaining. Part of it had to do with the fact that they ran much of the country and this city especially. Being the General Attorney, Todoroki's father was an important member as well and something of an outlier since he held a powerful position normally held by an elf.

She knew he didn't like being there whereas Todoroki was used to it thanks to his job. Still, a part of Uraraka wondered how Deku truly felt about that place. It was where he should be - where he would have been had he not chosen to become a cop. She wondered if he missed it or if it was possible for him to do so since he had always been something of an outsider there.

Things were tense there, a power keg equipped to blow with these murders, which could potentially be made any worse if word got out about the possibility of a dragon being involved as well. What a mess indeed.

"Still doesn't explain why you're here," Uraraka continued without looking back at him.

Bakugou made a noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a huff. "He didn't want you to be alone. He called Iida, but he's working the OR tonight, so it looks like you're stuck with me."

Something in his tone made Uraraka still. It wasn't that he was dismissive. He didn't even sound irritated. It was almost like he sounded...wary. That didn't make much sense. With the full moon behind him and the next one weeks away, he was back to normal. There was nothing to mess with his head concerning her. She knew now why he kept his distance from her during that time. It confused a lot of things for him. She hadn't been aware of that and, now that she was, she felt a little ashamed of her behavior. She should've considered what the moon did to him.

The night before the full moon came to mind. That moment when he'd pinned her against the wall in the rain and he'd touched her. Even through her clothes and the rain, his touch had been hot and his gaze even hotter. She had almost lost herself in that and the full moon didn't even effect her like that. How foolish could she be?

"Uraraka-"

"I'm actually quite tired," she interrupted.

Bakugou went quiet. Uraraka swallowed a lump in her throat and turned around to face him, forcing a soft and pleasant expression on her face. She wasn't angry with him. A little confused, maybe a bit upset, but mostly, as she'd said, tired. Being on leave while IA looked over their case had given her the time to mourn Sero and it left her feeling more anxious than anything else since she couldn't actively investigate the case. With each second that passed during their investigation, the colder the case got on his murder.

It was a vicious cycle, but a process she had to deal with if she wanted to get it back. In the meantime, she and Deku could do their own investigating on the side, but they had to be careful so no one found out. It put them in a prickly position. If they did come up with a lead, they wouldn't be able to fully investigate it. Kaminari had offered to help out, hence her visit to his office today, but he could only do so much without their captain or IA finding out.

"Got it," Bakugou said flatly. "I'll be out here if-"

He didn't finish the sentence, but she knew what he was saying. If you need me.

Uraraka wasn't sure what she needed. Hell, she wasn't sure what she wanted beyond the obvious. Maybe the full moon had messed with her head after all.

"Thanks," Uraraka replied. She watched him roll away from his spot in the doorway, shutting the door behind him like he'd known she wanted her space from him.

It wasn't too late in the evening, but she knew better than to wait up for Deku. Chances were if he was still at the Magisterium now he'd be there all night. She knew they had been trying to pressure him into taking a position there, but so far he hadn't even considered it. If they were taken off his case and potentially demoted, would he feel the same way? As much as she loved being a detective in her own right, she couldn't imagine working without him. Deku had become such an integral part of her life.

Everyone she had met and become close with since moving to the city had become important to her - including Bakugou. She'd known that, but it hadn't been until the other night that she'd realized how much.

After changing into the pair of pajamas she'd been allowed to take from Bakugou's apartment-turned-crime-scene, Uraraka doused the light and climbed into the bed. It was a little worn from use, probably bought second hand, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It just...wasn't her bed. She missed her apartment. She missed the smell of potions, herbs, and incense that permeated the air. The sounds of artifacts tinkering around the apartment, papers fluttering around the rooms, and a potion bubbling in her worn out but favorite cauldron. The soft glow from various objects in the room. She even missed the cluttered feeling of her small place.

She wanted to go home - to hide and lock herself away from the world - but it was gone. Whoever had killed those people - had killed Sero - had taken it away from her as well. She didn't have a sanctuary anymore. She was left exposed, open to the public and her department to eviscerate, and she hated.

Even worse, somehow, it made her feel alone. She knew she wasn't. She had Deku, her partner, giving her a place to rest her head. She had Tsu, her best friend, who always helped her clear her mind. She had Kirishima, who was more than willing to fight anyone for her head on, even if she didn't need him to do so. She had Iida, who had stitched her up more than a few times when she was too exhausted for a healing spell and always knew how to encourage her. She even had Todoroki, who, while he didn't always act like it, very much had her back and had metaphorically burned people for trying to discredit her because of who and what she was.

And she had Bakugou, who was sitting on the couch in the living room mindlessly watching a movie from what she could hear. Who had invited her into his own place the second he'd realized she was in danger and had been targeted as a consequence - and yet he was still here to help watch over her. Bakugou, who, even when he'd been transformed into a full on werewolf and could've mauled her, had stepped aside and let her chain him up again. He had protected her and she had protected him. Where would they be if they didn't feel compelled to do that?

Uraraka curled in on herself in bed, hugging a limp pillow against her chest. It wasn't enough to know that he was out there. It wasn't enough to know that he was safe and with her. He wasn't actually with her. Would he come in here if she asked him? Would he sit down at the edge of the bed and let her vent? Would he hold her face in his calloused hands until she was able to control her breathing and calm down?

Did he even want to be here or had he come out of a sense of duty? Out of guilt over what he'd almost done? He hadn't done anything though. Her shoulder might hurt from the claw marks, but he hadn't hurt her like he thought he would and she didn't believe for a second that he ever would. Him pushing her away hurt more than anything.

Somehow, Uraraka found herself sitting on the edge of the bed, the comforter tossed to the side. The hardwood floor was cold under her bare feet, but she didn't think about that, not when her heart was racing. She should just lie back down. She should ignore whatever she was feeling - except she couldn't. Lying in her alone with him out there was tearing her apart. He wasn't her bodyguard, just as she wasn't his, but they'd been dancing around acting like it for the past week. Either he felt the change between them or he didn't, but it had to be settled one way or another.

He was too important for her to simply ignore, especially with the loss she felt so sharply.

Standing up, Uraraka made her way to the door. She hesitated, if only for a moment, and then grabbed it, twisted the knob and opened the door. It creaked faintly, but Bakugou's ears were too sharp to miss even the slightest of sounds. Hell, he'd probably heard her get out of bed, but had pretended not to in order to give her a sense of privacy. Just as she'd thought, he was sitting on the couch in the dark, watching an action movie, the glow of the television washing out any color on him.

"Bakugou?" she called out faintly from the doorway. He didn't respond or move from where he was looking, but his ears twitched, letting her know he'd heard her. Uraraka closed her eyes. He wasn't going to do anything unless she said something more. Stubborn ass. He needed her to spell it out to him, probably because of what had happened in the rain. There had been far too much miscommunication between them.

No matter what she did though, she couldn't get the words to come out.

Sensing her struggle, Bakugou breathed out a single, "Yeah?"

"I…" Uraraka opened her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip. Was she really doing this? Was she really asking this of him? What if he said no? What if he said yes (or didn't say anything at all) but did without wanting to? She should just go back to bed. She should just curl up around that pillow and get over herself. She'd never felt this untethered before. Without a home to go home to, she felt adrift, especially after everything that had occurred. "I can't sleep."

"Tch," Bakugou scoffed. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

Uraraka hardened her resolve. "Can you not be an ass right now? I need you."

A shaky breath worked its way out of Bakugou's mouth and Uraraka's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah."

He picked up the remote and turned off the television, drowning them in darkness. She could barely see his shadowy form as he stood up from the couch, but she had no doubt that he could see her. Even without it being close to the next full moon, his night vision was a lot better than hers. She could somewhat see and hear him moving throughout the room, but when his hand touched her arm, she still jumped.

Uraraka tensed up underneath his touch. "Sorry, I-"

"Relax," he told her, which almost made her laugh. Him telling her to relax? What was the world coming to?

She didn't fight him though, turning to walk back to the bed. She crawled back into it first and then waited, listening to him take his shoes off and then walk around to the other side of the bed so he could lay down behind her. The more hesitant part of her told her to lie still and let him figure out what he wanted to do, but her nerves were beyond shot and she was entirely too frustrated with everything to just sit there. She'd tried that approach earlier while he was out in the living room.

It hadn't worked.

The moment he was under the blankets, before he was settled, Uraraka rolled over so that she was facing him and grasped the front of his shirt. He hissed in a breath, but he didn't push her away. His body was so warm, but it wasn't the feverish temperature she recalled from right before the full moon. He was just warm in a comforting way. She took in the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, the quick beat of his heart under his skin that told her he was alive. She closed her eyes again and swallowed.

Bakugou was here. He was safe. He was alive. Was he happy? No, he couldn't be. Was he angry? Very much so. But he was here and that was all she cared about. Silently, as much as she adored Iida, she was glad it was Bakugou here with her tonight. It might not have been the best idea, but it was what she wanted, even if she was unsure if he wanted the same.

Slowly, Bakugou snaked around her, first on her hip and then sliding around to the small of her back to pull her flush against his chest. She let him do it. She wanted him to do it. He kept his hand there, holding her in place as she nuzzled her face into him. Even though she was pressed up against him, closer than she'd ever been before, and his smell was almost intoxicating, she didn't make a move to do more and he didn't either. It was hard to get a read on him with his hackles and guard raised so much. Instead she forced herself to take a deep breath and relax in his hold.

She could sleep like this.

"Uraraka?"

She opened her eyes, even though she was only staring at his chest. "Mm?"

"I haven't been afraid of myself in a long time," Bakugou said, his words startling her. "I know I'm…" He shifted in an uncomfortable manner. "I know I'm dangerous - explosive at best - but I'm...a real piece of work. I let myself forget it because I've been careful not to put myself in the position to truly hurt someone. I shouldn't have done that, least of all with you." He chuckled lowly, mirthlessly, the feeling reverberating in her chest against his. "I don't even need for it to be the full moon to lose my mind around you. I should've known better."

Feeling a little confused, Uraraka pulled her head away from his chest. "What are you talking about?"

"I blamed it on the full moon," Bakugou continued. "I thought it had to be messing with me. Every time I came back to my apartment and your scent was everywhere just messing with me…" He balled her shirt around the small of her back into his fist. "And you know it wasn't until I was a fucking monster that I realized it was just… It was just you. It had nothing to do with the full moon. It had nothing to do with me being a werewolf and my hormones and mind all out of whack. It was you - this difficult, cheerful, intuitive, annoying ass witch."

Uraraka scoffed and shoved him away. "Well, that's nice of you."

Bakugou pulled her in closer though and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, causing her to still as blood rushed to her face. Oh, that felt nice. "I should've killed you, Uraraka. You do realize that, right? At the least, I should've turned you. I can't control myself in that state - or at least I thought." His breath was hot against her neck as he spoke in a low growl, but it made her want to shiver. "The last person to see me in that state was Deku. You should ask him about it some time. He doesn't talk about it out of fucking politeness, but I almost killed him. We were kids and I almost killed him. There's a reason why I was brought in for Sero's murder without any doubt."

Again, there was something about his tone that made Uraraka's heart seize and she tightened her grip on the front of his shirt. "That's not you. I knew you wouldn't hurt me. I trust you, Bakugou. So why don't you trust yourself a little?"

"I should've killed you," Bakugou stressed.

Uraraka let go of his shirt so she could place it on his face. It was a little scruffy, the shadow of a beard scraping across her palm. Normally he kept himself clean-shaven, but the past few days had distracted him on top of not being able to go home. As far as she knew, he'd stayed at Kirishima's the night before.

"But you didn't," Uraraka said.

And he laughed quietly, caustically. "But I didn't."

With her hand on the side of his face, Uraraka swiped her thumb over his cheek, touching the corner of his lips. They were chapped. She didn't much care. Inching her way upward, she pressed her lips against his, doing exactly as she'd wanted to do when he had pressed her up against the wall of the alley. At first he stiffened, as if unsure this was what he wanted to do, but before she could pull away and apologize for overstepping her boundaries, he pressed her even closer to him and deepened the kiss.

The second his mouth began to work against hers, she melted in his grasp. This. This was what she had wanted. She didn't care about anything else in this moment. She didn't think about the case, about what she'd lost, about anything they had gone through. The only thing on her mind was Bakugou and how much she wanted him - perhaps how much she had wanted him for a long time.

My god, Kaminari had been right all along for once.

They kissed for an undetermined amount of times, lips smacking and working against each other. Bakugou's hand found its way under her shirt, caressing the skin along her back, while her hand found its way into his hair to tug on it and her other still grasped his shirt. She gasped when Bakugou moved to roll on top of her, pressing his hips down against hers. He groaned, low and wanting, almost animalistic, as he ground against her, his desire terribly obvious.

"Are you sure you want this?" Bakugou asked before he began to nibble on her ear.

Uraraka moaned as she arched underneath him desperately. "Yes, Katsuki-"

"Shit-"

And, of course, this was when the front door opened and Deku called out, "Kacchan? Uraraka?"

The two of them froze as the door shut and Deku walked into the apartment. Bakugou seemed very unwilling to move from over top of her, especially when he settled the weight of his hips against hers like he was trying to convince her to lie. She caught eyes with him, alarmed and pointed. He raised a challenging eyebrow. He really wanted her to lie and act like she was alone so they could keep doing this! However, the moment Deku showed up, she was suddenly reminded of the fact that they were in his guest bedroom.

She was at least beyond thinking that she was simply emotional and reacting irrationally. No, she wanted to do this with Bakugou, but it was the wrong time. It wasn't because because Deku had abruptly come home, but because they were both reacting out of pain. Bakugou meant more to her than just a coping mechanism. Beyond him being a friend, he meant something greater and she would not waste this moment out of anxiety and loneliness.

It was hard to explain, but witches held intimacy as one of the most sacred things of life. She would die of laughter before she admitted to practicing sex magic, but there was an undeniable release of energy when it came to intimate acts and, with the amount of magic she felt like she had balled inside of her, it could be dangerous - or absolutely incredible. She could potentially be stronger than ever before.

She was not about to tell Bakugou that. He might never want to touch her again if he knew how much magic was involved in a witch being intimate with someone. She couldn't help it though. Yes, she could stop casting spells, brewing potions, or charming objects - but magic would always be a part of her and in her blood.

Shoving Bakugou off of her, Uraraka crawled out of bed and stumbled to the door before Deku could open it to check on her. She ripped it open, right as he'd been reaching for it. "Sorry, I was in the middle of falling asleep."

The living room light was on, making it easy for her to see Deku slap himself in the face. "Oh man, I should've thought of that. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," Uraraka replied. She caught scent of something and took a deep, long sniff. She might not have Bakugou's nose, but she had a decent sense of smell. "Is that what I think it is?"

Deku held up the take out bag. "An apology for being late? You're damn right."

Uraraka lit up. "You're the best, partner."

Despite the fact that she'd been interrupted in the middle of something that had felt amazing, her stomach suddenly had a different idea than her brain and heart. Leave it to another organ to have a different idea. As Deku moved to place the bag on the counter and pull out the containers to set on the table, she glanced back at Bakugou, who flopped in aggravation on the bed. He was not so happy about the interruption. She didn't know what to tell him. Either he could walk out and they could admit without saying words that they'd been in the middle of something or they could lie to Deku about everything.

In the end, Bakugou sat up and waved her on, giving Uraraka permission to step out of the guest bedroom and into the dining room area which was more like a corner of the living room. "Mm, smells good."

"I needed this too," Deku admitted as he finished setting out all the food. He perked up. "Where's Bakugou?"

Before Uraraka could play it off or distract him, Bakugou answered, "Right here, dipshit," and Uraraka jerked her head around to watch him step out of the bathroom. The toilet was even flushing. Somehow, in a matter of seconds, he'd managed to slip out of the bedroom behind her and into the bathroom to make his entrance. She hadn't even heard him and apparently Deku hadn't either from the way he went right back to finding silverware. She caught eyes with Bakugou as he sat down next to her, a tiny smirk on his face that made her frown.

And to think she'd been making out with him minutes ago.

"What do you want to drink? I've got water, juice, wine, Kirishima's beer - although I wouldn't suggest that."

"Water is fine," Uraraka piped up.

"Give me a beer," Bakugou said right after her. She gave him a look. He adjusted uncomfortably in his seat. Ah. Well, yes, he might need one of Kirishima's potent drinks then.

Deku was more than happy to accomodate them, energetically pouring waters for the two of them and grabbing a beer for Bakugou. It made Uraraka suspicious. Deku was an energetic person by nature, although not to Kaminari's level, but when he was this bubbly, it usually meant he was hiding something that made him feel anxious. When he sat down at gave her a grin, she only felt it more. No wonder Bakugou had been able to slip into the bathroom undetected when usually Deku missed nothing. He was distracted by something.

"Just tell me," Uraraka cut in, killing the mood.

Deku's grin faltered. "It's not… Well, it's a lead, but it's not good news."

Uraraka set her chopsticks down. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Todoroki brought up his suspicions to Aizawa and his father," Deku told her. She nodded her head. Yes, she already knew that. He had said he would do as much and Todoroki was a man of his word. "He...found out that his oldest brother hasn't been in the hospital as records suggested he was."

The blood in Uraraka's veins went cold. "What do you mean? Hospital? His brother?"

"Todoroki's father refused to talk about it in detail with me there," Deku said slowly, "but it appears as if Todoroki's oldest brother was gifted in magic as well, but…" He frowned. "But he had a severe accident regarding magic and his own abilities as a dragon. They had to hospitalize him, but the records end two years ago."

Uraraka paled. "The fires..."

"A dragon," Deku said.

"An elf," Bakugou added.

Deku nodded solemnly. "Who else though? There's still the illusion spells."

"The girl that accosted me and was obsessed with us," Uraraka piped up. She bit the nail of her thumb. So far, she hadn't been able to shake the face of the young woman that had popped up on her a few days ago. She'd been so vivid and pushy. They hadn't been able to find anything on her, but she couldn't get rid of the idea that the crazed fan was involved. "You know what creatures are good at illusion spells but no one considers them?"

"Oh." Deku threw out his hands. "Vampires."

Uraraka pointed a chopstick at him. "I told you she reminded me of one."

"No one ever thinks of them when it comes to magic," Deku pointed out. "They don't use it very often."

"Only to be creepy," Bakugou added before taking a bite of the food and swallowing.

"An elf, dragon, and vampire walk into a bar…." Uraraka murmured.

"And conspire to commit murders once a month," Bakugou finished dryly. He aggressively jabbed at another piece of meat. "A fun case you've got going on there."

Uraraka and Deku connected eyes. Bakugou couldn't be more right. As unsettled as she felt and probably looked, the moment Bakugou rested a hand on her thigh underneath the table out of Deku's sight, she relaxed. They would solve this. They would fix this. She had to believe they could. With a little luck, a bit of magic, some help, and a lot of hard work, they would get to the bottom of this. These were baby steps, but they were about to make leaps. She could feel it in the air.