"Mama?"

I looked to Hikaru who was still awake after the story while his sister was already deep into a dream.

"What's wrong?"

He heaves a heavy sigh, one no child should, "Why don't we have quirks like Papa and Memaw?"

Reaching down to him I lean in and kiss his forehead, "What brought this up?"

"Everyone in class is getting one, but not me."

"Hikari hasn't gotten one either." His red eyes look over at his sister.

"Neither did I." Eyes shoot up at me with shock and I ruffle his hair.

"But you're a hero!" He sits up with stars in his eyes.

"Isn't that so cool?"

He nods his little head in agreement before I tuck him back into bed. Kissing both their heads before I head to the door. "Mama?" His mouth opens as he yawns. "Did dad have a quirk?"

"Yes, now, let's get some sleep." I click off the light and the dim light left behind from the night lights were enough to make sure they don't bump anything in the dark on their way to the restroom or to crawl into bed with me. "Good night my love."

Walking into the kitchen I pick up the mail piling on the counter to finally sort everything.

Bills, junk, coupons, and finally an invitation.

Opening it, a smile forms as I put it up on the fridge beside pictures crayon drawings and family photos.

No one else believed him about her too and now they were getting married.

How time flies.

Reaching for my phone I frown as I can't find it.

"Where is it?"

8½ years ago

Eyes slowly open as I lay atop the mattress, the small throw pulled over me and the decorative pillow beneath my head.

"Ugh." I slowly sit up and look around the room before checking the time on the clock which read 5:37 AM.

With a yawn, I climb out of bed and hunt down my running clothes. In no time I was dressed and, in the kitchen, to find my phone since it wasn't in my room.

Not in my bag.

Not on the counter either.

Err, where is it?

I retrace my steps and think back to everywhere I had sat or even the last time I used it before laughing and picking up the house phone and calling it.

It rings for a moment before going to voicemail. I call it again and almost jump as the voice on the other end blows up in my ear.

"What?!" You could hear the grogginess and anger in his voice.

"Uh, Hiiiiiiiii," I say awkwardly before I clear my throat. "I, um, left my phone with you."

There is a moment a silence some shuffling before a yawn. "Oh, um," He clears his throat this time. "Where are you?"

I walk over to the front door and step into my running shoes. "Getting ready for a run," I say as I gather my slippers and return them to their cubby. "Sorry if I woke you, I couldn't find my phone." There seemed to be distant sounds for a moment, and I listen in trying to figure out more than the cursing. "Hello?"

Stomping causes me to pull the phone away from my face as it got louder. "Where are you running at?"

"Oh, um, usually I head to the park not far from my place."

"I'll meet you there, just give me the directions."

"Alright."

I tell him what he needs before hanging up and exchanging the phone for my keys so I could lock up.

The walk to the park was quiet since I didn't have my phone and I stretch as I wait for him to arrive. I look over at the loud bike as it pulls up to an open parking space and that fluffy hair appears as he removes his helmet.

I tilt my head as he saunters over. "Good morning, Bakugou."

Shocked ambers look at me. "Uh, Good morning, Yamazaki."

"Hey, I remember saying you could call me Souma."

"Yeah, but-"

"But what? You apologized last night so let bygones be bygones."

Unable to speak he ops instead to pull out my phone from his inside jacket pocket and hands it to me. I smile and slide it into the pocket on my leggings before zipping it up. I look back up at him and jump, startled by the apple and pack of gum he held out to me, his gaze off to the side. The flush seemed foreign, but it made him look so cute.

I accept them and turn the apple in my hand, a smirk forming. "Are you giving me an 'appleogy'?" I wiggle my brows at the terrible joke.

"Not if you're going to make that fucking lame attempt of a joke like that again."

"Come on," I nudge him with my elbow. "It was pretty funny."

"You have a terrible sense of humor," He looks down at me. "If I had known before, I wouldn't have passed you during that audition." A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

"No take backs!" I say as I start walking backward. "Wanna join me?" Brow perks up as I bounce on the balls of my feet. "Do ya? I'll race you." I dance back and forth before pivoting into a sprint.

The wind in my hair, the early morning sun on my skin, and Katsuki Bakugou running beside me.

Wait!

I look over and at him as he speeds up to pass me.

"What are you doing?!" I ask, shocked.

"Winning!"

The burn was real as I sit there on there on the bench trying to calm my breathing. That was the hardest I had ever run, and I still lost!

"You're not even in running clothes, how did you beat me in boots and jeans?!"

He looks calmly at me as he wipes the water from his lips, just as sweaty as I. "Crime doesn't wait for you to change your clothes." He drops onto the bench and throws his arms over the back in order to lean back over it. "Besides, I refuse to lose without a fight."

"You're such a dork." The giggled word brings a smile to my face and as I look at him, I find his cheeks were rosy. He looks away from me before rising and rubbing his palms on his jeans, brow suddenly furrow.

"Tsk. Whatever." He shoves his hands into his pocket before side glancing at me. "What's the prize?"

"Prize?"

"I won, obviously there is a prize for the winner."

I rise and stretch once more. "What did you want?"

"I don't fucking know," He huffs. "You should decide as the loser."

"Potty mouths don't deserve rewards." I smile as I walk past him.

"That's bull," he shouts before catching up to me. "Where are you going?"

"To grab breakfast, my treat after all."

"Just get on the damn bike!" He growls as I walk down the street.

"I told you no at the park," I stop and cross my arms. "Eating wasn't going to change my mind, B."

"Why are you being so difficult?!"

"Because I've never been on one!"

"You're afraid."

Eyes widen and I look away from him. "No, I'm not."

"You fight villains and face death on every day and a motorcycle ride has you shaking in your sneakers. Ha!"

I stomp over to him and hold out my hand, eyes burning with determination. "I am not afraid."

He smirks and radiates with triumph as he pulls out the spare helmet and hands it over. "Hop on."

Irritated by his cocky smirk I tug the helmet into place and after a very brief moment of steeling myself I toss my leg over and straddle the seat as I get into position. He lets me situate myself before I gently wrap my arms around him, just enough that I could touch my hands together and keep distance between us.

"Hold on tight." He shouts as he revs the engine and pulls into traffic. The jerk rips a squeal from my lungs as my hands search higher up my forearms for better grip as I close the distance and my eyes.

It took a moment on the drive, where a sweet scent tickles my nose and I open my eyes to find the pounding in my ears from my heart was nonexistent as I watch it all pass by. I liked the view safely tucked behind him as we pass the world by, the faint scent of caramelized sugar in the air.

We reach my place in no time and I found myself a tad disappointed that we were already back but as he taps my arms, I realize I was still holding tight.

I release him and bring my arms back to me before managing to find my feet planted on the solid ground once again.

"Thank you, Bakugou." I felt silly as I shift from one foot to the next.

"It's alright, see you around," He says after putting away the spare helmet. "Souma." He takes off and I just watch him go till the bike was no longer in sight.

"See you around." I smile and head into the apartment.

Keys missing the bowl, shoes left at the door and slippers forgotten in their cubby as I float to the shower. The warm water washes away everything as I hum to the happiness in my heart. Once out of the shower I get my phone from my pocket and toss the laundry in the basket before gliding into the kitchen.

I plug in the phone and it lights up showing a message on the screen. I click it and read over the words before dropping onto the couch and covering my face with my hands as I squeal into them.

*From Katsuki:

5:50 am: Supporting Characters should be able to reach me, so I gift you my contact information.

7:34 am: This morning was enjoyable, I look forward to winning again next time.

"He's such a dork," I peer at the ceiling between my fingers and exhale. "What am I going to do with you?"

And you would be surprised by how often he replied, and the sudden hours of messaging began. I felt like a teen with a crush at how excited I was to get a good morning message and invites out to hang with his friends. Mina was happy another girl was around all that testosterone and before I knew it, I had all of their contact information and even a part of group messages.

If I got caught out on my destress karaoke trips whoever was free came and joined in to really help leave the events of the day behind.

Morning runs with Bakugou.

Lunches with Mei and Mina.

Dinners now happening at other apartments, each of us becoming a part of each other's lives.

I learned a lot about Bakugou from his friends and how explosive he was around them, too.

But it would all have to go on hold as I got called on a mission out of town, they took my cell and to the world I just. . . disappeared.

Taking the mission on with the utmost focus I didn't find myself back in the city for a little over a month. It was exhausting and surprisingly lonely not being able to reach out to anyone.

I miss them.

Pulling my things from the locker I turn on my phone and wait for it to boot up. As I pull my boots on, I hear the intense buzz as my phone goes crazy with notifications flooding it.

Picking it up I look at all the messages and voicemails and I scroll through each one reading about their concerns and asking me to message them as soon as I could get the messages.

I head out and say goodnight to those coming in for their shifts. I pause and extend my hand out, cold droplets hit my hand hard. Opting to message them when I reached my place, I tuck my cell away and start my walk home in the rain.

But the walk became a jog and then running before I was sprinting through the city, boots pounding against the pavement. My feet carry me to the complex and I take the stair two at a time as I head up two flights and stop at the third door from the stairs.

Knuckles ache with each hit upon the door until it was yanked open.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He snaps and I can't help it as I tackle him to the ground. "Souma?!"

"Hi." I sit up and smile, water dripping from me to him.

"Why the hell are you soaking wet?" He looks past me before we scramble to our feet. "Who goes running in the rain?"

"Happy people," I shrug and rub my arms in hopes it'll warm me up. "And sad people, can I come in?"

"I'll get you a towel," He says before looking at me again. "Actually I'll just get you some spare clothes."

I follow him in and change in his bathroom before tossing everything in the wash. I step out to look for him and find him in the kitchen making something hot to drink. I take a seat on the couch as he walks over and hands me a cup before taking a seat.

"Thank you." It warms my hands and I gently blow on it before taking a nice long drink. The warmth fills me and I set the cup aside as I readjust to face him comfortably. He was asleep before I got here, his clothes told me as much as the faint red around his eyes.

"You gonna sit there staring or are you going to tell me where you've been and why you damn near beat my door off its hinges?" His words sound harsh, but his eyes speak volumes. "You just left."

"Well," I tell him it was a mission and that I was restricted to carrying anything personal but that the mission itself was confidential. The night wore on as we converse, and I knew he was tired when I wander back after switching the laundry over to the dryer and found his asleep.

I wander over and coerce him to get up as I gently push his groggy butt to his room. Upon reaching his bed I pat his back, "Now go to sleep, I'll let myself out after I change." I turn and head to the door.

Suddenly I gag as the collar of the shirt chokes me and it drags me backward making me land on the bed along with him. I shoot him a glare as I tug the collar back down.

"What the heck, Bakugou?!" I try propping myself up before a pillow hits me in the face.

"Keep talking."

"About what?"

"Anything, I don't care."

So, I spoke of a something I had seen while my short time as at the agency of the amount of missing people across the city in the short time I had been full time at the agency. I had been taking notes on it and looking into off official hero hours since being assigned to filing the old cases.

I look to him and his breathing is finally even. "Hey, are you still awake?" Silence met my question so, I reach up and gently poke his nose, yet he remains at rest. "I think, perhaps, I want to be more than friends." I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. "Yeah, I would like to be one of Bakugou's best friends."

Looking over at him one last time amber eyes look upon me in a wide-eyed gaze before he closes them again.

"Who said we weren't?" He grumbles before returning to silence.

I felt the smile before the heaviness of my eyelids or the yawn that drags me into the cool arms of sleep. A phantom of a caress unable to stir me from the deep slumber that found me was accompanied by faint words that felt like I was already dreaming.

"Sometimes I wish you would call me Katsuki."

The jingle sounds from the front door and I walk over to find it in my coat pocket. Returning the house phone to the base I plug in my cell and head to my room. I step out of the slippers and sink down beside my bed.

Hesitantly I pull the bottom drawer out and grab the lockbox from beneath the nightstand. I pull the necklace up and over the collar of the black oversized shirt I wore and unlock the box with the key at the end of the chain.

Inside were my most precious things: photos, gifts, but mostly they were memories.

Tears threaten to fall as I rise and walk back into the kitchen, photo in hand.

I pick my cell and block my number as I call.

"Hello?"

"…" My heart was in my throat and the words didn't form. Say something! Anything!

"If you're not going to fucking say anything don't call me at this goddamn hour!"

"I'm sorry," My voice was too soft and words too late as the sound of the line going dead reaches me. "Katsuki."