Yaoyorozu, Ashido, Asui, and Uraraku were standing at Bashira's doorstep.
"Sorry that we're surprising you like this," Ururaka started, playing with the straps of an over-the-shoulder bag she was wearing, "but some of us got to talking. We know Todoroki is on leave this weekend and we hadn't seen you around anywhere, so we just wanted to check in."
Bashira, really and thoroughly, didn't know how to react. For what was probably an awkward amount of time she merely stood inside the threshold and stared at her guests.
Ashido, either ignoring of not noticing the tension, raised an energetic fist into the air. "Yeah! Plus, we've been super curious about this special living arrangement you guys swindled out of the school. It must be so cool to basically have your own whole house on campus, right?"
Bashira still couldn't bring herself to respond, so Yaoyorozu used the lapse to step forward.
"Excuse us for intruding," the class rep said with a brief bow, "but as Uraraka said, we've all been interested in getting to know you and especially wanted to make sure that you were okay today."
Bashira was only twice as dumbfounded. Why would they be worried about her? And worried enough to come over without warning? It wasn't like she would be in any serious trouble.
Before she even knew what she was doing, Bashira's lips were twisting up into a customer service type of smile. As soon as she felt the movement on her face she instinctively came up with a monologue, on the fly.
"That's outrageously generous of you," Bashira said. "I've been fine but definitely taking my own kind of vacation. The house is pretty much a mess right now so it might not be the best thing to walk into."
"Don't worry," Ashido proclaimed with a wink. "We're all single gals. We won't judge you on this one visit."
Bashira's smile thinned, but she didn't have much of a choice but to step aside and let the other girls in.
Ashido and Asui swept past Bashira without much hesitation, but Uraraka made sure to give Bashira a too-deep bow. Yaoyorozu stilled just inside of the threshold, waiting for Bashira to close the door.
"You really don't need to be self-conscious," the ebony-haired lady said. "We all realize this is a new arrangement for you two. It's understandable that you're still settling in and weren't expecting any company."
Bashira took two seconds to examine Yaoyorozu. She got the same vibe as the last time she'd tried to label the girl: Yaoyorozu was genuinely kind and selfless – somewhat annoyingly so. If you didn't bother to really look into Yaoyorozu's eyes it'd be easy to assume she only spoke condescendingly out of trained manners, but the young herione was honestly as innocent as a kitten.
Despite being built like a shounen model.
It was around that moment when Bashira re-realized that she was wearing pajama bottoms she'd owned since middle school and a ragged tank she'd gotten from some festival for free. The Hero Course girls were all dressed casually themselves but they at least looked like they had a life and purpose to get dressed for that day.
"You guys can look around if you want," Bashira found herself saying. "If you don't mind fending for yourselves for a few, I'm gonna go get myself cleaned up."
Bashira sent the girls a weird grimace (she'd been trying to grin but could feel how gawky it'd been) and didn't even wait for them to agree before she shuffled off towards the bedroom. It was a small enough place – the girls couldn't get into too much trouble without her anyway.
Of course her favorite leggings were dirty. Bashira threw on a pair of jeans instead. (Or, rather, she sucked herself into them. They used to be her most comfortable pair so how had they gotten more snug when she hadn't been eating as much as usual?). She swiped on some deodorant, slipped on a bra, and pulled a flowy top over her head. Bashira only briefly swept her hair up into a messy bun and skipped a trip to the bathroom all together. Brushing her teeth would have to wait. She'd just have to try not to stand too close to anyone or breathe directly towards them.
By the time Bashira made it to the living room, where she heard voices, Ashido and Asui were examining every piece of furniture and trinket in the room. Uraraka was perched at the end of a chair, her attention transfixed on the TV. Yaoyorozu hovered to the side, obviously out-of-place.
"So," Bashira started, announcing her return but not quite sure what to say, "what do you think?"
There was a deliberate pause.
"You watch Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip too, Kobayashi?" Uraraka asked, her eyes bright. "My parents and I used to watch Don Kanonji-San together all the time. They'd sometimes try to creep me out by pretending to be ghosts."
'That sounds cruel,' Bashira thought. 'And that's all she has to say?'
"Honestly the vibe in here isn't very surprising, given Todoroki's taste," Asui put forth. "He's a simplistic kind of guy. But I'm curious as to why there aren't more personal touches from you, Kobayashi. Do you like this kind of traditional style too?"
Bashira blinked, a little stunned by Asui's bluntness, before shrugging. "It doesn't bother me," was the best thing she could say. "I guess I don't have a loud decorative voice either."
"Well, if you ask me, you two could definitely use some excitement around here," Ashido proclaimed. "Some more color, or at least a few cool art pieces or something. This doesn't look like the home of two hip teenagers."
"I think it's lovely, Kobayashi," Yaoyorozu rushed to add in. "It's such a cozy place for you and Todoroki to start building your life together."
More than Asui and Ashido's criticism, it was Yaoyorozu's sweeter gesture that put a sour taste on Bashira's tongue.
"Speaking of that," Uraraka said, lurching forward to grab the bag she'd come in with, "we brought you house-warming presents!"
Bashira blanched. Despite the Class 3-A girls being so different individually they all succeeded in keeping her perpetually guarded, yet still so habitually caught off guard.
"Sorry some of them aren't wrapped," Uraraka continued, pulling items out of the sack. "The idea was a little last minute, so we didn't have time to present everything well."
Bashira couldn't bring herself to answer as she eyed everything that Uraraka was placing on the coffee table. There was what looked like a variety of tea; a lone box wrapped in authentic-looking silk; a small basket of comfort foods, face masks, and chocolate; a few books; and a decently sized stack of either CDs or DVDs, wrapped up in a ribbon.
"We asked Todoroki what you liked," Uraraka went on, "but you know how he is. We got some bits and pieces but had to try to pin your taste mostly by ourselves."
Embarrassingly, Bashira kept falling into a stunned state as soon as she thought she was getting a hold of herself. She knew that she might come off as rude for being so quiet all day. But as if the unannounced arrival wasn't enough to take, the gifts were just another curveball tossed her way that she hadn't built herself up to handle.
Yaoyorozu stepped in. "Ashido and Jiro helped with the media," the girl said, gesturing to the CDs and DVDs, "while some of the boys chipped in with some edible and luxury items."
"Yeah," Mina cheered, shoving a thumbs-up forward. "The boys mostly supplied sweets and stuff. But Jiro and I were the brains behind the movies and music we picked."
"We all shared ideas though, of course," Uraraka continued. "I think it was Iida who picked out a few books, and Deku looked up some beneficial teas."
'Deku?' Bashira thought. It was hard to keep track of everyone, but that name seemed unfamiliar.
"We all chipped in," Asui summed up, tapping her finger to her lips. "I believe Yaoyorozu was the one to supply the one wrapped gift, though."
"I didn't mean to show off," the taller girl immediately clarified, holding her hands up in defense. "I only asked my mother to send me some cloth. I just hope you like the china."
Bashira could still only blink. She hadn't even touched anything but now knew the extent of what gifts were in front of her.
Why were these people doing anything for her?
Or was it only for Todoroki?
"I…" Bashira started. Her mind was reeling. Was Shoto really so popular? Or was he just powerful? Did anyone even care about her or was it just her relationship to him, because he was Endeavor's son?
Bashira coughed and turned away briefly. She needed that one moment to pull a face.
"This is all too much," Bashira eventually said. "But I appreciate the gesture."
It was too much. Bashira was humbled, but there was some part of her that still felt patronized. She wasn't completely sure of everyone's intentions and couldn't help but feel like these other kids were babying her because of her situation.
They were all still kids, weren't they?
Uraraka, ever the most surprisingly perceptive of the bunch, popped up from her seat.
"This is all probably overwhelming, huh?" the shorter girl said. "That's why we didn't want to bring too many people over. We don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable."
Uraraka's words made Bashira more uncomfortable. Was Bashira supposed to lie and say that it was all fine? Or be honest and say "yes, please go away"?
There was really no good answer.
The other girl read Bashira's hesitance as a response.
"We're really sorry to have barged in like this," Uraraka said. She inched backwards and bowed. "It was pretty presumptuous of us."
Yaoyorozu and Asui were paying enough attention to grasp the hint as well, but Asui needed to fling her tongue out – holy cow was her tongue long – and wrap it around Ashido's bicep to tug the pinky girl towards them. The soon-to-be-Heroes didn't leave the room right away, but Bashira still felt rushed and panicked as they made to retreat.
"I don't mean to be-" Bashira started, reaching up to tug at her bun. "I mean, I'm not ungrateful. This just isn't anything I was planning for, y'know? It's all been…" Bashira hesitated, thinking briefly that she'd already said too much, or maybe been too vague, before shoving both of those notions away and speaking from her gut. "…Everything's been tough lately."
Bashira kept playing with her hair, her eye cast off to the side. She gave it a few beats before she sucked it up and glanced back at the girls. They were all giving her their own form of shimmery, sympathetic eyes.
"It's quite all right, Kobayashi," Yaoyorozu said, her hands clasped before her. "None of us can say we know how you feel, but we're all willing to lend a hand where we can."
Bashira sent Yaoyorozu a half-smile, feeling semi eased but still mostly awkward. A lock of hair had already come loose from her bun after the assault from her fingers, so Bashira abandoned the bun and started twirling that one strand.
The room was left at a standstill, and Bashira wasn't sure how she wanted to end it. Clearly the decision was in her hands. Did she let the girls go, or did she face her fears and move forward?
"You guys can feel free to stay for a while," Bashira decided, looking away again and rubbing underneath her eye with one hand. "You took the trouble of coming here in the first place, so you might as well stay a while. I have all these movies and junk food now anyway, so…"
Uraraka and Yaoyorozu sent her bright but still compassionate smiles. Asui's expression was similarly kindly, and Ashido full-out leaped into the air.
"Wooh! Day-Time Girls' Night!"
Truthfully, Bashira had stayed on edge that entire day. The girls had all decided on a movie to watch, made some popcorn, covered it in chocolate (for whatever reason) and settled down for the afternoon.
Bashira didn't regret spending her Sunday that way, but she couldn't bring herself to loosen up completely with everyone. It might have just been the environment, or the fact that she hadn't been able to mentally build herself up for the interaction ahead of time.
Still, it had all gone well enough. The girls realized that Bashira wasn't completely invested in the bonding experience and left after a few hours, claiming they had homework left to finish. It was bittersweet for Bashira to see them go – but more so sweet.
Bashira cleaned up what little mess they'd made, along with the mess she'd made on her own before she'd had any company to blame, before resuming her sprawled-out posture on the couch.
It was in that position where Shoto found her, right around dark.
Bashira had been wondering when Shoto would be getting back. When she heard the door open her heart had stopped and anxiety clogged her throat. She knew it had to be him, and that she shouldn't be so reactive, but it was still a reflex.
Since she was already established on the couch Bashira just stayed put, pretending to be immersed in the TV show she was watching and not analyzing every one of Shoto's footsteps as he made his way to her. She only looked over once he'd stopped in the doorway.
"Hey," Shoto was the first to say.
"Hey," Bashira echoed. One inhale, one exhale. "How was your weekend?"
The question was small talk, something she'd only said because it was the obvious thing to ask, but Bashira still felt a pang of hurt after it left her. Not that Shoto would care, but Bashira did know where he'd gone all weekend. Not that Shoto had bothered to tell her directly, but he did get to spend time with his family while he left her alone.
"Fine," Shoto answered simply. "How was yours?"
Small talk again. Bashira only barely smirked. "Fine."
Bashira knew her response was a little mocking, and the longer Shoto remained in the room, just staring at her, the more unsettled she felt.
"Some of your class stopped by," Bashira admitted, shifting slightly in her discomfort. "They said they wanted to check in. Brought a few things over." Bashira gestured to the gifts that were still piled on the table in front of her.
Shoto eyed the items and nodded, not seeming surprised. "They brought it up to me. I figured it would happen sooner or later." Shoto's gaze drifted from the pile to Bashira, not missing a single beat before he locked eyes with her. "Did you like it?'
Basahira was momentarily stumped. Somewhere in the background, where her mind was still working, she tried to make out whether Shoto was referencing more towards his friends hanging out or the gifts alone. Did she like any of it? Was she supposed to like anything anymore?
"Yeah," Bashira answered, because there was no way that she could say "no". "Thanks for putting them up to it."
"I didn't exactly," Shoto said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "They asked and I gave my opinion is all."
Basahira accepted his denial with a nod of her own. "Still, they said you had a few ideas about what I might like," she made it a point to catch Shoto's two-toned eyes, "so thanks for paying a little attention, at least."
It was a stretch, Bashira knew. Uraraka had unwittingly confessed that Shoto didn't know much about Bashira. It didn't necessarily bother her, because she probably knew even less about Shoto. Maybe she was lucky that she didn't have to try to explain her husband to anyone in the way that people kept trying to pry into Shoto about her, apparently.
Shoto only nodded again. There might have been a change in his expression but it was too subtle for Bashira to catch for sure.
There was a small paused before Shoto piped up.
"I'm heading to bed," the teen said, pushing off of the wall. "Goodnight."
Bashira deadpanned. "'Night."
Shoto retreated, and Bashira watched him go. Long after he left, Bashira mulled over their interaction. She thought about all of their interactions, actually. They really hadn't had a genuine, comfortable conversation. Not in all the time that they'd known each other; not in all of the time that they'd been married.
If there was any hope of keeping them both sane, it was probably time to change that.
(A/N)
Bleach reference? Anyone? Do you kids even consider Bleach a thing anymore? O_O