A/N: Still don't own My Hero Academia. Hope you're all still enjoying this as much as I am writing it!

...

"You're late again," Bakugou growled in greeting as Kaylee dashed outside the locker room, hopping on one foot as she put on her other shoe. "That's the second time in a row; what's going on?"

"Sorry," she quickly fell into step beside him as they made their way to the gym. "My therapy session ran over today and I couldn't find you to tell you…"

He scanned his ID to open the door, stepping aside for her to go in first. "You need a phone," he said roughly. "I can't believe the school didn't get you one when you started here."

"Oh, I didn't think to ask about one. I'd hate to be a bother…"

"Fuck that," he said. "You need to have a phone."

Nearly a month after her first training session, Kaylee had fallen into a comfortable routine. Every morning at 5am, she was downstairs eating breakfast, sometimes helping Bakugou cook, sometimes just enjoying watching him prepare whatever amazing dish he thought she'd like. He'd correctly guessed that her captors brought her meals to her, so she had little knowledge of food or her likes or dislikes. He turned it into a game, trying to find an ingredient or food that she didn't like. So far, everything he made was delicious.

After breakfast, they went down to the track outside the gym. A morning run, followed by weight training, then stretching. Back to Heights Alliance for a shower and then get ready for school. The afternoons were different depending on Bakugou's hero training, or preparing for a work-study that was coming up soon, or Kaylee's therapy sessions. Normally, Kaylee would prefer training later on in the evenings, when the summer sun was low in the sky, and most of the students were inside their dorms for the night.

Most nights, Kaylee was so exhausted and sore from the day that even the annoying security light shining in her room barely bothered her. Having spent eleven years in various rooms sealed off from any outside light or possibility of escape, closing the curtains and blinds was not an option for her. However, last night she had some fitful dreams and didn't sleep that well, which made her late for that morning's training. She was still tired, but excitement overrode it as she followed Bakugou.

"So, we're in here today?" The UA gym, like everything else on the campus, was an enormous facility with multiple rooms that held different equipment and even small training areas where students could train privately depending on their quirk. There weren't many students inside, and the few that remained were more focused on themselves than what others were doing. Bakugou led her into one of the smaller side rooms.

"Yeah," he grunted as he started stretching. Kaylee copied his movements. "Too many fucking assholes outside. They get in my way."

She was actually relieved to hear that. Apparently, news had spread quickly enough through Class 3-A, and then to the rest of the third year classes that the weird new girl was being trained by one of the top students at UA. If it was in the early afternoon, there would be a small crowd gathered to gawk at them, and while it made Kaylee nervous, she did her best to hide it. She wasn't sure how they got in Bakugou's way, as the crowd would usually stay far enough back that they couldn't actually be heard, but she wasn't going to argue the point with him; he didn't seem to be in a good mood today for some reason.

"Attack me." Bakugou had finished his stretching and turned to her.

Kaylee paused her final stretch and blinked at Bakugou, not sure she'd heard him correctly. "What?"

"Let's see what you can do. Attack me. Hard as you can."

"What if I hurt you?"

Bakugou made a face at her, rolling his eyes. "Seriously?" He motioned for her to get on with it.

"Ok. Here goes." Kaylee made a fist and punched him right in the stomach, thinking with those abs, she couldn't really hurt him.

He doubled over, moaning, clutching his stomach. "Fuck!"

"Oh my God! Are you ok? I didn't mean to hurt you!" Kaylee felt sick for a second.

Until he straightened up and started laughing. "The look on your face!"

"Damn it, Bakugou! I thought I'd hurt you!" In her frustration, she hauled back and kicked him solidly in the leg, which made him laugh all the harder.

"Like that puny punch could have done anything," he choked out, doubling over again but this time from mirth. "You went white as a ghost, though! You really thought you hurt me!"

"It wasn't that funny." Kaylee fought a grin, and failed, as she gazed at him. He had such a deep laugh and it was impossible not to join in. After that late-night conversation with Uraraka and Ashido, she realized that her fascination with Bakugou might just be a crush. Kaylee didn't think she fully understood what that meant, but from what she'd seen and read on the internet, plus just listening and observing the behavior of those at school, she knew it was something momentous. Apparently, she was supposed to blush and giggle around him a lot. She didn't do any of those things around Bakugou, so maybe it wasn't a crush. But she'd spent most of her life in isolation, so what did she know about such things? All she knew is that she loved spending time with him, and looked forward to every morning and evening when it was just the two of them. She loved hearing him say her name in that deep, growling voice of his. Every time he laughed or smiled, she found herself doing the same. Ok, so maybe it was a crush.

Bakugou straightened up, still grinning. "Yeah, it was." He grew serious. "Come on though, seriously. I want you to come at me with everything you have. Don't hold back; you can't hurt me."

Kaylee hesitated for just a second, biting her lip. Then she charged.

….

If someone had told Bakugou that he'd not only be training the new girl on basic fighting techniques, but also thoroughly enjoying it, he'd have punched the bastard in the throat. It was true though. Not only was Bakugou enjoying it, but he was actually eager to start each day. He planned lessons, figuring out what skills would suit her best at each part of her training.

She was improving. Rapidly. Bakugou thought back to what All Might had once said to him, "It's easier to level up when you're a novice." Despite her lack of muscle strength, Kaylee was quick and light on her feet, able to maneuver her body in positions that he'd find it hard to do without his quirk. She was graceful too, like a ballerina. Holy fuck, she had legs that went on for days, and there were several fighting styles that she could learn that would take advantage of those skills.

What surprised Bakugou the most was that he just liked being around her, even when they weren't training. Kaylee didn't get on his nerves like everyone else did. He found her soft, raspy voice soothing. He loved showing her things she'd never experienced before, and shit, there were so many things he'd taken for granted, things that were second nature to him, that she had no idea about. Like food. Every morning for breakfast he'd make something new, knowing it was something she'd never eaten, and fuck, the expressions she made when she ate, it made him feel ten fucking feet tall. That morning, after he'd waited for her with American-style pancakes and fried eggs, he couldn't help but be pissed off that she slept late. Once she finally showed up, they had to get moving or else they'd be late for everything else. He left the plates on the counter, knowing one of the assholes would eat it. He hoped they choked on it.

He didn't even bother to suppress his grin as she bit her lip, raring back like a miniature bull, ready to charge him. Fuck, she was fast. The impact was not what he'd expected, and he had to take a step back to brace himself. Instead of punching him, which was what he'd thought, she jumped and used both legs, hitting him right in the chest, causing a whooshing sound to escape his lips.

"Clever girl," he panted. "You used your legs." She beamed at the compliment and for a moment, Bakugou felt like he'd been kicked a second time. Fuck, her smile really did something to him.

"Again," he said. "Come at me again!" They spent the next hour like that, with Bakugou basically acting as a punching bag. She'd alternated between kicking and punching, and there were several times she landed some relatively decent blows. She came at him again, and this time, Bakugou twisted around, getting behind her to get her into a headlock.

Kaylee's scream nearly burst his eardrums. The elbow to his gut had him hunched over in pain, eyes watering. "KAYLEE! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Son of a bitch, if she was just a little shorter, she'd have really done some damage, but holy shit, her elbow should be considered a weapon on its own.

When he could finally see again, Kaylee was across the room. She was frozen in place, chest heaving, her eyes a wild, vacant look to them. Fuck, it was unnerving and Bakugou recognized that she wasn't there with him at that moment. "Hey," he said, slowly advancing with his palms up. "Hey, Kaylee," he said softly, still carefully coming towards her. "It's me, Bakugou. You're safe, remember? You're here at UA. Nothing's going to hurt you. Not while I'm here." Thank fuck he'd paid attention in all those hero courses that taught how to calm down victims because Bakugou called upon every bit of those lessons.

Kaylee blinked, backing up a step. "Kaylee," he said, slightly firmer. "It's Bakugou. You're safe."

"B-Bakugou?" Fuck, he could see her pulse pounding in her throat.

"That's right, Kaylee." He was almost close enough to touch her, but hesitated. "Remember me? Number one hero. Awesome trainer. Incredible cook." He grinned. "World class asshole."

"Oh, God!" She gasped, and the wild, vacant look disappeared from her eyes as she fell to her knees. "Oh, God! I'm so sorry! I hurt you! I didn't mean to; you have to believe me!" She burst into tears, hands covering her face as though she couldn't bear to look at him.

'Hey, hey." He joined her on the floor. He reached out to touch her shoulder, then thought better of it, closing his hand in midair. "It's ok. I'm not hurt. I'm fine." Her shoulders shook violently with her sobs. "Kaylee, calm down," he said firmly. "I'm fine." She shook her head, turning away.

Bakugou sat back on his heels, trying to think of the best way to calm her down. He knew she'd lashed out because she reacted to something that was done to her, not something he'd done. Fuck, it pissed him off to think she'd been hurt like that.

"Something tells me that wasn't the first time you've ever been in a headlock," he asked, his voice a bit more gruff than he'd meant. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, hands still over her eyes.

Sighing heavily, he rose. "I think we're done. Come on, get up!" He held a hand out to her.

That seemed to snap her out of it. "Oh no, please Bakugou, I don't want to stop! Please, I'll do better! I'll work harder, I swear!" Fuck, she was wailing even louder.

"Wait! That's not what I meant!" He frowned. "Look at me," he commanded, and waited until she finally removed her hands and looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face. Shit, her eyes had that haunted look that she wore when she first got here. "I just meant we need to take a break. Come on, let's go for a walk."

"I really didn't mean to hurt you. Please, you have to forgive me!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" He chuckled at the surprised look on her face. "I'm kidding." He held his hand out again, but she was still staring at him, blinking. "It pisses me off that you think I couldn't handle a measly hit like that!"

"You….you really aren't angry?" She hesitated for a moment before finally taking his hand and holding on tight. "I really didn't mean to hurt you, I just…"

"Do I look angry? Stop apologizing." He led her over to where the towels and water bottles were stored, tossing her one of each. "Come on, let's go."

….

What have I done? Kaylee thought she might vomit, but managed to hold it in as Bakugou led her out of the gym and into the bright afternoon. She wasn't sure what happened back there, one minute she was sparring with Bakugou and doing a decent job of it, the next, she was back with her captors, and Rusty had her in a choke hold. She could still feel his fingers around her throat, even years after it happened. It was right after they landed in Hong Kong and she'd tried to escape. While the other two were occupied with moving into the new apartment in the Midlevels district, Rusty hadn't realized that the door to her bedroom didn't lock properly. Kaylee had gotten as far as the hallway when he'd grabbed her. She'd had bruises for weeks, and her voice never was the same afterwards.

Kaylee glanced over at Bakugou again as they went by the track. She opened her mouth, not sure what she was going to say but…

"I swear if you apologize one more time, Kaylee-" Bakugou glared at her, but for some reason, she got the feeling he wasn't really angry. His crimson eyes had a teasing glint to them.

"Sorry," she whispered, biting back a grin.

"What did I just say, damn it?"

"Ok, ok," she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped. "Where are we going?" They came to a large concrete wall that went as far as the eye could see. There was an arched entrance just ahead with an omega symbol above it. Inside, Kaylee could see a large forest. The trees were massive, their thick branches covered in green leaves. Bakugou scanned his ID card and the gate opened with an electric hiss.

"This is Ground Omega," he told her as he led her inside. "Most students think it's haunted because of what happened here."

"What was that?" Once inside, Kaylee could see a small dirt path that led deep into the forest. "Oh, look!" She pointed as a deer bounded by them. Kaylee turned around in a circle, trying to see as much as she could all at once. It was magical! Massive rock formations could be seen in the distance, towering above the trees. The ground made a loud crunching noise under her feet as she surveyed the area, covered with dead leaves and fallen branches. The air was different in Ground Omega, it had an earthy scent to it that Kaylee loved. Squirrels chased each other through the underbrush, and she could hear birds high above in the canopy.

"This place is just like a fairy tale forest! How could anyone think this is haunted?" Kaylee turned to face Bakugou, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips curled into a smile as he gazed at her. A small shiver went through her in response.

He nodded towards the path. "Come on, let's go in further. You'll like it."

She ran to catch up with his long stride. "So, why is this place haunted?" A few chattering squirrels chased each other across the path and Kaylee almost wanted to follow them.

He grinned. "There was a survival course held here in my first year. A few students from another school came, and one of them had a quirk that turned people into zombies."

"Oh come on, you've got to be kidding!"

"It's true!" Bakugou chuckled. "I even got bit."

"No way! You didn't!" Kaylee burst into laughter, startling some birds in a nearby bush. "There's no way you got turned into a zombie!"

"Seriously, I did! I don't remember much, but apparently I blew up a bunch of shit and picked a fight."

"How's that different from now?" Kaylee couldn't help but tease him.

"Oi, watch it!" He nudged her with his arm and Kaylee burst into laughter again. "Anyway, word got out about this place and now it's somehow haunted.

Whatever reply Kaylee was going to make was lost as they came into a small clearing. A huge rock formation rose out of the ground, several stories high. Small trees were tucked in some of the gaps in the rock, and Kaylee swore she could see a small family of owls emerging from one of the crevices higher up.

"This is wonderful!" She laughed, throwing her arms in the air with abandon. Unfiltered sunlight poured in from above, bathing everything in a golden glow. Kaylee had to blink a few times to adjust to the brightness. Sweet smelling grass carpeted the floor and Kaylee twirled about with delight, sending up dozens of butterflies. A large yellow one with glass-like wings landed on her arm. "Bakugou, look!" she whispered, holding her arm out for him to see. She found him leaning up against a nearby tree, hands in his pockets, a curious expression on his face. She'd never seen a butterfly in real life, let alone have one land on her and she was fascinated with the insect. It walked down her arm towards her hand, and Kaylee froze in place as she watched its journey. "What do I do?"

"Here," Before she knew it, Bakugou took her other hand, making her jump slightly. "Hold still," he murmured as he guided her open palm towards the butterfly. Her eyes nearly crossed as she focused on the small yellow wings, which kept opening and closing hypnotically as it moved to her open palm, which was encased by Bakugou's larger one. Another shiver ran through her as she met his eyes. She smiled nervously, suddenly feeling lightheaded. The butterfly flew off, and Kaylee broke eye contact to watch it join the others. She turned back to Bakugou, her heart fluttering.

"There's one in your hair," she pointed out. Sure enough, there was another butterfly with black velvety wings that shone an iridescent blue in the sunlight nestled in the spiky blond locks on top of his head.

"Tch," he shook his head and the butterfly flew away. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she frowned. "Why?"

"Do you want to find out?" He nodded to the towering rock. "There's a great view up there."

Kaylee bit her lip, following his gaze. The rock formation was very high, higher than Alliance Heights even, and the sun glinted off the jagged edges. "How do we get up there? Climb?" She looked down at their gym clothes. "I don't think these would be good for rock climbing, right?"

"No, dummy. We'll fly." He held up his palms and tiny flames erupted.

A thrill shot through Kaylee. "Can you do that?" He rolled his eyes at her. "I mean, I know you can, but with me too?"

"Of course I can. Wanna try?" Kaylee nodded eagerly. "You'll have to hold on to me, super tight. I'll need both hands to use my quirk. Will you be ok with that?"

She chuckled wryly. "Shouldn't I be asking that of you?" A puff of laughter escaped his lips, warming Kaylee's cheeks as she got close to him.

"I think I can handle it. Grab on." Kaylee wrapped her arms around his neck. His body was pressed up against hers and she swore she could feel literally every hard muscle. She swore he could feel her heart racing, and did his pulse suddenly speed up as well? Not knowing what else to do, she buried her face in his neck, trying not to inhale his smokey sweet scent. God, he even smelled amazing.

"You ready?" Bakugou's voice sounded choked. She nodded, unable to speak. "Here we go."

With a blast that had her ears ringing, Bakugou took to the air.

….

The moment Kaylee put her arms around him, Bakugou knew he'd made a huge, fucking colossal mistake. Maybe that elbow to the gut he took earlier really did do some damage to his brain, because he wasn't sure what the hell he was doing anymore. He had the thought in the gym that maybe a leisurely walk around the campus would just settle them both. When he realized they were near Ground Omega, he knew she'd enjoy it. He just didn't know how much he'd enjoy it too. Shit, the moment she'd walked through the gates, he knew she'd probably never been inside a fucking forest before; she had a look of wonder on her face that spoke volumes. She could barely walk straight for trying to look everywhere at once, and there were several times he had to take her arm to keep her from chasing after a squirrel or rabbit or some other stupid fuzzy animal.

Granted, the last time Bakugou was in Ground Omega, he spent a large portion of that as a zombie, so he hadn't paid much attention to the scenery, and he certainly didn't recall any sort of clearing. Fuck, it was just like out of some shitty Disney movie that Ashido sometimes made them all watch on the occasional movie night. Even so, he was mesmerized as Kaylee whirled around, the sun illuminating her skin, making it appear as though she was lit from within. Butterflies surrounded her as she laughed with sheer delight. The sight caused his heart to pound, his pulse race, and for a second, he had to remember to breathe. Then he made the mistake of touching her hand, and there was a moment where he was gazing in her eyes and he swore she might have been feeling the same.

So, to distract himself he had the fucking brilliant idea of flying, thinking a quick change of scenery would do the both of them some good. Goddamn it, now he had to deal with her lithe body pressed up against his, because how else was he going to get her up there? Holy fuck, she buried her face in his neck, and Bakugou had no idea how sensitive his skin was. He tried not to breathe, because fuck, she smelled good. He may have blasted off with a larger explosion than he originally planned, but he needed to get them up to the top of the rock super fast.

Of course, she had to wrap those incredible legs of hers around him on takeoff. Massive, fucking colossal mistake. The thirty seconds it took to get to the top was one of the best, and worst seconds of his life. The moment they landed, he grabbed her waist – yet another fucking mistake!-set her down, and quickly turned away to try and gain some control over his body. Fuck.

"Are you ok?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You ok?"

"That was incredible!" He could hear the amazed tone. "Oh, look! Is that Musutafu? It's not what I expected."

He turned, subtly adjusting himself and saw where she was pointing. Thankfully, her eyes were on the city, and she wasn't paying him much attention at the moment. "Yeah, that's it."

The heavy winds at the peak swirled her pale hair around her face, a living halo as she gazed off into the distance. "I thought it would be more like Hong Kong, you know, more crowded, the buildings taller. Mind you, I didn't get to see much of Hong Kong, but the few times they let me go out into the small courtyard, all I could see were more buildings. I could smell the ocean at times though, and there was always the sound of ships."

It was so rare when she actually spoke about her past, and Bakugou wanted to keep her talking. "How long were you in Hong Kong?"

She sat down on a nearby boulder, tucking her legs under her, biting her lip as she thought. "Maybe four years? I don't really know – I wasn't able to track time very well. They kept the windows blacked out every place we went, so I never really could tell what time of day it was. Only if one of them left the TV or radio on was I able to really hear dates or times."

Bakugou took a seat next to her, following her gaze. Musutafu did look very different from all the way up here. Having only really seen it as a resident, he never noticed how bleak it looked, or maybe that was because he was now used to the sprawling campus at UA that it seemed more like home than any place else now.

"Where were you before that?"

"We were on a large container ship for a few months that sailed out from Los Angeles, California. I stayed so sick on that voyage, I don't remember much about it. Before that, we were in Colorado for a few years." She sighed, holding her face up to the sky. "That's really the first place I remember. It was some cabin out in the woods, somewhere remote. It was off the grid, you know, solar powered and all. There was a spring nearby that they got water from." She snorted. "I only saw the outside of that cabin twice, and it wasn't until today that I actually got to walk in the forest."

Bakugou had guessed it right then. Fuck, just hearing her confess it made his heart ache. "You were such a little kid then, why did they keep you locked up like that? Fucking bastards."

She turned to face him, a small, sad smile curving her lips. "I think they were afraid of me. It's probably why they kept drugging me."

"THEY FUCKING DRUGGED YOU?" Bakugou's shout echoed throughout Ground Omega, causing flocks of birds to streak up from the forest below. Kaylee winced, but nodded. "Why the fuck?"

She pursed her lips, staring intently at him. "Look, Kaylee," Bakugou began. "You don't have to tell me any more if you're not ready-"

"It's not that," she said. "I trust you."

Shit, hearing something like that really made Bakugou feel about ten feet tall. It left him speechless for a moment.

"I just – it's a lot of details that I don't really remember. Most of it was what they told me at the hospital. My captors said it was a vitamin shot, so I never questioned it. They were pretty attentive to my health for the most part, since I needed to be at optimum health to do what they wanted."

He growled in response, glaring at the distant city as though it was somehow responsible for Kaylee's past. "Unless they wanted you to suffer," he added, thinking back to her leg. What sick bastards would let a child suffer with a broken leg for days?

"Yeah," she agreed. "At best I was kept like a pet, rewarded when I did good, punished severely when I was bad."

"So what was the drug for?"

"It was to suppress my other quirk," she stated plainly.

"WHAT?" She winced again at the volume of his voice, but Bakugou didn't care for once. "What do you mean, your other quirk?"

"Apparently I have another quirk. I don't know what it is, and the captors never said anything. The hospital ran all sorts of tests and they couldn't find anything either. The agents said-"

"Wait," Bakugou interrupted. "What agents?"

"Oh, well, when I woke up in the hospital in Tokyo, there were a bunch of government agents around me. Some were from the Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency, and the rest were from the CIA and the FBI in the U.S."

Bakugou shot up off his seat with that news and began pacing, ignoring how the wind lashed through him. Despite the warm summer weather, it was chilly up there. "The fuck did all of them want with you?"

"I guess it was because of my parents. My mom was an American who worked for the United Nations, and my dad worked for a diamond company. The agents never explained it further, and at the time, I was still recovering, and wasn't really in the mood to ask many questions. I don't know if the drug has even left my system yet. They took a lot of blood at the hospital to analyze it, and the best they could say is that it was designed to isolate and suppress a specific type of quirk, but they didn't know anything more than that."

"Mother fucker," Bakugou replied angrily. The more she said, the worse it got and Bakugou kept clenching and unclenching his fists, wanting to explode something.

"It's not like I'm having withdrawals or anything," she explained. "I just don't know what the drug was doing. It's one of the reasons why both the Japanese and American agents wanted me placed here at UA – because if my other quirk manifested itself, Mr. Aizawa could use his to cancel it out."

Bakugou raised a brow at her. "One of the reasons?"

She nodded. "They're also negotiating terms over me, you know, which country gets to have me. UA is so secure that they didn't have to worry about providing me with any extra bodyguards, so I'm to stay here to either finish out the school year or until such time as both countries come to an agreement." She smiled wryly. "I'm also supposed to learn about the modern world and what it's like to be a normal teenager."

"So, you're really still a captive. They've just got you in a gilded cage this time." His scowl deepened further, then he caught on to the second part of her story. "Fuck, they can take you away at any moment, can't they?" Bakugou tried to tamp down the slight panic that rose up at the thought that he could wake up one day and Kaylee wouldn't be there.

She bowed her head quickly to stare at the ground. "Yeah, but I don't want to think about that," she paused to take a deep breath. "Plus, from what I understand at least, most negotiations last for months, so it should be at least until the end of the school year."

…..

Kaylee rose from her seat, stretching. She didn't think about how chilly it was so high up, and she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the worst of the wind. She stood next to Bakugou, who was still glaring off into the distance. Kaylee felt imminently better after telling him her full story, like a weight had finally lifted from her shoulders. Bakugou, however, seemed angry – she tilted her head to get a better look at him. His red eyes reflected the waning sunlight, his face scrunched up, lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Are you angry that I told you all of this?"

"No – well, not at you, anyway," he replied finally, turning to face her. "I'm pissed as fuck that you've gone through all of this alone, and that you're still having to deal with this shit, and there's not a goddamned thing I can really do to help, but no…" He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, and Kaylee got distracted for a moment because she had the incredible urge to reach out and see if it was as soft as it looked. "Believe me, I've got plenty of anger stored up at the moment, but none of it is directed at you."

Wow, Kaylee tried to remember a time where someone was actually angry on her behalf. Warmth spread through her as she studied him. He really was perfect; her instincts to trust him were right from the start.

"I don't like hearing you say that there's nothing you can do to help, because you're helping me more than you know," she told him. She reached out to cup his cheek, trying her best to ignore the goosebumps that flared up her arm at the contact. "You make me feel safe, when I don't ever recall feeling that way before. Thank you for that." Fuck, Kaylee felt her eyes water and she tried to turn away quickly so Bakugou wouldn't see. She'd cried enough around him.

He wouldn't let her though, grabbing her wrist to keep her hand pressed against his cheek. Kaylee froze. His skin was so warm despite the chilly air, and Kaylee wanted nothing more than to press closer to him.

"I'm glad," he murmured. "I want you to feel safe. You're supposed to feel safe." His eyes were riveted on her, hypnotic, and Kaylee found she couldn't look away. "You should always feel safe," he whispered so softly she could barely hear him. Then he turned to press a light kiss to her palm.

Kaylee swallowed nervously, trying to figure out what the hell she should do. God, she was so out of her element here. "It's getting late," she said lamely, anything to break the silence.

"Yeah," he replied, letting go of her wrist only to grasp it again, entwining his fingers with hers. "I'm hungry. Do you want to grab something from Lunch Rush or cook something from the kitchen?"

Kaylee smiled. "Kitchen. I've never had Okonomiyaki."

He squeezed her hand. "Okonomiyaki it is then."