A/N: It's a shitty world right now, but I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year! This is now the longest chapter I've ever written, and I hope you'll enjoy it.
I was trying to keep this story canon-compliant as much as I could, but Horikoshi is just giving us twists and turns left and right in the manga and I have enough plotlines in my head to keep up with. So, consider this canon-divergent or AU. I haven't stated this outright, but we're caught up to everything that's happened in the anime up until the latter half of season 5. The LoV is out there-doing things, but since they, nor Deku are the focus of this story, I'm going to be as ambiguous as I can on that.
Also, if you haven't figured it out nearly 70k words in, but this is a slow burn story, however, I swear that there WILL be fire.
...
Kaylee slept late that morning after falling into a restless sleep once her phone died. She'd talked until her throat was dry and achy, but she'd heard some soft snoring from the other end of the line, so she thought Bakugou had at least got a little bit of sleep. She was worried about him; she could tell something had upset him on the mission just from the way he spoke–something had shaken him, and he was not someone who could easily be upset. Hopefully, spending some time at his house with his parents would help–she wondered what they were like. He'd told her his mom looked a lot like him and he had her fiery personality, while his dad was taller, had darker hair, and was the peacemaker in the family.
Her time alone was coming to an end soon, and while Kaylee was beyond excited to see Bakugou–and everyone else–again, she was glad she had this time to herself. She'd spent the time watching movies, cooking, going to the beach, playing with Eri, All Might, and the other teachers. She'd had fun with her phone, taking pictures, texting–not just with Bakugou, but all the girls steadily kept up a group chat and she had fun joining in. She'd even been shopping–well, she'd been allowed to go online and purchase clothes that she chose. Mr. Aizawa had noticed that she was still wearing the clothes that came with her from the hospital–purchased hastily by the federal agents. He gave her a black credit card and told her what mailing address and name she should have the packages sent to. Kaylee felt guilty at first, but he told her not to worry about a set spending amount and to get what she wanted. Her closet and dresser were now full of the items she purchased, and she may have gotten a few extra items that she wanted for the kitchen. She'd kept up with her training as well, and couldn't wait to show Bakugou the new moves she'd learned from watching various martial arts and MMA fighters on YouTube.
She spent most of the day cleaning the common areas since she'd moved some furniture around so she and Eri could have a dance party. Then they'd found some wooden sticks that made perfect swords, so they'd played pirates again. It had rained hard the past few days, so when they weren't at the USJ, they'd stayed inside Alliance Heights and played. And played. Stuff got spilled on the T-Rex. Things might have gotten knocked over. There might be some dents and scratches in the furniture that Kaylee could only hope that Iida wouldn't notice. At least not right away.
It was early in the evening, so Kaylee took a long shower. Before her escape, bathing was something that was a rare luxury, and only when her smell became so bad that one of her captors complained. Kaylee loved the oversized showers the girls' bathroom had, filled with various bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gels and soaps, so many things to choose from.
Exiting the shower, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, wrapped in a large fluffy white cotton towel. Thinking about the rest of the girls she'd seen at the school, and especially those in her class, Kaylee couldn't help but compare herself. She'd never worried about her appearance before, but she wondered what Bakugou saw when he looked at her. She didn't have the dark circles under her eyes anymore, and her cheeks had filled out some. Her body was still slender, but she'd lost that starved look she had when she first arrived. Dare she even say she'd gained some muscle with the training that she'd done?
She examined her reflection more closely.
You glow. It's like a pale yellow glow, then sometimes it's a very soft white. She could hear Bakugou's gruff voice in her head.
She'd been avoiding thinking about it since their conversation, preferring to pretend that it would just disappear. She leaned in closer to the mirror, trying to see if she could tell a difference. She was so pale, although she now had a little more color and a hell of a lot more freckles from time spent at the beach. She held her arm up, looking at it directly then comparing it to the reflection. God, she didn't want to have to deal with this, not now, not when she was just starting to feel settled. Like she belonged.
It was faint, but she could see it, now that she knew what she was looking for. It was a soft white, and it really wasn't that visible under the bright bathroom lights, especially with her skin color. Had anyone else besides Bakugou noticed? Surely Mr. Aizawa would have said something if he'd seen it, right? Kaylee thought about talking to Mr. Aizawa, but quickly changed her mind–what if he reported it and they came to take her away again?
Control. She had to figure out how to control this. What else did Bakugou say? Maybe it was emotion based. He noticed it first during the movie night. Kaylee closed her eyes to focus on that evening. She was with Bakugou, she'd fallen asleep, he'd held her hand, she kissed him on his cheek. When they were FaceTiming, he'd mentioned that she glowed brighter at the start of the conversation.
Happy. I was happy to talk to you–to see you again. She opened her eyes. Could quirks actually be that simple? She stared hard at her reflection and thought about playing at the beach with Eri, watching movies, laughing at Present Mic's and Mr. Aizawa's antics, All Might's bad jokes. Sure enough, the soft white turned just a little bit brighter, like someone had moved a dimmer switch up the tiniest bit.
She closed her eyes, thinking. Movie night. She'd fallen asleep; content, safe. Bakugou's sweet smokey scent, his warm, rough hand holding hers. That night in Ground Omega, he'd kissed her hand so tenderly, told her he wanted her to always feel safe. He hugged her, pressed his forehead to hers the day he left for summer break. His eyes. His smile. Oh God, the smile he gave her the other night, when she told him about the All Might blanket…
Kaylee opened her eyes and stared in the mirror in shock.
Holy shit.
…
"Well, well, well, look who remembered his parents," Bakugou scowled at his mom's snide comment as he walked through the door, then grunted as his mom gave him a back breaking hug. She pulled back, giving him a good once-over. "You've grown taller." She ruffled his hair. "You look like hell."
"Thanks mom." Even after sleeping most of the day, Bakugou felt like he could still use another full day of rest. He wasn't too sure when exactly he fell asleep listening to Kaylee's soothing voice–she was talking about watermelons–but he'd slept uninterrupted, waking sometime that afternoon to Deku's pounding on the door to get to a final debrief with Endeavor.
"Let the boy get through the door, Mitsuki." Bakugou looked over his mom's head to see his dad smiling, apron on as though he'd been in the kitchen, which he probably was. Bakugou kicked off his shoes and put on his slippers, giving his dad a tired smile. "You do look tired, son."
"It's been a shitty few weeks," he replied, now getting another bear hug from his dad.
"I've made your favorite kare raisu with your grandmother's koregusu," his dad told him, giving him an extra squeeze. "Come on, put your things up and we'll eat early."
"Let me help, I've missed cooking. Endeavor has a bunch of private chefs on site for everyone so we don't ever get to cook for ourselves when we're there." Bakugou put down his bags on the steps and entered the large American-style kitchen that his parents, both interior designers, had built. It was large, with oversized–at least by Japanese standards–appliances including a full-sized cooking range with a double oven. He grinned, wondering for just a moment what Kaylee would think if she saw it. Shaking his head, he went to go help his dad.
Bakugou missed helping his dad cook and he ate slowly at the table, relishing the spicy dish. He listened to his parents talk about work, school, and their plans for the weekend, nodding and adding to the conversation when needed. He couldn't help but notice the long glances his mom kept giving him, looking away when he tried to meet her gaze.
"Ok. Mom, what's up?" Bakugou finally asked her after the third such look.
She pursed her lips for a moment, and Bakugou shrugged, thinking she just wasn't going to answer the question.
"Now Mitsuki," his dad interjected, before his mom could say anything. "You promised you'd not grill the boy on his first night back."
Now, Bakugou was curious. "What's going on?"
His mom shared a telling look with his dad, then finally said, "Who's the girl?"
His mouth fell open. In all the times he'd talked to his parents, Bakugou purposefully did not mention Kaylee to them, at first because he was so confused about her, then because he wanted to protect her identity as much as possible. "What girl?" Bakugou asked, feigning ignorance.
"The girl that Inko Midoriya happened to mention to me this morning when we bumped into each other at the store. You see, her son actually talks to his mother–"
Fucking Deku. Bakugou growled.
"-and she was absolutely dying to ask me how my son was getting along with the yakuza's daughter that he'd been helping out at school." Her voice rose with each word and by the end she was nearly shouting, making both her husband and son wince.
At least the story about Kaylee being from the yakuza was actually working. Bakugou bit his lip for a second, quickly trying to decide the best strategy. He couldn't give out much information, however, if he didn't at least somewhat satisfy his mom's curiosity, she'd nose around until she got answers from someone. Although they were both interior designers, his parents were well connected through some of their clients.
"She's just a girl that got placed in the hero class for protection," he replied, working hard to keep his tone neutral. If he so much as showed any emotion, the old hag would be all over him and he was just too fucking exhausted for that.
"What's her name?" His mom crossed her arms, not even pretending to be interested in food anymore.
Bakugou mimicked her pose. "Kaylee."
"Kaylee? What the fuck kinda of name is that? What does it mean?"
"How the fuck should I know?" Although he thought it just as foreign at first, he liked her name. So much for trying to be cool and calm about this, but he was starting to get seriously pissed off. His palms started itching.
"She sounds interesting," his dad interrupted, trying to keep some sort of peace between the two. "Where is she from?"
Bakugou took a deep breath before answering. "She's half American, but she's lived all over."
"American?!" His mom's yell shook the chandelier above the dining table. "So, you're with some American yakuza's daughter?"
"She's just half-American–" Bakugou began.
"I don't like the idea of my son getting close with some American, especially if she has ties to the yakuza!"
"Holy fuck, she's been isolated for most of her life, and they were really abusive to her. I'm just helping her out; she was homeschooled."
His mom narrowed her eyes. "You're kidding me."
"Did you say you were helping her?" His dad asked, giving his mom another look and placing his hand on hers.
"Yeah. I mean, when she first arrived, she jumped at the slightest noise, barely spoke two words at a time. Like I said, she's had some trauma. So, Mr. Aizawa suggested I help train her, you know, basic fighting skills and stuff. To help build her confidence and all."
"You certainly have enough of that," his mom finally said.
"I wonder who he gets that from." His dad's eyes twinkled as he looked at his mom. Now both of his parents were giving each other a look and grinning at each other. Gross. "So, what's her quirk?"
"She isn't allowed to talk about it, and we can't ask her," Bakugou said. "I don't think it's anything special."
"Hmph."
"Look you old hag…" Bakugou started to stand and so did his mom. It had been a long while since the two of them had gone at it. Bakugou didn't want to fight, but fuck, he was exhausted and was not in the mood for his mom's shit right now.
"Katsuki, come help me put up the dishes while your mom finds a movie we can watch." His dad was a pro at playing referee between his wife and son.
"Fine." His mom rose. "But we are not done with this conversation."
"Fine." Bakugou snatched up the plates and marched to the kitchen.
"You know, this house doesn't sound the same when you and your mom aren't at it, Katsuki," his dad told him as he rinsed the dishes and handed them to him to place in the dishwasher.
"I just…she just…I wasn't expecting to be asked about Kaylee," Bakugou confessed. "What the fuck is her problem anyway?"
"She's worried about you; we both are. You have to admit, it's a little unusual that a school like UA would just place someone in the 3rd year hero course–I don't care who her family is or what her quirk is. With the way things are right now…"
"Kaylee is not part of The League of Villains, dad." Bakugou placed the last dish in and slammed the door shut.
"You like her." It wasn't a question.
Bakugou stared at his dad. "I do. I'm not sure why though, she and I are nothing alike."
His dad let out a wry chuckle. "That's not always necessary to have a successful relationship. Look at your mother and I."
"Yeah."
"So, tell me about her."
Bakugou sighed, and leaned up against the kitchen island. "She's funny, but her sense of humor kinda sneaks up on you, and you're laughing at something she said before you even realize it. She likes to watch sunrises and look at the stars at night. She's been through fucking hell, but she laughs at bad jokes and chases after butterflies and rabbits. She makes forts out of pillows, blankets, and pool floats. She's smart, like wicked smart, but she doesn't want to stand out in classes so she will purposely fail tests and shit. She likes cooking, but hates mushrooms and peas." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"The bastards–er, her family–they controlled every part of her life, what she ate, what she wore, what she could do–they never gave her any choices of her own. They wouldn't let her go outside–she'd never seen a real fucking butterfly before or seen the ocean, or the stars at night.." Bakugou cleared his throat.
"She sounds like a strong young woman," his dad commented.
"She's stronger than she thinks, and definitely stronger than she looks."
"What does she look like?"
"She's very pale, since she was kept isolated for so long. Her hair is almost white it's so blonde, and it goes down to her shoulders. She keeps it tied back now, but when I first met her, she kept it in her face a lot, like she wanted to hide behind it. She's almost my height. She's slender, but she's gaining some muscle. She smiles a lot, like she's making up for all the times she wasn't able to before. Her eyes are dark, almost black and when she looks at you, it's like you're the most important person in the world at that moment."
Bakugou felt a hand ruffling his hair. Holy fucking shit, his face was on fire with all the stuff he just spewed about Kaylee. It was all true, but he was not the type to go into long speeches about girls he liked, especially to his fucking father. He could only blame the exhaustion, the stress, and the fact that he was fucking missing her and goddamn it all…
"You'll need to invite her over sometime. We'd love to meet her."
Bakugou shook his head. "Can't. She isn't allowed to leave the campus. And she's leaving at the end of the school year to go back to her…family," Bakugou spat the last word out. "I won't have much time with her." Fuck, just saying that out loud made his chest hurt.
His dad put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Then you probably should make each moment count."
…
Masaru Bakugou entered the bedroom much later that evening, after both his wife and son had gone to bed. He was exhausted himself, but the samurai movie wasn't quite over and even though he'd seen it dozens of times, owned it on several formats, he couldn't help but watch it everytime it showed up on network tv. Even though it was just 11pm, he and his wife had always been early to sleep, early to rise, especially due to their jobs, and their son followed closely in their footsteps.
Mitsuki, however, wasn't asleep. He studied her for a moment, watching her flip through old family albums, typing on her phone, and take occasional pictures with her cell phone.
"What are you doing at this hour?"
She looked up, and the gleam in her eyes signaled that she was up to something.
"Just texting someone." She furiously began typing on her phone again.
"Who?" He pulled back the covers and slid in beside her.
She gave him a shrewd look. "That girl."
"What? How? Where did you even get her number?"
"Oh, please," she scoffed. "While you both were in the kitchen making popcorn, Katsuki left his phone on, and it was unlocked, and a text from her came through. So, I pulled up her name and took a pic of her number." She beamed at him, looking like a criminal mastermind whose cunning plan finally came to fruition.
Masaru was completely dumbfounded. He knew first hand how stubborn and aggressive his wife could be, but this was just beyond anything he'd ever known. "Katsuki's going to murder you when he finds out!"
"Oh please, like you don't want to know more about this girl either! Don't think I didn't overhear that conversation you both had in the kitchen! Did you see the way our son looked when he was talking about her? He never speaks of anyone in his class except to say how he's going to kill them one day, and he was standing in that kitchen practically singing about her!"
"He looked like he was in love–" Masaru began.
"He looked like he knows his heart's going to get broken!" Mitsuki snapped angrily. "And if you think I'm going to let some cheap, Kardashian-looking–"
"Kardashian?!"
"Oh you know how those American girls all look. Nothing but boobs and butts with lips that are probably just as big as the boobs, all Botoxed up."
Masaru let out a bark of incredulous laughter. "You must have missed the part where Katsuki described her and she certainly doesn't sound like a Kardashian. I think she sounds nice."
"And her name? What kind of name is Kaylee?" His wife spat the name out.
"I like it. It's a nice name. So, what did you text her?"
"I merely introduced myself as Katsuki's mother. Kaylee," his wife enunciated the name, "However, wanted proof that I was who I claimed to be, so I sent her some baby pictures of Katsuki."
"You couldn't have just sent her a selfie? Katsuki got all his good looks from you."
Mitsuki leaned over to give him a kiss. "I wanted to see how she'd react to baby pictures."
"And?"
"She said that he's adorable, of course! Which he is." Her phone vibrated and they both looked down.
"She wants to see more? How many have you sent her?"
"Just two so far. I think the third time will be the charm!"
Masaru frowned as his wife quickly thumbed through the photo album, landing on one particular picture. "Oh honey, you can't send her that one, he'll kill you for sure!"
"Shut up, it's the most precious picture of him! I love it! When he's the number one hero, I'm going to put it on billboards!"
"This isn't going to go well."
His wife pressed send and then they both stared at the phone, waiting for a reply. Both of them jumped when it rang a few minutes later.
Mitsuki, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, answered on the second ring. "Hello, Kaylee."
…
Tired after a day of cleaning and getting ready for the class to return, Kaylee jumped when her phone buzzed. Maybe it was Bakugou, even though they'd just finished talking a half hour ago. She'd gotten to see his room at home, and she noted how stylish it was, much like his dorm room, although there were a lot more trophies, medals, and posters of All Might on the walls at his parent's house. He'd looked tired, although he sounded much more at ease than he did before. He told her a little about the actual mission, but Kaylee felt he was holding back, and she didn't want to press. Hopefully he'd come to her when he needed to talk. She took the phone off the table as it vibrated again.
This is Katsuki Bakugou's mother. Is this Kaylee?
Kaylee dropped the phone in shock. Surely someone was playing a trick on her, but who? And how? She had all of her classmates' numbers programmed in her phone, so who could it be? Was this some sort of trick from the feds? Her heart plummeted. Steadying herself, she picked up her phone and began typing a reply.
I'm afraid I'm going to need some proof of who you say you are. There. Oh, but what if this actually was Bakugou's mother? Kaylee sounded mean, if you can sound mean on a text message, and oh, what if she didn't like her?
Ok. Fair enough. Give me a moment. Kaylee waited with bated breath. Her hands were almost trembling.
This was taken just a few hours after he was born. Following the text was a picture of a newborn baby, all wrapped up in a blanket, his face red and scrunched up as he cried. Kaylee could almost hear the sound. One little fist had gotten free. Granted, Kaylee hadn't seen many baby pictures, but she'd never seen any baby have that amount of hair before, and it was obvious as to whom the blond spikes belonged to. He was absolutely adorable.
ALL THAT HAIR?! He's so adorable! I'll need to see more proof than one picture though. Kaylee bit her lip because she was just really wanting to see what other pictures she would end up with. There was no way in hell that baby was anyone other than Bakugou and only someone like his mother would even have a picture like that of him.
Try this one. We took this during his first trip to the beach. He was yelling at the waves. The photo showed an attractive man with brown spiky hair and glasses and an equally attractive woman with blonde spiky hair (did the whole family have the same hair?) with Bakugou as a small toddler in between them. They were standing at the edge of the ocean, and the little boy was holding both of his parents hands and his mouth was wide open, his expression angry. Again, Kaylee could hear the picture.
So this was no doubt Bakugou's mother, but why was she contacting Kaylee? Bakugou never mentioned anything about giving his mother her number, and she was sure he'd inform her of something like that, right? Was this some sort of Japanese custom that she wasn't aware of? What did this mean? Kaylee had to take some deep calming breaths.
How did you get my number?
I saw you texted Katsuki while he was making popcorn. His phone was unlocked so I quickly snapped a pic of your number. My son spent most of the evening talking about you and naturally, I'm curious. Katsuki doesn't know.
Kaylee blinked. Bakugou told his parents about her? She knew he wouldn't tell them her real story, but even so, just the fact that his parents now knew her name, and apparently his mother had no problems going to questionable lengths to get her phone number, unsettled her. But oh sweet baby Jesus, Bakugou was absolutely heartbreakingly adorable as a baby and maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she could just get another picture?
Could I get one more picture of him? When he's older please.
She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen. Either his mother would tell her to go to hell and then tell her son what a horrible person she was, or she'd get another picture.
Katsuki will MURDER me if he finds out I sent you this picture, so you will need to swear that you delete it immediately afterwards!
Kaylee's heart nearly stopped as the last picture appeared. She rotated her phone to get the full screen view. It was apparently some sort of school picture, as there were at least eight other kids in the photo, all of them dressed in pajamas of various colors, mostly red, yellow and blue. Some of them had hoodies with yellow bunny ears attached. There on the front row was undoubtedly a preschool age Bakugou, wearing the same hoodie as some of the others, his hair making the hood stand up perfectly straight, the bunny ears almost touching the bunny ears that the child sitting next to him wore. Kaylee managed to tear her eyes away from the cuteness overload of a preschool Bakugou to look at the other child. He was wearing a similar onesie, however he had a cape. Green curls escaped from under his yellow hood, and bright green eyes smiled back at her. His chubby cheeks had the same four freckles on either side. It was Deku.
Biting her lip, Kaylee made a decision. Two rings, and an older woman's voice answered.
"Hello, Kaylee."
Kaylee took a deep breath. "OMG, Bakugou is the most adorable baby ever! That last picture makes me want to die! Is that Deku next to him? That's got to be Deku! Are they holding hands? How old are they?"
Laughter exploded out of the phone, and Kaylee had to hold her ear away for a second. "Well, it looks like I've convinced you?"
Kaylee felt her face flame. Holy shit, what just came out of her mouth? A deep breath, then, "Yes. I'm sorry about all the questions, but yes, you have me convinced. My name is Kaylee Fukagawa. Your son's been helping me out as I adjust to high school." There. That sounded a bit more calm and collected, although Kaylee's heart still thundered.
"My name is Mitsuki Bakugou and my husband Masaru is also here. I know it's late at night, and I'm sorry for the intrusive texts but we–"
"No, you–" a man's deep voice interrupted.
"Ok, fine. I was very curious about you, since our son rarely speaks about his classmates other than to say how much they piss him off and he spent most of the evening telling us about you, although he was somewhat reserved about what he revealed. I'm sure that's because you're a yakuza's daughter?"
"Um, yes. My family was very protective of me and I was homeschooled for most of my life, but wanted to finish out my last year at a real high school." Kaylee was impressed at how easy that lie came to her. It was a much more believable story than what she was given. "My family chose UA because of how secure it is."
"So, what exactly are you doing with my son? I heard he's teaching you how to fight? Why would you need to know that?"
Kaylee swallowed. "He's just teaching me basic fighting skills, to help build up my stamina and muscles." Kaylee remembered what one of the CIA agents told her when she first arrived: throw a little bit of the truth to a lie to make it believable. "My family really kept me isolated, and didn't like me going outside much. But Bakugou is the best fighter in the school, as I'm sure you already know, and he offered to train me. He's going to be the most amazing hero, actually I think he already is." She took a breath. "I'm sure you do too."
"Tell me about Katsuki when he's at school. It's so hard to get him to talk about anything personal and I'd love to know how my son acts around his friends."
Kaylee couldn't be sure, but it sounded like Mitsuki's tone had softened over the course of the conversation, and she could almost hear her smiling as she said the last part. So, Kaylee told Bakugou's mother all about him, what fighting skills he'd taught her, how he was so firm and patient with her as she learned some of the more difficult routines. She mentioned how her "family" had controlled her diet, but once Bakugou figured that out, he began cooking for her and teaching her recipes, and how much she loved cooking on her own now. She told them how he would make her laugh by teasing her, or trying to get her to eat something spicy, or how he programmed her phone with all their classmates' nicknames. He'd taken out her security lights so she could sleep at night. By the time she'd finished, her throat was sore and dry again, and Kaylee felt she'd only scratched the surface of what made Bakugou so perfect.
Mitsuki, however, must have understood all the things Kaylee was trying to say. "It seems you think very highly of Katsuki."
"I do. So much." I think I love him.
"Thank you for talking to me. I know you're probably wanting to go to sleep, so I'm going to let you go. I hope, and I really do mean this–I hope we can talk more. Maybe it's best we don't tell Katsuki about this though, ok?"
Kaylee was floored. Did that mean his parents liked her? She didn't like keeping it a secret from Bakugou though, but for the time being…"I won't say a word. And yes, I'd like to talk more later. Good night."
"Good night."
…
Masaru watched his wife–now more than pleased with herself–as she placed the phone on the bedside table to charge. "Well, Mitsuki, now what do you think of her? Still think he's some sort of gold digging Kardashian?"
Mitsuki snuggled up to her husband, wrapping her arms around him. "No. I think I might like her."
"I like her already," he replied, kissing her softly.
There was a pause as both of them got more comfortable. "You know she's in love with him, don't you?"
"Absolutely."
…
Bakugou had spent a large amount of the train ride fantasizing about how Kaylee would greet him when he finally returned to Alliance Heights. Some of his fantasies were innocent enough, she'd run and give him a hug, maybe even a kiss. Other images were not-so-innocent, and Bakugou ended up having to strategically place one of the shopping bags over his lap on the train to hide the effects of such fantasies.
But none of his deepest thoughts included overhearing a conversation between Kaylee and fucking Aoyama as he walked in through the kitchen.
"Mon Dieu, let me take it out now!"
"No, we've got to leave it in a few more minutes!"
"It's going to fall!"
"I'm sorry, how many times have you done this today? This is my fourth time! Trust me, I know what I'm doing!"
Bakugou shook his head, not knowing what the fuck was going on. He could just make out the top of Kaylee's pony tail as she was kneeling on the floor in front of the oven, Aoyama wringing his hands next to her. The kitchen looked like a typhoon had come through; a light dusting of flour was everywhere, splotches of liquid dripped off the counter, eggshells littered the floor. Three ramekins that contained…something…were stacked on top of each other in the sink.
He must have made a noise as he came in further, because both heads turned. He ignored one completely, but watched fascinated as the other one let out a small squeak and suddenly, his arms were full of a brightly glowing Kaylee.
"Welcome back," she murmured in his ear in that husky voice and fuck if his entire body didn't just break out in goosebumps. He squeezed her extra tight for a second, then they both jumped as an alarm went off.
"It's time!" Kaylee took his hand and had him in front of the oven before he could even register what the hell was happening. Fuck, she was fast. A warm, comforting smell suddenly filled the room as Kaylee opened the oven and placed the item on the counter. He finally got a good look at her. She was beaming as she stared down at the perfect dome of brown crust that rose out of the white ramekin several centimeters. She was covered in flour, her apron splattered with various substances. A soft pale ivory shone from her, highlighting the darker freckles that now dotted her face and arms. He stole a quick glance to see if Aoyama had noticed anything unusual, but the boy wasn't paying much attention to Kaylee—he only had eyes for the steaming dish wrapped in aluminum foil.
"Look Bakugou! Isn't it beautiful?"
"C'est manifique!"
"It's a souffle," Bakugou was actually impressed as hell. Souffles were difficult to make, and the one Kaylee took out of the oven looked damned near perfect in his estimation.
"I did it!" Kaylee was almost dancing in place in excitement. So fucking cute.
"Quick, we have to serve it! I'll get the plates!" Aoyama grabbed the plates and handed them to Kaylee. "Cut into the middle," he handed her a large serving spoon.
"I know," Kaylee replied. Kaylee passed the plate to Bakugou first, then handed one to Aoyama, then finally served herself. "Ready? On one, two, and three!" Bakugou took a bite and closed his eyes at the light fluffy texture. It was a cheese souffle and holy fuck, it was perfect.
"Just like my grand-mère made," Aoyama sighed blissfully.
Bakugou glanced at Kaylee, who was mulling over her plate, a small frown on her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He nudged her shoulders.
"I worked so hard on this," she said dully. Her glow had even dimmed back down to where it was almost indistinguishable against her skin.
"It's amazing! What, don't you like it?"
Kaylee sighed. "I just…I don't know, I thought there would be more to it. I wanted to make a souffle because they're supposed to be really difficult, and I wanted something to keep me busy today because I was so excited to have you–uh, everyone back–and this isn't what I expected."
"Silly, this is the best cheese souffle I've ever tasted outside of Paris!" Kaylee gave a tentative smile to Aoyama, and although Bakugou was never even remotely close to Aoyama, who definitely was on his list of classmates who annoyed the fuck out of him, he was somewhat grateful for his attempt to cheer her up.
"Thanks." She took another bite. "It's just kinda, plain you know? I thought there'd be more to it. Especially since it took so long, and I messed up on the first three. The first two I overbeat the eggs on, and the third one just collapsed and turned into soup. I guess I had my hopes up too high."
"Hey, Kaylee!" Koda came in, overloaded with various bags and boxes. "Where's Momiji?"
Bakugou felt Kaylee move closer to him and grab his hand. He squeezed her hand in return.
"Welcome back, Koda! He's upstairs in your room. I shut the door so he wouldn't be tempted to run out with everyone coming in and out." She muttered under her breath, "Again." Bakugou cleared his throat and she nudged him with her elbow.
Kaylee began cleaning up, and Bakugou began sweeping the eggshells from the floor. Aoyama had already danced off elsewhere with more of the souffle. "How did you manage to get flour everywhere, Kaylee?"
"It wasn't my fault! I knocked over a bag when I was trying to work the stand mixer for the egg whites."
"What stand mixer? We don't have one."
"We do now. Oh! I forgot to tell you about this–" Bakugou watched as she bounced to a cabinet and pulled out one of the most incredible stand mixers he'd ever seen. "Look!" She grunted with the weight. "It's got a dough hook, and a bunch of other attachments! Oh, I also got a pizza stone, because I'm going to make a traditional New York style pizza soon–just as soon as the pepperoni I ordered comes in." She pulled out a large circular flat stone and showed it to him, like a new mother showing a baby. "And have you ever heard of pastrami on rye? It's a sandwich that's really popular in New York, and I've got the ingredients to make one here, since Japan doesn't have many Jewish delis around."
Kaylee was so excited and talking so fast that he could barely keep up. She was so animated, so damned happy, it really was all he could do not to just kiss her like he'd been wanting to for weeks, fuck the fact that they were in the kitchen with most of the class breezing through as they returned. "Where the hell–how could you afford all of this?"
She leaned in closer to him, whispering loudly. "Mr. Aizawa gave me this black credit card. He noticed that I was still wearing the clothes I'd come here with–and those were hastily purchased by the Feds. He told me to buy what I wanted and not to worry about the expense."
"Woah. Really? So you got clothes and kitchen appliances?" She flushed a little at that and he curled a finger under her chin.
"Is that weird?"
He laughed. "No, it's just cute." She beamed. He'd never seen her glow so brightly before.
"I'm glad you're back. I missed you." She took his hand and squeezed tightly.
"Me too."
Whatever moment they were having was of course broken by a loud shriek from the girls' bathroom. Bakugou vaulted over the counter, trying to figure out what the hell had happened–it sounded like Pinky's scream–when he was waylaid by Kirishima, Iida, Sero, Sato, Koda, Mineta, and Yaoyoruzu.
"What the hell's going on? Mina, are you ok?" Kirishima had dashed into the bathroom, which of course caused more shrieking.
"Get out of here! You too, Mineta!"
"I was trying to help, geez!"
Pinky appeared wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, pushing a blushing Kirishima and a leering Mineta out of the doorway.
"What happened, Mina?" Yaoyoruzu asked, shoving her way through the small crowd.
"There's a giant T-Rex in the shower!"
"Malcom!" Kaylee ran inside the bathroom. Bakugou suddenly felt all eyes on him.
"The fuck are you losers looking at?"
"Who's Malcolm?" Four-Eyes asked.
"How the hell should I know? Considering Pinky was bitching about a T-Rex, I'm guessing that's Malcolm." Bakugou was trying hard not to laugh at the absurdity of this.
"I was surprised! It's not like I was expecting Jurassic-era pool floats in the shower!"
"T-Rexes are from the Cretaceous period." Kaylee came through and sure enough, it was the T-Rex pool float that Kaylee had been playing with all vacation long. He was impressed that she was able to lug it around; the thing was massive even if it was mostly vinyl and air. Everyone turned to Kaylee as she strode through the crowd. "Well, it's true," she mumbled.
"Kaylee, why was the T-Rex in the shower?" Four-Eyes asked her, coming to stand over her. Bakugou didn't like that one bit, and went to stand next to Kaylee, his arms folded over his chest.
"He wouldn't fit in the bathtub," Kaylee replied. "And his name is Malcolm."
"You saw Jurassic Park!" Sato pointed at Kaylee and she laughed.
"Yes! It was amazing!"
It was rare that Bakugou saw the class president at a loss for words, but it was obvious that he had no clue how to respond. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, then, "Why was Malcolm inside at all? He's a pool float!"
"Oh, he got pina colada spilled on him at the beach."
"Seriously!?" Bakugou gaped at her. "You got beer and pina coladas?"
"SHHHH!" She hissed, giving him a look. "I'll tell you about it later."
"For now," Yaoyoruzu interjected, "How about we put Malcolm in the common room next to the TV?"
"He can be our unofficial mascot!" Pinky trilled.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the shower?" Mineta asked. "Do you need help?"
"I didn't want to miss anything!" Pinky backhanded the little freak and dashed back to the showers.
"Let's get out of here," Bakugou whispered, once Malcom had been stashed in his new home in the common area. Kaylee nodded and grabbed his hand, leading him outside.
…
The early evening was a little chiller than expected for late August, and Kaylee's thin purple t-shirt probably did nothing to keep her warm. They weren't walking in any particular direction, but he just wanted to be alone with her, especially as the rest of the class returned to the dorms. The sun was fading from the sky, casting everything in a pink hue.
"Are you ok?" Kaylee asked as they roamed towards a small orchard just behind Alliance Heights. "I know you had a rough few weeks. Did you get any rest at your parents house?"
Bakugou glanced over at her, her glow appearing even brighter in the shade and fading light. She had his hand clutched in hers, and her other hand was on his arm. Her dark eyes held nothing but concern. He squeezed her hand as he replied, "My mom and I kinda got off to a rocky start. She and I are a lot alike–especially in temperament. She seemed to have cooled her jets after that first night though. Either that or the old man calmed her down. He's good at that."
"They sound like they're a good team. I mean…you know, from what you've told me and all." He watched her bite her lip and look away for a moment, but just as quickly she turned back to him. "How are you feeling about the mission though? I'll always listen if you need to talk."
Fuck. Before he realized it, he'd had Kaylee wrapped up in his arms and his face was buried in her neck. "It was bad, it was so bad. Kaylee, they were all in fucking cages, and some of them had been there for weeks, maybe even months. Some were already dead, had been for a long time." He hiccuped and took a deep breath, inhaling her scent. Her arms clutched him tighter and shit, that felt so good. "You know, I've helped save the world–the whole goddamned planet–several times over now, and none of that affected me in the same way. I had to look these people–fuck, survivors–in the eyes as I unlocked their cages, and it was just so hard especially when that child–it was so small, maybe three or four years old just wrapped their arms around me and then they smiled at me, and fuck it just nearly broke me. I don't like doing rescue, never have. Just give me a good villain to beat the shit out of anyday."
Now her hands were in his hair, on the back of his neck, and he realized he'd said all of that basically buried in the crook of her neck. He opened his eyes and pulled back to look at her. "I just..I..shit.." He swallowed for a moment. He felt like a floodgate had opened and everything wanted to come out at once.
"Hey, hey. It's ok." She pressed her forehead to his. The soft yellow glow from her skin illuminated the area around them.
"Endeavor, when he debriefed us the next day said that there were around 1200 people in that warehouse. Three hundred were already dead, and they lost another seventeen en route to the hospital."
"So you saved 883 people," she said softly. "And the bad guys are gone?"
He huffed, "Yeah. You know, I think Reisu killed the warden and maybe the owner of the place. There was a moment where we separated, I went to blow up the security system and he went another direction. Endeavor said the bodies were found later–looked like a murder/suicide."
"Good."
He agreed. "I just don't feel like I did anything that day, you know? I'm supposed to win by saving, but I don't feel like I saved anyone. I don't feel like I won."
"I'm sure there are 883 people who would disagree with that. Just think Bakugou, that child–you smiled at him, and one day he's going to see some billboard and go, 'I was saved by the number one hero!' Maybe he decides he wants to be the next great hero too! Just like All Might inspired you!" She beamed at him, making him feel like he'd hung the fucking moon.
He cupped her cheek, rubbing the soft skin with his thumb. "You're something else, d'you know that?" She shone brighter at his words. "Thank you for listening to me," he said softly.
She squeezed his neck tightly, pressing herself close. "Always."
"And–you're really, really glowing."
"I'm happy."
"You're like a firefly." He studied her for a moment. "You don't feel warm, so it's not like it's a heat based quirk. Do you feel anything?"
She shook her head. "No. I've been practicing, trying to see if I could control it, you know, if I concentrated really hard." She closed her eyes, biting her lip. Bakugou watched, fascinated, as the light faded just a bit. "It's hard to keep up though. What do I do when someone says something?"
"They won't. Not supposed to ask you about your quirk."
She frowned. "But–"
"Oh, they'll talk about it amongst themselves, little gossiping bastards that they are, but believe me–I know this group–they won't ever ask you directly."
She nodded. "I thought about going to Mr. Aizawa, but what if he has to tell–" she shuddered–"them. I don't want to leave, to go back, not now. Not ever." Her dark eyes shone with unshed tears.
Bakugou didn't have to ask who she meant by them. He pulled her close again, loving the feel of her. "We'll figure this out, ok? I swear, I will do everything I can to protect you."
Her head was on his shoulder and her voice was muffled. He felt her nod. "I need to learn how to control this. And what it does, if anything." She stilled for a moment, and Bakugou couldn't help but run his hands up and down her back, just enjoying being with her in that moment. "You're always so warm; and smell so amazing. Is that part of your quirk?"
He hummed in reply, not capable of speech at the moment as he could feel her quickening pulse, and wondered if she could feel his own. She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder back and forth. 'I don't want to go back inside," she sighed. Just then, he felt her stomach rumble and they both let out a startled laugh. "But, I'm hungry." She slid out of his arms, and shivered at the loss of his warmth. Bakugou had to work hard to repress his own response; the chilly night air was downright cold now.
"Yeah, I don't think I had anything since breakfast," he replied.
"Same. I was so busy trying to make the perfect souffle that I forgot to eat."
He gaped at her. "You were in a fucking kitchen for most of the day! How did you forget?"
She shrugged, grinning. "I was excited because I knew you were coming back, and then there was the whole issue with the souffles. French cooking is hard."
"Which is why Japanese is better! The French just want to cover it in cheese or bury it in a sauce…" He took her hand and they began walking back to the dorms.
"I should do American style next, since I'm half."
"Yeah, just batter and deep fry everything, then pour ranch dressing over it."
"Oooh, I've never had ranch dressing! Is it good?"
"How the fuck should I know?"
…
Kaylee had a hard time trying to keep focus on controlling her quirk, and since they were alone for the moment, just said fuck it and completely gave up. Bakugou was back with her and it was all she could do not to skip for joy. Not only that, but he'd trusted her enough to tell her of his own fears and insecurities about being a hero, which only made Kaylee's heart ache with all he'd faced over the past week. He was so strong, both physically and mentally, so the fact that he was comfortable enough with her to share that experience with her… She loved him. She wasn't too sure when it happened, maybe she'd been in love with him all this time–who knows? She'd tried to explain her feelings away, because she'd had less than zero experience with that emotion, but it was clear to her now. Seeing him, holding him, having him close to her, with the way her heartbeat fluttered, her breathing increased, there was no other explanation.
The entire class had gathered in the common area as they walked in, and it was the usual cacophony once again. Apparently, Kaminari had an excellent take-out place near his train station, and brought in enough food for everyone, and before she knew it, there was quite a welcome back/start of the new school term party in effect. Various dishes were passed around, and Kaylee found herself perched on the sofa next to Bakugou, sharing a plate. Everyone was talking at once, going over their internships, catching up, joking, laughing. It was wonderful! Several times, Bakugou would nudge her, and Kaylee would concentrate hard to keep her glow down so as to not gain much notice. So far, it seemed to be working, although she was starting to feel a bit tired, but it was a happy tired.
"So, are we not going to talk about the giant T-Rex?" Kaminari asked, nodding to the corner behind the TV.
"His name is Malcolm." Kaylee grinned around a mouthful of sushi as several students said that in unison, including Bakugou.
"Ok, so why is Malcolm here?"
"His eyes follow me wherever I go," Jiro said.
"We got him to replace you," Sero told Kaminari. "He's full of hot air, so he's smarter…"
"Oh come on!" Kaminari threw something at Sero. "This is the last time I'm gonna feed you all!"
"No throwing food!" Iida looked around the room for a moment. "Is it me or is the entire room slightly different? Like it's all been rearranged or something?"
Suddenly, nineteen pairs of eyes were on Kaylee. Bakugou kept eating, but was glaring at Iida. She fidgeted with her chopsticks, but was proud of herself for holding her head up under such scrutiny. "I mean, a few chairs and sofas may have been moved for the fort, and the dance party–"
"I thought we told you no parties, young lady!" Kirishima wagged a finger at her and she giggled. Then she felt a slight nudge from Bakugou and had to concentrate to keep her glow down.
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," Tsu smiled at her from her seat across from Kaylee.
"Oh, that reminds me," Deku suddenly pulled out a large notebook and what looked like magazine pages fell out.
"Where were you keeping all of this?" Uraraka asked him, helping him gather up the missing pages.
"So, Kaylee, about your All Might question, I think I have the answer here!" The entire room groaned collectively. "No, wait–this is important you guys! I couldn't find much online, but–" he arranged some of the papers out in a neat row on the table. "I found some American magazines that I got off of eBay from the early 1980s and although my English isn't that good, it looks like he says that he uses a complex formula to name his smashes, but then there's a newspaper interview–"
"Oh!" Kaylee figured out what Deku was talking about. "I know how he does it."
Deku looked crestfallen. "You do? How? What source did you find that out in?" He quickly got out a notebook, and Kaylee also had to wonder where he kept such objects.
"I asked him." She smiled, taking a bite of sushi.
"WHAT?"
"You ASKED All Might?"
"When did you talk to him?"
Kaylee frantically looked at Bakugou, who was also giving her a stunned look. "I asked him." She repeated, wondering if she made some huge cultural faux-pas.
"You just asked him? Like walked up to All Might–" Deku began.
"The greatest hero ever–" This from Tooru.
"Japan's symbol of peace–"
"Oh, no! Nothing like that," she laughed nervously. "I buried him in the sand first." Deku's mouth fell open in shock. Bakugou started chuckling.
"You BURIED All Might?" Deku's mouth was literally touching the floor, his eyes as big as dinner plates.
"We were at the beach," she explained, now feeling a little more at ease. "And it wasn't just me–Eri helped! Oh!" She hastily dug around for her phone. "I have a picture!" She held out the phone for all to see.
"He's holding a pina colada! He can't eat or drink!" This was from Mina, who had her arms over Kirishima's shoulders to get a better look.
"Oh, that was mine. He was just holding it while I took the picture."
"Wow, so you did have fun while we were gone!"
"What was his answer?" Deku looked eager to write it down in his notebook.
"He just said he picks the names randomly, like if he likes the sounds." Deku scribbled the information down.
"So, let me get this straight–" Sato began. "While we were all out risking our lives, you were at the beach with All Might, having dance parties, building forts, drinking pina coladas–"
"And beer," Bakugou murmured, giving her a wink. She gave him a look, but had to quickly focus to keep her glowing in check.
"-and having like the best time ever!?"
Kaylee thought it prudent not to mention all the things he left out, so she just grinned and replied, "Yep."
…
As the second semester started, the UA teachers all increased the amount of school work to the point that even Iida began to complain about the enormous amount of time spent on assignments. Papers, tests, quizzes, projects–Bakugou found himself drowning in the mass amount of work they had to do. On top of that, he and Kaylee were still waking up at 5am for their morning training, although there were times that they ended up reviewing homework while they worked out. The evenings weren't much better, as Bakugou had an increase in hero coursework, which often had him coming in late. Kaylee spent her spare time trying to gain more control over her quirk. Bakugou came up with the idea of picturing a dimmer switch in her head, which–combined with her thinking of sad things–helped some. She also had the idea that if she could just maintain her quirk at a steady glow, then maybe it wouldn't be as noticeable, and Bakugou thought back to some of the things that Deku did trying to control One for All.
Even though he didn't have nearly as much time with Kaylee this term, he made every second with her count, just like his dad said. Bakugou knew it was selfish of him, but fuck, when was he ever known for being generous? He didn't give a damn. He wanted to take things further with her, wanted it so badly, but there was something holding him back, and he wasn't sure what exactly it was. Maybe he was scared of her reaction–he never could bring himself to ask about if those assholes had hurt her sexually. And fuck, it wasn't like he had some wealth of knowledge of relationships and sex, although his talk with his dad helped a little for the relationship part. As for sex, well, Mineta had sent out how to get past the internet security at UA in their first year, so maybe the little pervert wasn't so bad at all.
He turned back to look at her, watching her talk and laugh with some of their classmates as they waited for homeroom to begin. Gone was the girl who slunk down in her seat, where only the top of her head was visible, who kept her eyes focused on the floor, and hid behind her hair. She was way more confident, joking and laughing with the best of them, although there were some times where he could sense she was starting to feel crowded or exhausted. He was so fucking proud of her.
"HIYA KIDS! IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY!" Present Mic came in, and Bakugou blinked for a second, confused. It wasn't his class just yet, so where was Mr. Aizawa? "Eraserhead is playing nursemaid to a sick little angel this morning, so I'll be taking over your regularly scheduled programming!"
Thirty minutes into the class, and Midnight stuck her head into the class. "Sorry, Mic, but could I see Kaylee for a few moments? I promise she'll be in good hands with me," she purred, making cat claws into the air. He frowned as he watched Kaylee follow the teacher out of the classroom and down the hallway. He had no idea what Midnight wanted with Kaylee, but he didn't have a good feeling about it.
Two more classes passed, and Bakugou was fighting the urge not to jump from his seat and search the school. There was no reason why Kaylee should have been gone so long.
"Dude, you are seriously going to get whiplash with the way you keep looking back," Sero whispered during a lull in Cementoss' lecture. "What's up?"
"He's looking to see if Kaylee's back," Jiro joined in. Bakugou glared at her, but didn't reply.
"I'm sure she's fine, Kacchan."
Bakugou was about to tell the nosy bastards to shut the fuck up, however a red flashing light and a blaring siren cut him off.
"ATTENTION CLASS 3-A! EMERGENCY RESCUE DRILL IS NOW IN EFFECT! REPORT TO GROUND BETA IMMEDIATELY!"
Fuck, this was the last thing he needed, but Bakugou grabbed his case from the wall and immediately followed the rest of the class, sparing one last glance at Kaylee's empty seat.
In the changing room, Bakugou tried to keep himself focused by double and triple checking his gear, making sure all the clips were secured. He must have given himself away however, as the entire male portion of the class kept giving him concerned looks.
"I'm sure Kaylee's waiting for us at the main platform, just like the last training session," Kirishima slapped his back in solidarity as they left for the transport to take them to Ground Beta. Bakugou nodded wordlessly, fighting the urge to blast through the entire campus to look for her.
When they marched up the stairs, Bakugou quickly scanned the platform, noting that only All Might was standing in front of the large control panel.
Kaylee was gone.
