A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to get out. I had a shit load of real life hitting me up hard. Apologies for any mistakes-it's very late at night here, but I wanted to get this posted, so I didn't do a last proof. I hope you're still enjoying this story-if so, it would be great to hear from you! ::virtual hugs:::

...

The only thing worse than the ringing in her ears was the pain shooting through her entire body. Confused, Kaylee shook her head, trying to clear the ringing and get her bearings. Wincing from the pain of moving, Kaylee gingerly raised herself up to get a look of her new situation. Sunlight poured in through the windows that circled the entire floor, and she had to blink several times to get used to the bright light again. She could see the opening in the ceiling where she came through, and the remains of the gray fabric walls where a cubicle had once been. While the explosion wasn't as bad as it had sounded, she'd been thrown across the room into what looked like the middle of a sea of office cubicles. There was a slight hissing sound coming from somewhere behind her.

There was a thunderous banging coming from somewhere, and through the din, she could hear her name being shouted.

"I'm—I'm–I'm here!" She finally managed to shout back, coughing through the smoke. "I'm ok!"

"Hold on Bakugou!" That sounded like Kaminari. "Let Red Riot bust through, he can do it much faster with his hardening!"

"Kaylee, sit tight!" That was Jiro. "We're coming in!"

"YOU BETTER NOT BE HURT!" Bakugou shouted.

"Please don't be hurt, Kaylee! I want to live!" That was a weird comment for Kirishima to make.

Scanning the large office, she tried to see what it was that caused the explosion. She remembered the metal ceiling vent cover sliding off the desk, and that's when the explosion happened. Something must have been on the floor. Raising up to her knees on top of the desk, her leg protesting from the movement, she scanned what she could see of the gray and beige tiled carpet. There were flat, circular objects just embedded underneath the carpet tiles, at random intervals. Leaning over to look at one of the closest ones, she could just make out a green blinking light shining through the thin carpet pile.

Just then the door burst open on its hinges.

"STOP!" she shouted, trying to stand up on the desk, clutching the pain in her leg. "THERE'S SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE FLOOR!"

Kirishima paused, just inside the doorway and looked down. "Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Are you hurt?" Kaminari's head poked through the doorway next, followed by the others.

Kaylee stared at the small group that stood in the doorway. All of them looked like they'd been in a war, covered in blood and grime. Kirishima and Mineta had what looked like cigarette burns–holes had burned through the fabric of their costumes and in Kirishima's case, the skin of his torso and even his hair looked burned. Jiro had blood coming from one of her ears, and her hair was plastered to her head as though she'd gotten soaked. Bakugou pushed his way through, shoving Mineta to the side, and as her eyes met his vermilion gaze, she noticed the gash on his left cheek, the bits of shrapnel embedded in his hair, the many rips and tears on his upper body suit. He had a nasty cut on his thigh, Kaylee could see the blood soaking the black fabric.

Kaylee took a deep breath, wanting to reply that she wasn't nearly hurt as bad as they were. This wasn't right, nothing about this situation was right. They could have been hurt, or killed. Bakugou could have been killed.

Maybe it was the fumes from the stuff in her hair, the adrenaline that was still pumping through her veins, maybe it was the smell of the gas main that got punctured in the blast (she only heard about that later), the fear and stress of the day, maybe all of it combined, but when Kaylee opened her mouth, it wasn't any words of comfort that came out.

Kaylee couldn't remember a time when she was so angry, wasn't even sure why she was shouting, but oh boy did it feel good to scream. And scream.

And scream.

….

"Come on, Mic! You're the one who's supposed to be good at this sort of thing!" All Might stood over Present Mic as he frantically pushed buttons on the console.

Aizawa silently ascended the stairs to the platform only to be greeted with the sight of All Might and Present Mic, who were at the main control panel that the teachers used to keep an eye on their students during training exercises. He was tired from being up most of the night with Eri, whose fever finally broke after some medicine and was now resting peacefully while Recovery Girl watched over her. He knew his absence this morning put a strain on the other teachers as they would be down a "hostage" but Mic assured him they would find a replacement. Aizawa wanted to argue that it should be postponed until he could be there, as the other faculty couldn't be called away from their classes, but it was pointed out that these training sessions took months to plan in advance, and special permission was granted from Principal Nezu for real live hostages to be used–they couldn't just call off the session.

"Chill out my dude!" Mic replied, ignoring the sweat that was slowly dripping down his temple. "This is within the parameters of the exercise! The elevator explosion must have taken out the power and the backup generator to the building in Sector 4. The comms are down and so are all the cameras and sound. It's nothing to worry about."

Neither of them had noticed Aizawa approaching, and Aizawa took the moment to study the situation. Most of the screens were up and running, although screen 2 seemed to have some intermittent interference coming from somewhere. He could barely make out the forms of Midoriya and Asui as they escorted their hostage, Midnight, from the area. Screens 1 and 3 were working just fine, and it looked like both teams had freed their hostages. Screen 4, however, was a complete blank.

All Might scowled down at his colleague. "I am worried though. We don't have any visuals or communication and it's the first time we've used a civilian in a training exercise. I can't believe I let you and Midnight talk me into this. Aizawa's going to lose it when–"

Aizawa finally decided to make his presence known, startling both pro-heroes. "When I what?"

"Oh! Hey–" All Might beamed his trademark smile at Aizawa, which made him glower in return. "How's–uh–how's Eri doing?"

"She's resting with Recovery Girl," Aizawa responded. "What's going on here?"

All Might rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Nothing–nothing at all. Everything is fine!" He held up a thumbs-up sign and grinned, the bright sunlight glinting off his super white teeth. Aizawa glared in response.

"Bullshit, All Might." Aizawa nodded towards screen 4. "What's going on with Sector 4 and why am I about to lose it?"

"Oh, it's just a small hiccup," Mic quickly interjected. "The team set off the elevator explosion, which caused some electrical problems. Comms are down, cameras are down, and the backup generator is kaput."

"Elevator explosion?" Aizawa frowned. That was not in the original plans for the scenario.

Mic grinned. "Yeah, we had a surplus of C-4 that we needed to get rid off, so we triggered it to go off once the elevators were recalled. I saw it in a movie once."

"Who's the team?"

"Kaminari is the team lead, then it's Mineta, Bakugou, Kirishima, and Jiro." Aizawa nodded approvingly.

"Who's the hostage?"

Both Mic and All Might exchanged anxious glances, and Aizawa scowled at both of them. Something was way off and those two bastards were hiding it. "Um, well…Midnight was the one who suggested it first…" Mic hesitantly replied.

Just then a static sound came through the speakers, then a voice screaming so loud it made the three of them recoil in shock.

"...WHAT SORT OF SICK, TWISTED, FUCKED UP SON OF A BITCH COMES UP WITH A PLACE LIKE THIS? SERIOUSLY? LANDMINES!? MOTHER FUCKING LANDMINES ARE IN AN OFFICE BUILDING!? WHY ARE THERE LANDMINES IN AN OFFICE BUILDING?"

Aizawa froze at the sound. He knew that voice. "That's Kaylee. You put Kaylee as a hostage?" Without waiting for a reply, he quickly grabbed the mic to see if he could communicate with the team.

"Kaminari, can you hear me? Kaminari? It's Aizawa."

A bit of feedback, more static, then Kaminari's voice came through. "Yes, sir."

"What the fuck is going on?" Aizawa felt his heartbeat quicken and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Well sir, it looks like our hostage managed to get free on her own and then she crawled in the air ducts and now she's surrounded by–"

"LAND MINES!?" Aizawa blinked as Kaylee's voice boomed over the speaker. "FUCKING LANDMINES ALL OVER THE PLACE! WHO THE FUCK DOES THIS SHIT?!"

Aizawa glared over at Mic, who looked a bit sheepish. "We had so much left over from the sports festival a few years ago and they were about to expire. I had to use them." He shrugged. "Who knew shy little Kaylee could yell like that?"

"Kaminari, is she hurt?"

"Oh, I really hope not. I don't want to die!"

"Kaminari!"

"I think she's ok, although she's got some sort of black gunk in her hair, and her uniform is ripped and torn in various places."

Just then, "THIS PLACE IS SO FUCKING STUPID! YOU ALL COULD HAVE FUCKING DIED IN THIS AND DOES ANYONE CARE? NO, NOT AS LONG AS THEY GET THEIR PRECIOUS PRO HEROES! AND YOU ALL JUST GO ALONG WITH IT BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN RAISED TO THINK THAT THIS IS ALL OK!"

All three faculty winced at that.

"Holy shit, sir–we have another problem here–" Kaminari's voice interrupted. "When Kaylee fell through she set off a landmine and some of the shrapnel hit a gas pipeline. If there's another explosion–"

"BECAUSE OF COURSE LET'S PUT A LIVE GAS LINE IN THE SAME FUCKING BUILDING WITH LANDMINES! AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE POISON GAS, THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM FILLED WITH SUPER GLUE AND THE MOTHER FUCKING ROBOTS! WHO'S THE BIG VILLAIN BEHIND ALL OF THIS–WILE E. COYOTE? LANDMINES PROVIDED BY ACME CORPORATION? I FUCKING HATE THIS PLACE!"

"Can't you shut down all the mines on the 20th floor?" Bakugou's voice boomed over the comms.

"The first explosion took out the transmitters to the mines," Mic replied. "We can't do anything."

"Fuck," Aizawa hissed. "I'm on my way there–"

"Wait!" Jiro cried. "If a faculty interferes with this, does this mean we fail–"

"WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT A GODDAMNED GRADE?" Bakugou's voice blared over the comm, making all three faculty wince. Mic shook his head to clear it.

"Not all of us can be at the top of the class like you, Bakugou!" Mineta shouted back. "I'm barely squeaking by as it is—"

"Wait, Bakugou–you can't go in there!" Kirishima's panicked cry interrupted the others.

Aizawa was nearly off the platform when All Might jumped in front of him. He switched off his comm and Aizawa did the same. "And you accused me of developing attachments to students," he said. "You know you can't interfere now–where's your faith in your class? This isn't nearly as bad as some of the other exercises and you were always the last to interfere!"

Aizawa wanted to punch All Might. "Kaylee–"

"Managed to get out of her bindings–which may I remind you, Midnight put her in, and you know it's damn near impossible to break out–and get four floors down from where she originally was placed. All on her own. The girl is resourceful."

Aizawa froze, All Might's words sinking in through his panic. Kaylee was resourceful. Hell, how many times did she try to escape that hell she was in? She didn't give up either, she kept at it and kept at it until she finally managed to get out. Even though it went against every instinct that Aizawa had, he nodded and let All Might lead him back to the console.

"Come on, Dadzawa." All Might slapped him on the back, making him stumble. "Let's see what they do."

….

Kaylee was filthy, covered in grime and fuck all knows what. The left side of her head had some sort of sticky, thick black tar in it. Her school uniform had numerous rips and tears, but as she stood on top of a desk, surrounded by landmines, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs, she'd never looked more beautiful to Bakugou. She looked like some avenging goddess. He found himself in a trance-like stupor, fascinated at the way she stood there, screaming–rage personified. Fuck, she was so worked up, he didn't even think she even knew what she was saying anymore.

He'd never experienced the jumble of emotions like he'd gone through in the past hours, especially after realizing Kaylee hadn't been taken, and was in fact there with them. The brief moment of relief he felt quickly faded once Jiro pointed out she was in just as much danger as they were, even more so, because she was fucking blind, crawling through an air shaft. Before he could even process that emotion, pride came and kicked him in the ass, because holy shit–she'd been tied up, bound, gagged, and still managed to get free. Fuck, she was amazing!

"Well, she's certainly expanded her vocabulary," Kirishima said, nudging him with an elbow. "I'm a little worried she's going to get in trouble though," he added. "She's cursing something awful, criticizing UA, and with some of the teachers listening in–"

"She's got a point," Jiro added. "The gas leak is dangerous, especially with the landmines and both Bakugou's and Kaminari's quirks. This could go really, really bad."

Bakugou wiped his sweaty hands on his trousers in response. Fuck, he really couldn't do anything–he couldn't use his quirk to get to Kaylee and if they tried walking on the floor, the landmines would set off. The landmines were small, and weren't powerful on their own, but combined with the gas leak–it was too risky.

"If we don't figure out how to get us all out of here before Aizawa arrives, we're going to fail," Kaminari told them. "Yeah, I know–" he pointed a finger at Bakugou as he opened his mouth, "-that's your girl and she's in danger and all, but Mineta has it right, some of us need this grade!"

"What the hell are you doing, Mineta?" Bakugou followed Kirishima's gaze who was now watching Mineta, who had gone surprisingly quiet.

"While those assholes sit and figure out what to do next, I'm not going to fail this class!" The little pervert was using his pop-off quirk to attach himself to the wall and was climbing over to where Kaylee was. "I'm going to save the day!"

"Way to go Grape Juice!" Kirishima raised a fist in the air in celebration. He and Kaminari both high-fived.

"Oh, thank God, she's ok. I did not want to die a virgin!" Kaminari murmured, watching as Kaylee grabbed on to Mineta, holding on to him tightly as he maneuvered back to where they were. He grunted as Jiro elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't try to take advantage of me, Kaylee, while my hands are occupied," Mineta told her. "You keep your hands above my waist–UGH!" He groaned as Kaylee headbutted him from the back.

As they got closer, Bakugou pushed the others out of the way so he could grab Kaylee–just a little closer–

"You fucking scared the shit out of me, do you know that?" He hissed it into her ear, pressing her tight to him. "I thought they took you! I thought you were gone! I thought…" he trailed off, his voice cracking. His heart was thundering in his chest, and he wasn't sure if he was shaking, or if it was Kaylee, or if it was both of them.

"S – S–Sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't ever fucking do something like that again, you got me?" He pulled back to get a good look at her. She was covered in grime, had some minor scrapes and bruises, and other than the black stuff in her hair, seemed ok. Her skin was pale, and she was barely glowing.

Large dark eyes were studying him just as hard. Kaylee placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him to her, their foreheads meeting with a soft thunk. "You're hurt–" she whispered. "You're all scraped up." Her fingers combed through his hair, sending shivers down his spine.

"We're glad you're safe, Kaylee," Kirishima said, slapping Bakugou on the back and grinning like a madman.

"Oh, you have no idea how glad we are," Kaminari agreed, pulling Kaylee to him and giving her a slight hug. Bakugou almost growled at the bastard.

Kaylee beamed at all of them and whispered, "Thanks, you guys." She let out a small squeal as Bakugou swooped her up in his arms and started carrying her down the stairs.

"Bakugou! Put me down!" Kaylee tried to wriggle out of his hold, but she had no chance against him. He just gripped her tighter to him.

"No fucking way!" He took the stairs two at a time, not even waiting for the others.

"I'm too heavy for you to carry all the way down," she hissed. "You're hurt!" She wrapped her arms around his neck anyway, and he shifted her a bit to get more comfortable.

He snorted. "I have gear that weighs more than you, so stop talking and rest your throat. You were shouting loud enough that they could hear you in Hokkaido."

Her face went a bright crimson and her lips stuck out in a cute pout. "But, I've got this shit in my hair," she whispered. "I'm covered in God-knows-what, and it smells–" she coughed a little, and he sniffed. She smelled of sweat and some sort of strong chemical, but so the fuck what? She was alive, mostly unharmed, and not fucking leaving him.

"Shut up and hang on!" he replied. "You scared the ever loving shit out of me, do you know that? I have no idea what fucking possessed you to not only get involved in this fucking nightmare–"

"They needed me to help out–and I wanted to be useful…"

"Fucking hush and let me finish!" he snarled, and Kaylee glared at him, biting her lip. Damn, she was adorable when she got mad. He had to pause for a moment to gather his thoughts together, shifting his hold on her. "You could have been seriously hurt!"

"So could you!"

"Yes, but we signed up for this! You didn't!"

She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed, the warm air caressing his neck. "It's not right, what they do to you here. They set you up in dangerous situations, no matter how well controlled they think they are and then just sit back and watch like it's a TV show. It's like a real-life Hunger Games."

"It's not like that at all." Bakugou thought for a moment. He knew Kaylee had no desire to become a hero, and it was difficult to explain what UA was doing. "With every scenario, every training session, we get pushed past our limits."

She huffed. "That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

"Yeah, you got it." Her fingers started playing in his hair, twirling idly, and it was all he could do to keep up the conversation. He could hear the extras in the background, chatting to themselves as they followed him down. He thought about activating his quirk, and bringing them down that way, but was a little leery of any more traps and wasn't too sure how much gas had leaked out.

"Think about it," he continued. "Being here changes us, makes us grow, makes us better. Look at you," he smiled down at her. "You've been here what, four or five months? You've changed a lot in that short amount of time."

"Yeah, but that wasn't because of UA," she all but whispered. "It was because of you."

"Tch," he replied, not knowing how to reply to that. He sped up their descent, suddenly feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

Once clear of the building, they quickly made their way back to the platform. Aizawa met them halfway, and Bakugou could see the tension in his favorite teacher's expression. Bloodshot eyes raked over the pair of them, and Kaylee lifted her head from where it rested on Bakugou's shoulder to look at the teacher. She squirmed a little in his hold, and this time Bakugou let her go, keeping an arm tight around her waist as she rested against him.

"Are any of you hurt?" Aizawa asked as the rest of the team joined up with them. "Kaylee?"

Kaylee cleared her throat for a moment, then hoarsely replied "No. Not–Not really."

"All of you go clean up, change, and get back to the dorms. Classes are dismissed for the rest of the day."

As everyone started to clear out, Aizawa held up a hand for Kaylee and Bakugou to stay. He approached them and leaned in close. "You used your quirk," he told Kaylee.

Bakugou scowled at the teacher as Kaylee paled and bit her lip, nodding.

Aizawa gave a long, frustrated sigh. "Was it where you were placed? The 24th floor bathroom?"

Kaylee nodded again. "Two of them, but I don't know what happened when the flooding started."

"I'll go and check. We will talk later." Aizawa strode past them without another glance. "Recovery Girl is at my apartment watching Eri, but call her if you need to."

…..

The hot water was soothing over Kaylee's skin, the pulsing spray of the shower relieving some of the aches and pains in her muscles. The dirt and grime had long disappeared down the shower drain, however Kaylee still sat under the shower spray, legs curled under her as she scrubbed furiously at her scalp and hair. Three empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner lay on the tile beside her. It was no use, the black goop wasn't budging.

"Kaylee?" Tsuyu's voice called hesitantly from just beyond the shower curtain. "Are you still ok in there? Bakugou thinks you're drowning and it took Sero and Midoriya combined to keep him from storming in here. He's bound in Blackwhip and Tape at the moment."

Sure enough, Kaylee could hear the muffled shouting from outside the girls' bathroom.

"Kacchan, stop struggling! We sent Tsuyu in to check on her. I'm sure she's fine."

"Is she ok?" Kaylee noticed the shadow of Ochako joined that of Tsuyu's. She pulled back the shower curtain to look up at them both.

"My hair," she sighed, frustrated as hell. "This shit won't wash out. I've tried everything."

"Let's see what we can do." Ochako turned off the shower, and Tsuyu handed her a soft, fluffy towel. "You're like a prune you've been in here so long."

Thankfully, when Kaylee and the rest had come back from the training exercise, most of the common room had been empty–the rest were either going to get an early dinner at the cafeteria, or had gone outside to celebrate classes ending early and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather. The entire walk back, Bakugou had his arm around her waist, and while Kaylee was used to him touching her, it was never while others were around, and she was nervous as to what the others would think. No one either noticed or said a word, they were all happy to have passed the exercise. Bakugou, in his usual fashion, had escorted her directly to the bathroom, shouted to the few concerned classmates in the common room to mind their own fucking business, and immediately went into the boys' bathroom.

Kaylee sighed as she stood up, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was a mottled shade of red from the heat of the water, her complexion that of an overcooked lobster. She got closer to the mirror, studying the dark glob stuck in her hair. It had the chemical smell of super glue, but was the texture of wet cement.

"Can you get me some scissors, please?" She turned to Ochako, who was studying the gooey mass with a thoughtful frown.

"What for?"

"I'll cut it out," she replied, gesturing to her hair. "I can't deal with this anymore, the smell is really getting to me."

"But your hair–" Ochako cried. "It'll be so short."

Kaylee shrugged. "It's just hair. My hair's been shorter, believe me." She wryly thought about the time in captivity when her captors would randomly cut her hair almost to the scalp, not wanting to fuss with having to comb or brush it. Then there was the time they all contracted lice…she tried to repress a shiver as she remembered Florian holding her down as Rusty shaved her head with a rusty set of clippers. She could still hear the faint sound of buzzing and shook her head to clear it.

"Wait a minute! I have an idea–" Tsuyu dashed out of the bathroom. "She's fine!" Kaylee could hear her call out. "Bakugou–she's fine!" Kaylee couldn't help but smile bashfully as her eyes met Ochako's sparkling brown ones in the mirror.

"He was really worried about you, you know," Ochako said. "When you left this morning, he wouldn't stop fidgeting in his seat. I thought he was going to get whiplash from turning back to look for you in class."

Kaylee felt her face flush, feeling a little guilty that she'd worried him so much. She didn't know what to say in reply, so she just smiled softly.

A high pitched squeal interrupted her thoughts as the pink form of Mina rushed in the bathroom, followed by Tsuyu, Jiro, the empty clothing form of Hagakure, and finally Yaoyorozu, looking somewhat concerned.

"Here," Yaomomo handed her a warm mug of tea. "It's got lemon and honey to help with your throat." Kaylee took a tentative sip of the hot liquid and sighed in relief as it soothed her irritated throat.

"It's makeover time!" Mina brandished a pair of scissors like a Viking warrior holding a sword.

"It's ok!" Ochako told her. "Mina's actually really good at haircuts, she's cut all of ours at one time or another. Especially as it's not always easy to get to a hair salon. And she never charges anything!"

"Come on, Kaylee! It'll be fun! I'll do an amazing job, I promise!" Before Kaylee could utter a word of protest, she was turned and marched towards the vanity area of the bathroom, and pulled into a chair.

"Wow, this stuff is brutal!" Mina said as she began cutting, her hands working quickly but gently over Kaylee's hair.

"I can't figure out what it's made of," Yaomomo held up a clump of the stuff that had fallen to the floor. "I might could create a solvent to take it out, but it's so odd." She sniffed it hesitantly, making a face at the odor. "Such a strong chemical smell, like super-glue, but not."

"It came out of the sprinkler system," Kaylee explained. "I was lucky it didn't get in my eyes!"

"We had to rescue our "hostage" from an airplane that was about to take off!" Hagakure told them.

"Ours was on a boat…"

"We had a moving bus!"

"Someone has seen way too many action films," Jiro told the group. "I know I've seen the bomb on the elevator somewhere before."

"Speaking of action films, Kaylee proved she'd seen Die Hard," Tsuyu said as Mina turned Kaylee around in the chair to get the back of her head. Despite the crowd surrounding her, she didn't feel the usual discomfort. Mina's hands were quick and gentle as she pulled and tugged hair in all directions. As Kaylee sipped her tea, she started to feel relaxed.

"Weren't you scared?" Hagakure asked. "It must have been so dark in there!"

Kaylee thought for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully. "It was, but I could feel my way around, and there were a lot of grates that led out into different areas and some light shone through." Not a complete lie.

Jiro hopped up on the vanity counter, her fingers twirling her earphone jacks as she grinned slyly at the others. "The best part was watching Bakugou carry her down twenty flights of stairs!"

High pitched squeals had Kaylee covering her ears.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Bakugou's harsh voice echoed through the bathroom. Kaylee let out her own squeak as she clutched her towel to her, trying to duck behind Hagakure, for all the good that would have done.

"Is everything ok?" Deku called in behind him.

"For fuck's sake, we're fine!" Ochako called out. She quickly dashed to the bathroom doorway to head the boys off.

Hagakure held her phone out to Mina. "I think she'd look great in this type of cut, especially with her bone structure!"

Mina stepped back to access her work so far. "I've got something similar in mind, Tooru. I'll even up the sides–the sludge stuff wasn't as close to her scalp as I thought, so I didn't have to cut as much off as I thought." She started back to work on her hair, and Kaylee swallowed nervously, which was stupid as she'd never really cared about how she looked before. Now though, she was self-conscious about her appearance, especially surrounded as she was by the other girls. She wrapped the fluffy white robe around her more securely, and took another sip of tea.

"I hope you're hungry, because Bakugou's in the kitchen cooking something," Ochako told Kaylee. She had some clothes in her arms as well and set them on the counter. "I brought you down something to change into."

Kaylee smiled at the thoughtfulness. It was her most comfy pair of sweats and oversized hoodie. "Thank you."

"We almost done here? I'm hungry too!" Jiro asked.

Mina frowned at her. "Hold on, I've got to style it now." She grabbed a hairdryer and some sort of hair products and started back up again.

"ALL DONE!" Mina called out gleefully, turning Kaylee around again to the mirror.

"Ooooh! Let's see!"

"Oh wow, Kaylee!"

"Your hair looks so thick and soft!"

"You look amazing!"

"Like a movie star!"

Kaylee couldn't stop the surprised gasp as she saw her reflection. Her hair framed her face in short waves. She blinked, not really believing it was the same person. She ran her hands through it, marveling at the silky texture.

"It's called a 'pixie cut.' I got it off of one of my mom's favorite American actresses from the 1990s," Mina proudly explained. "It sets off your big gorgeous eyes and cheekbones!"

"It's incredible!" Kaylee beamed at Mina. "Thank you so much!"

….

"Touch that again, Spark-plug, and I'll annihilate you!" Bakugou's voice boomed throughout the common room from the kitchen.

"Oh come on!" Kaminari replied. "I'm hungry too! None of us have had anything to eat either!"

"Not my fucking problem! And why are you all standing about here anyway? Don't you pathetic extras have something else to do?"

"We like to watch you cook," Sero explained, leaning on one of the counters.

"And annoy you," Kirishima added.

"You can have whatever's left over, but only after Kaylee finishes eating and says it's ok!" He slapped Kaminari's hand as it inched towards a pair of chopsticks.

Deku leaned over the counter, curious at the bright yellow dish that was just taken from the oven.

"What–uh–is that called anyway, Kacchan?" He sniffed the dish carefully. "I've never seen it before."

"It's some stupid American food–"

"PRESENTING THE NEW AND IMPROVED KAYLEE!" Kaylee winced as Mina called out, jerking everyone's eyes to her. She froze, and the memory of her first night at UA suddenly appeared in her mind, only this time, she couldn't hide behind her hair.

"Holy woah, that's incredible! Your hair looks amazing, Kaylee!" Deku was the first to offer her a cheery smile that Kaylee gratefully returned.

"Lookin' good!" Kaminari winked at her, offering her a flirty wave. Jiro rolled her eyes at him as she went to stand beside him at the kitchen counter.

"Very nice," Sero agreed.

Kaylee couldn't help but glance towards Bakugou. He had a bandage on his cheek, but otherwise seemed to be fine as he stared at her, a curious look in his carmine eyes. The room grew silent as they stared at each other. She couldn't help but notice his cheeks were flushed, as though he'd been standing in front of the hot stove too long.

"It suits you," he said finally, giving her an approving nod and she couldn't help but beam happily at him. "Now, come and eat, this is going to get cold." He dished up something and placed it on the counter.

She didn't realize how hungry she was until she smelled the delicious aroma of whatever he'd made. "It smells wonderful!" Feeling relieved that Bakugou seemed to like her new look, she strolled to the kitchen counter. When she noticed what was on the plate, she had to blink back tears. "You remembered," she whispered.

"Tch. Of course I did."

One of the few happy memories Kaylee had as a child was the time she was given macaroni and cheese to eat. It was one time in Colorado, when she was 7 or 8 years old, and Rusty's girlfriend had been keeping an eye on her while the rest of her captors were out. She'd brought Kaylee a treat that afternoon, leftovers from lunch. It was still warm, and Kaylee devoured it. She'd once mentioned it to Bakugou when they were talking about American cuisine.

"Please, please, hurry up and eat it so we can try it, Kaylee!"

"Yeah, man, we're starving here and Bakugou won't let us have any until you go first!"

Bakugou handed Kaylee a fork, and gestured toward the plate. "Thank you," she whispered, still fighting tears. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with so many people in the kitchen area staring at her, Kaylee took the first bite, closing her eyes in bliss. "Mmmm. It's even better than I remembered," she told Bakugou. He gave her a small grin.

"OMG, can we try some now?" Sero whined, elbowing Kaminari and Deku aside so he could get closer.

Kaylee jumped, forgetting for a moment that there was a small crowd watching her and Bakugou. "Sure. If you like."

"Oi! You bastards, don't make such a mess!" Bakugou quickly hopped out of the way as everyone suddenly dove to grab a plate.

It grew silent as everyone started chewing.

"It's odd," Deku said tentatively. "It's got a weird texture."

"What's this called?" Ochako asked.

"Mac n' Cheese," Kaylee responded. "It's popular in America."

"It's–unusual." This from Yaomomo who was struggling to grab some on her chopsticks. "It's hard to eat with chopsticks."

"It's why I gave Kaylee a fork," Bakugou rolled his eyes at her.

"I think it's amazing!" Kaminari said, taking another bite. He'd grabbed a spoon and was dipping up another portion.

"It's—food," Sero frowned down at his plate. "I'm not a fan."

"Yeah, sorry, dude." Kirishima agreed. "It's not for me."

"Like I give a shit about any of your opinions," Bakugou snarled, throwing a tea towel at Kirishima, who ducked behind Mina.

….

Can I come up?

Kaylee smiled at the text from Bakugou. After all the excitement of the day, everyone retired to their rooms earlier than usual. Kaylee was exhausted, but for some reason, just couldn't get comfortable. She'd tossed and turned for a good half hour, then just gave up and started up a TV show.

Of course.

It wasn't like Bakugou to stay up this late either, but maybe he had the same problem too.

"Hey," she greeted him, standing back to let him in after hearing a light rap on her door.

"Hi." Bakugou immediately thrust something at her as he strode in and she had to take a step back to see what it was.

"Hey, what's this?" She took the All Might blanket he'd all but thrown at her, and couldn't help holding it to her nose and inhaling deeply. It was so warm and soft, and holy shit, it smelled amazing–just like he did.

"It's my blanket, dummy." He ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. "I…um…well…fuck," he sighed. "Ever since you returned it, it had your scent all over it, and now it's faded. So, make it smell like you again!"

"Um, ok?" She watched as he started to fidget with some of the things on her dresser, straightening some pictures she'd taken, and smoothing down the comforter on her bed.

"Bakugou–" she began–

"Katsuki."

"Huh?"

"My name is Katsuki. We've known each other for months now. I want you to call me Katsuki."

Her heart skipped a beat, then quickened. Kaylee understood enough of Japanese customs that using someone's first name was a big deal. Huge. Blanket forgotten, Kaylee stared at Bakugou–no, Katsuki–dumbstruck.

"Ok," she said after a few moment's silence.

"Yeah?" Kaylee had never seen him looking so nervous, didn't even think he was capable of that emotion, but there was no other way to describe him.

Kaylee nodded breathlessly. "Yes."

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." He folded his arms across his chest, as though he was challenging her.

"I want to," she said quickly. "Katsuki." He gave her one of those rare smiles that showed a dimple in his cheek and Kaylee had to suppress a shiver. "I like your name."

"Good," he nodded. Katsuki gazed at her intensely for a long moment and the next, she was giggling madly as she clutched him to her. He was laughing as well, his eyes crinkling up at the corners, and Kaylee had never seen him look so gorgeous.

"You scared the ever-loving shit out of me today," he said once the laughter had died down to slight chuckles.

"I didn't mean to."

He touched his forehead to hers. "Don't do it again."

"I won't. I promise."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Your hair is so fucking soft. Like feathers. Pinky did a great job."

Kaylee couldn't speak, only nod as he kept playing in her hair. She felt her knees go weak and knew if it wasn't for Katsuki holding her, she'd be a puddle on the floor.

"You're glowing so brightly now."

"I'm happy."

"Me too."

They held each other for a long moment, Kaylee's head on his shoulder, the sound of the TV program she had on playing in the background.

"Is that Great British Baking Show?" Katsuki asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I had it on earlier. Have you seen it?"

"Are you shitting me? How have we not talked about this?" The next thing Kaylee knew, Katsuki had plopped them both on her bed, their backs against the wall. Kaylee felt his arm go around her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, tucking the All Might blanket around both of them.

"This is last season," he told her. "You've got to catch up." Feeling more content than she'd ever have in her life, Kaylee just snuggled closer to him.

"Look at that idiot! Didn't Pru just tell her she was using way too much olive oil? Damned thing isn't going to rise with that much on it."

She giggled again as he ranted on about the next contestants, what they were doing wrong, and why he thought Paul Hollywood was getting way too soft on them. "He was a lot harsher in season 1."

"Hey, Katsuki?"

He turned his head to look at her, smiling. "I like hearing you say my name."

"I like it too. Does this mean I can call you Kacchan?"

He growled.

"What about Kats?" Another deep growl. "Bakubro?"

"Shut up, Kaylee."

...

A/N: In case you were curious, I picture Kaylee as a very pale, very blond Winona Ryder-especially with her new pixie haircut!