Some more fluff because I absolutely love writing Short Temper stuff. Some trigger warnings for anxiety, ptsd, panic attack. Music Selection: Need You Now by Lady Antebellum, and Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade
Leinei giggles as Natsuo tosses a ball with her and Fuyumi, alternating each time who he throws it to. At some intervals, Fuyumi throws it to her, so she can throw it back to Natsuo, starting a circle of back and forth. She feels happy, safe. At one point, the ball slips from her fingers, hitting her in the face. Natsuo laughs, holding his stomach as Fuyumi comes over, looking her head over.
"You're okay," she promises as Leinei sniffles. "It's just a little red mark. You're okay."
"Is Little Mouse crying again?"
She pulls away from Fuyumi, running over to Touya and throwing her arms around his waist. He chuckles and pats her head, pushing her gently backwards so he can bend down a little to see the spot where the ball hit her. She uses her fists to rub the tears from her eyes.
"You're okay," he coos to her, smiling with his bright blue eyes shining. She nods as he gently rubs the spot with his thumb. "Wanna see what I can do with my flames?"
"Yeah!" she says excitedly, jumping on her heels and nodding her head eagerly. He laughs and holds his hand up, a small ember forming in the palm of his hand. The blue flames flicker and sway, dancing like wisps in the moonlight. He lets the flames travel up his fingers, separating to stand on his fingertips as he holds his hand upright. He brings his fingers together and separates them, letting the flames meld back into one before breaking apart again. She's entranced, breathless as she watches the display.
"Isn't it pretty?" he asks. She nods, looking up and her eyes widening as she sees the hooded figure, the same piercing blue eyes staring at her from under the hood. His hand becomes enveloped in the blue flames, reaching for her face. "Let me show you how pretty they are, little mouse."
Leinei bolts up, throwing the blankets off and nearly sending Mr. Spokes flying across the room. She felt her face, feeling the bandage where Stain's knife had cut her cheek. Otherwise, it was smooth, soft. No burn scars, no red spot where the ball had hit her in her dream. Her heart's pounding in her chest, sweat drenching the back of her shirt as she gets out of the bed and walks over to the light switch by the door. She flips it on before opening the door, seeing the darkened hallway. She's the only one home, Reina having left shortly after she had fallen asleep.
She trails her fingers down the wall as she searches in the dark for the light switch, flipping the light on at the top of the stairs. As soon as the light flashes, she sees a blade come down in front of her face, falling back and holding her arms over her head as she chokes back a scream with her eyes clenched shut. After a moment, she lowers her arms and opens her eyes, seeing nothing but the light illuminating the stairs leading to the door. She swallows, getting up to her feet and holding the railing as she walks downstairs and to the light switches by the door, flipping them on as well. Soon, the whole apartment was lit up, bringing some relief to her as she headed back up the stairs and to her room, leaving the door open.
She picks up Mr. Spokes from his place on the floor, sitting on the bed with him hugged against her chest. She grabs her phone with her free hand, swiping up to unlock it. There's a few unread messages from Shoto, Izuku, and Iida. All of them checking on her, and if the police told her the same thing of not telling anyone what really happened, and that Endeavor and Elementia took Stain down. She debates calling Keigo, talking to him. A quick glance to the top corner of her phone shows that it's two in the morning, and in a few hours, she will be up and getting ready for school.
Deciding she didn't want to be chewed out for being up so late, she goes to her messages, clicking on her chat with Bakugo. Her thumb hovers over the digital keyboard, the last message between them having been the night before the Hero Killer attack. Does he even know yet? He's most likely asleep…
Leinei: {Hey…}
She stares at the chat, biting down on her lip as she prays he's awake. She needs someone to talk to. She wants to talk about anything, something. She needs to take her mind off what happened. How scared she still is. Even with Stain in Tartarus, she couldn't stop seeing his smile, or the blades flashing in the moonlight. And as for the blue flame villain-he was invading her nightmares, twisting the happy memories she had of Touya's flames into something disgusting and cruel. And, as if by some miracle, her phone dinged.
Katsu: {What do you want, Short Stack?}
Leinei: {Can..I call you?}
Katsu: {Um why would you wanna do that? It's two in the fucking morning and we have class tomorrow.}
Leinei: {Please Katsu…}
A few seconds later, her phone rings, Bakugo's contact information popping up across the screen. She answers it and holds it to her ear, rubbing her eye as she feels tears starting to prick at them.
"Why are you still up, idiot?" he demands.
"I…" She chokes on the words, swallowing and pulling her knees up to squeeze Mr. Spokes between her thighs and chest. "I..I had a nightmare."
"And that warrants you texting me at 2AM why?"
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this. I'll le-"
"I swear to god if you hang up on me now after waking my ass up, I will find where you live and blow your ass to tiny pieces."
She sniffles, hugging Mr. Spokes tighter against her. She didn't like being home alone, she didn't like that Bakugo was mad at her. She just wanted...to be normal.
"I-I had a run in with a villain the other day," she says softly, Bakugo going quiet on the other line. "Actually, I had a run in with two. One definitely S ranked, the other we're pretty sure is S ranked, but they couldn't tell. I was with Shochan, Endeavor, and Elementia-"
"Are you okay?"
"I-I'm-Physically, I'm fine," she says, burying her face in Mr. Spokes' tufted fur. "It...I...I can't sleep because they're in my dreams, I see them just walking around my home, I can't sleep, and I'm scared. I'm so scared, Katsu…"
"...you were with Deku and Four Eyes against the Hero Killer, weren't you?"
"What gave it away..?"
"You said you were with Icy Hot. I don't see you just staying there while your friends get hurt, so you went against the Hero Killer."
"Mmhm…" she mumbles, closing her eyes. "I-I came out the least hurt, since I got immobilized pretty early into the fight, but the others had to spend time in the hospital. Izu banged his arm up pretty bad, Shochan got cut up, and the class rep-"
"Where are you at right now?"
"M-My bedroom."
"You live near Deku don't you?"
"Ye-yeah."
"There should be a park about a ten or twenty minute walk away. I'll meet you there."
"Katsu-"
The call ends and she sighs, rubbing her eyes. The police told her to stay inside until school, but...a small walk outside never hurt anyone. It wasn't like she was going back to sleep anytime soon. I'll bring Mr. Spokes...that way I'm not alone walking in the dark.
She gets to the park first, wearing a Hawks hoodie and a pair of black sweats. Her hair's tangled near the ends, but still pulled into a sloppy ponytail. Mr. Spokes sat in the pocket of her hoodie, his head sticking out with the ratted snout pointed up at her. I wonder where Katsuki is...I should just go home…
Footsteps come up behind her, her back stiffening. They keep getting closer and closer, her clenching her eyes shut as she feels fingers brush her shoulder. At that moment, her elbow snapped back and caught someone in the ribs. There's a cough, and a choked out curse.
"Damn, short stack," Bakugo gasps out, rubbing his chest as tears bled into the corners of his eyes. "I don't remember you hitting that hard."
"Oh crap, Katsu," she says, turning quickly and staring at him horrified. "I-I didn't mean to, are you okay? I-I-you scared me-"
"Reaction time is a lot better too," he tells her, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. He notices the redness around her eyes, the puffiness of her face. Her hands trembled a lot more than he remembered, even holding the collar of her hoodie to her mouth. He tilts his head as he sees the name emblazoned across the front. "You're a Hawks fan?"
"Hmm?" she looks up at him, then down at her hoodie. She laughs a bit, letting go of her collar. "You could say that. Did I wake you up?"
"No I'm always up at two am the night before school," he retorts, rolling his eyes as he walks over to the swingset and plops down on one of the swaying swings. She follows suit, hooking her arms around the chains holding the seat up. "Why are you up?"
"Nightmare," she tells him, using the tips of her toes to push herself back and forth. The swing creaks a bit as she does so. "I...it was me playing with some childhood friends of mine and it turned into the first villain I saw the other day."
He's quiet, starting to push himself back and forth on the swing. The pant legs of his sweats drag the wood chips underneath him a bit. Leinei watches him, head tilted to the side. The barest of breezes caused by him doing that sways some of the small hairs framing her face. She pushes them back as he stops, looking at her and seeing the head of Mr. Spokes.
"What's that?" he asks, pointing at it. She looks down and pulls the ratty porcupine out, turning him around to face Bakugo. He tilts his head, blinking slowly out of sheer confusion. "You're sixteen, and still carry a stuffed animal around?"
"First off, his name is Mr. Spokes," she retorts, feeling slightly offended as she hugs him to her chest. "Second off, I only carry him around when I'm scared."
"So you carry him around all the time?" Bakugo teases, laughing as she scoffs at him. "What? The way you act all the time, you're either more of an anxious mess than the damn nerd, or you're just constantly scared all the time."
"You used the same phrase twice."
"It is three in the damn morning. Excuse me if my brain isn't entirely awake."
"It's okay, Katsuki," Leinei says, holding Mr. Spokes in front of her face and dropping her voice an octave. It surprises him so much, he snorts and covers his mouth, trying not to laugh. "Not everyone can be as articulate as Leinei!"
"I'm sorry, but what the fuck?" he laughs, holding his stomach as he doubles over. Her face flushes and she bites her lip, looking away. "What the hell is that voice for?"
"This is my normal voice," she continues, using the voice and moving the stuffed animal's arms. "You got an issue with that, bucko?"
"You're asking for me to kick your ass, Salinsa," he warns her, still laughing as he wipes the tears from his eyes. "And who the hell says bucko anymore?"
"I do!"
"Okay, okay, you can stop the goofy voice," he tells her, watching as she lowers the plush to her lap and clears her throat. "What's up with that?"
"I've had him since I was little," she replies, messing with the plush's paws as she looks down at it. "Before my parents' accident. And my brother would do that voice to cheer me up when I was sad, and it just...kinda stuck. He's kinda my source of comfort."
"I guess that makes sense." He holds the swing's chain as he leans back as far as he can, feeling his back pop as he does so. "So, those villains-"
"The Hero Killer and the Blue Flame Villain," she corrects.
"Right them. The BFV doesn't seem that scary. What happened?"
"Well...Elementia had me chasing a robber and I almost had him. We were in an alleyway and when I got to him, the villain had already burned him to nothing. Just a pile of ashes. And I confronted him, because that's what we're supposed to do, and I told him that he could have been rehabilitated, and he-he…" She found herself starting to hyperventilate, feeling light headed and shaky just remembering that moment. Bakugo's eyes narrow and he gets up, standing in front of her for a moment before placing his hand on the top of her head.
"Calm down," he says softly, getting her to look up at him. "In and out, slow deep breaths. In….out….in...out. Just like that."
She breathes with him, calming down and closing her eyes as he takes his hand away from her head. A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips, disappearing as she opens her eyes. She uses her thumb to wipe the tears from eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.
"I'm guessing you have experience with small panic attacks like that?"
"Before I was admitted to UA, I got attacked by a sludge villain," he admits, turning his head away and scratching his cheek. "I almost suffocated, until All Might swooped in and took care of it. I had a handful of panic attacks following that. Had to learn to deal with them. Good to know that stupid information comes in handy."
"I-I didn't know."
"Yeah not many people did unless you had a TV," he snorts. "I was known as the Sludge Kid for a few weeks. Until I got into UA."
"Sludge Kid? They couldn't come up with a better name?"
"It was middle school, okay? A lot of them weren't that creative."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I prefer to call you either Katsu or Boom Boom Boy."
"I swear to god you ever call me Boom Boom Boy, and I will blow your ass to fucking Kyoto."
"Oh but my sister can get away with it?"
"Your sister scares me," he admits sheepishly, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "She's Elementia, isn't she? Her quirk is terrifying."
"She can only really use air at any given moment," she assures him. "And she's not that scary, more of a pain than anything."
"Yeah, but the last thing I need is to remember what being suffocated feels like."
"That is a valid point. Don't worry, she wouldn't do it. She looks like she has a temper, but she's normally really calm." She tilts her head, smiling gently. "And you're really scared of her? She can only use existing elements. Hence the whole Supporting Star thing."
"I'm sorry, have you seen her work with Endeavor?"
"A few clips," she says with a shrug. "They still don't have anything on our brother."
"Your brother is a pro too?"
"A high ranking one too," she boasts, proud to say it. "His and Reina's recommendations got me into the Hero Course."
"Holy shit, I'm actually impressed," he snorts. "I didn't think you'd be the type to pull family shit."
"I didn't, honestly. I just...they have a lot of expectations for me, and I wanna live up to them. I just need to prove everything."
"Hmpf…" He scratches his cheek and tilts his head, taking a breath and sighing. "I...and I swear to god if you say anything to anyone that I told you this, I will kill you, I think you're doing a good job so far. Not many heroes come out of facing two S rank villains with just a few scratches."
Her face turns pink and she looks down at her lap, not sure of what to say back to that. Her chest felt tight, but this time in a good way. She can feel her throat closing and her heart skipping a beat. Her stomach feels full of butterflies.
"Well? Say something. Dumbass." His face is beet red, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. He takes a step back as she stands up, his eyes widening as she smiles at him. It's just her quirk, it's just her stupid fucking quirk making my heart flutter.
"Thank you, Katsuki. That means a lot."
"Yeah whatever."
"So...um, one more thing."
"What?"
"Why's your hair like that?"
He glares at her and his eye twitches as he turns around with a huff. She giggles as she hides her face behind Mr. Spokes. Way to ruin a moment, dumbass.
"Jeanist trained my hair to sit like this and I can't get it to go back. Shut up about it."
"Whatever makes you happy, Katsu."
