***Aki***

The weekend passed quickly and I was anxious to get back to my work study with Endeavor's agency. I'd received a text instructing me to be there directly after my classes to discuss the new schedule that would be implemented now that winter break was over. I was the first out of the classroom once the bell rang, plugging one of my headphones into my ear and double tapping the screen as I followed the usual crowd toward the front grates.

"Directions to Endeavor Agency." I spoke into my phone, waiting for it to pull up the directions and verbally instruct me where to go. Before updated technology, traveling outside home on my own had been nearly impossible. Heat signatures didn't have 'land marks' or any way for me to determine how to get anywhere. I was one of the youngest kids in my elementary school to get the top end new phone that was released with touch screen and verbal commands but no one seemed to understand it was a necessity for me. Most kids my age thought I was a snobby rich kid splurged my parents money. There were even some that went as far as accusing me of faking my disability to get special privileges, since my quirk granted me a degree of vision so I wasn't completely blind. I'd hated showing weakness and letting anyone find out about my blindness so usually kept it a secret if I could manage it. Even majority of my fellow classmates in the hero course didn't know of my disability. Bumping or tripping over things was easily played off as being clumsy or simply not paying attention.

"Exit at stop 15A." my phone's robotic voice pulled me from my thoughts and I focused my attention on the train announcing what the next stop was we were approaching. When I made it to the agency, I stuffed my airpod into my pocket along with my phone and followed Burnin to Endeavor's office where I could see four familiar signatures already waiting.

"Took long enough, Batgirl."

"Must be nice that U.A. is so close, I'd feel bad if people on a train were forced to deal with your attitude on a regular." I retorted as I moved to stand next to Midoriya and smiled.

Before the hot head could retaliate, Endeavor cleared his throat. "You've all progressed well so far. From now on, you will be working in teams of two. You will be assigned routes to complete during your shift and will complete full reports of all activity just as any pro hero would. You will call in for backup if a situation is not in your skillset, is that understood?"

"Yes." We all agreed.

"I've reviewed your schedules and assigned work days to best fit each of you. Shoto and Deku, you will be partnered and will handle routes three, five, and eight on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hirano and Bakugo, you two will handle routes two, six, and seven on Mondays and Wednesdays."

"And weekends?" Midoriya asked.

"We will all work together to cover all routes, just as we did during winter break." he explained.

"Why am I stuck with Batgirl?!" Bakugo demanded and I couldn't resist the grin that pulled at my lips.

"She's most compatible with you." Was the pro hero's simple answer and I choked on a laugh. Bakugo was going to lose his shit over that but he couldn't argue the logic. I was immune to fire, which automatically made me the best partner for either Shoto or Bakugo. And pairing the hot head with Midoriya wouldn't have been a good idea.

"If I can ask, why are we pairing up instead of staying as a full team of four?" Midoriya asked.

I already knew the answer to that question. "Improvement while all four of us are fighting over one assignment will be difficult. The point is for all of us to grow, not to compete with each other."

"Exactly. I'm putting you in the field to get a feel for what pro's do but since you aren't at pro level yet, pairing you up is a safety precaution." Endeavor elaborated.

"Makes sense." Shoto agreed.

"Shoto, Deku. Burnin will show you how we complete and submit our activity reports. Hirano, Bakugo, get changed and meet Kido outside. He will show you your routes then you may return to school."

**Aki**

Kido had guarded us through the routes on our first day so today was our first time on our own. I trailed a ways behind my new partner, paying full attention to my surroundings. Although he could be a sarcastic asshole, I was still thankful to have a fire user as my partner. It would have been difficult to navigate busy streets filled with similar colored heat signatures and not lose track of him. With the unique crimson color of his, Bakugo was easy to spot in the crowd. I could sense him watching me now and then, likely trying to figure out how I managed to almost effortlessly follow him despite his clear attempts to trip me up in highly populated areas. I often struggled to explain what I could actually see, since it'd been so long since I lost my sight. My world was now completely black, and floating in that darkness was anything that carried heat. Electronics or other technology that typically ran warmer than room temperature didn't give off a bright color but enough that it wasn't completely invisible to me. When I'd explained some of my quirk to Endeavor on the first day, I hadn't gone into much detail so I could understand why Bakugo was probably curious how I could identify his heat signature in a crowd. Anything warm blooded typically ranged from shades of yellow, while people with fire based quirks burned more red or orange hues depending on how hot their flames burned. I could also see blues and whites but those were rare, extremely hot encounters. I hadn't met a single person other than myself and my father that can use white flames.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I caught a sound that didn't fit into the normal hustle of the city.

"Stop, please! I work hard for that money to feed my kids!"

"Bakugo." I called toward him, stopping in my tracks as I tried to pinpoint where the sobbing woman's voice was coming from.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I was so focused I failed to notice my partner so close beside me until his voice boomed near my ear and caused me to startle slightly. "For fuck's sake, don't do that!" I snapped before refocusing on my task. "A woman is being attacked, this way." I explained before taking off in the direction where the crowd thinned. As I neared what I assumed was a building based on the electrical wiring and lights arranged before me, I slowed to allow my partner to take the lead. "Ahead, somewhere to the right. Possibly an employee parking area." He followed my direction and I sighed in relief that he didn't give me much trouble about it. Once there weren't heat signatures to clearly see, I started getting clumsy and I wasn't looking to trip over a trash can I couldn't see. Bakugo would surely never let me live it down. Following Endeavor had been easier since I'd had four people to trail behind, now that it was just Bakugo and I it wasn't going to be so simple. With him taking point, I was able to follow his exact path to avoid an unseen obstacles.

Bakugo rounded the corner just as I identified three people who seemed to be cowering from a fourth that stood over them. "Hey asshole! Those don't belong to you."

A resounding 'pop' echoed through the parking lot, triggering several car alarms as I saw a burst of heat flash in front of the thief. One detail heroes sometimes forgot was that not all people had or relied on their quirks, so I wasn't overly surprised that Bakugo seemed to freeze once his brain registered our opponent had a gun. Easily spotting the bullet from the heat of it igniting from the chamber, I engulfed it in my flames, instantly turning it to ash before it could harm my partner.

"What the hell?" The criminal dropped his weapon with a yelp of pain as I focused my heat on the gun and the metal glowed with heat, melting into the asphalt when it hit the ground. Without his upper hand, he quickly took off with his bounty.

"I'll take care of these three, you can handle that coward." I said from behind him as I approached the women. He blasting off after the idiot and it mustn't have taken much to detain him because Bakugo returned within minutes and tossed something at me with a mumbled warning of the incoming projectiles. I caught what felt like an armful of purses with slightly less grace than I usually showed and shot a glare in his direction, getting the impression that he was smirking at me.

"Thank you both so much!" the women praised and I smiled warmly.

"Of course, you three be safe."

With the women safe, we returned to the main street to resume our patrol and I fell in step behind him once more. Our first night on patrol by ourselves was fairly uneventful, only two other calls we took care of before dispatch told us our day was finished. When we returned to the office, I made my way to the locker room and fumbled my hand around searching for the handle. Sometimes I really wish doors would simply push open. Or motion sensors? Groaning in frustration, I jumped slightly in surprise when Bakugo suddenly shoved past me and threw the door open.

"Hurry up, you useless woman." he snapped. I pat his arm in thanks, trying not to think about how defined that biscep was, before entering the room. "Thanks for dusting that bullet." he muttered under his breath before quickly retreating to the men's locker door.

I couldn't stop the smile that pulled at my lips. I never thought I'd hear Bakugo thank me for anything, figuring his pride wouldn't allow it. Maybe he was finally starting to warm up to me.

**Aki**

The weekend quickly approached and now that the four of us were getting the hang of keeping up with Endeavor, we weren't as beat by the end of the day and could focus more on his training. As we returned to the agency Sunday night, I didn't feel ready to head back home yet. I still had some energy left and the training rooms at school would be closed by the time I returned. Saying goodbye to Shoto and Midoriya, I headed toward the training room and shouldn't have been surprised to find Bakugo already there. "Wanna spar?"

I could practically sense the scowl on his face. "Go home loser."

"I get it, you're too tired to keep up with me. I'll just do my own thing over here then."

"The hell did you just say?!" I didn't even have time to laugh at my clear manipulation of him before he was launching across the room. What I intended to be a quick five minute encounter turned into over an hour of the most fun I'd had in a long time. Bakugo was a quick learner and he was observant. He'd only fought me a few times and it was clear he already was adjusting his techniques against me. Strikes and swift counters that had caught him off guard before didn't work anymore, and he even managed to land enough blows that my body ached. My ears were slightly ringing from the number of explosions he's set off in such close proximity to me but thankfully he'd toned down their intensity considering it was so late. And since his fire quirk couldn't effect me, Bakguo didn't often use his quirk anymore when he fought me. Not directly against me anyway, he used it to make his movements unpredictable or change direction in the blink of an eye.

Bending to catch my breath, I wiped sweat from my forehead. "Have you ever tried to tone down the intensity of your blast but still deliver high heat?"

"Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Plenty of reasons. If you can control both the degree of heat and the intensity of the explosion, you'll reach an entirely new level of control over your quirk. Some situations might call for more stealth or finesse, where a smaller explosion but higher heat is needed. Right now, you only control the degree of heat for you attacks based on how large the explosion is. You might even conserve more energy by playing around with those changes." Not to mention I wouldn't have to suffer from damage to my hearing if we were ever stuck between a rock and a hard place in a fight.

He paused for a moment and I could sense his gears turning, thinking about what I'd just presented. Bakugo was all about being the best, so I knew he'd take even my advise to heart. Even if he didn't show it. "Whatever nerd, go get changed. The day is over."

Stretching out a few kink in my back and feeling the ache from a good solid workout, I waited for him to lead the way to the exit. "That was fun, we should make a habit of ending the day with sparring. I'm sure you're as restless as I am with tests coming up, I could use the stress relief."

"You must enjoy getting your ass kicked, masochist bat."

"I could hand you your ass and you know it." I laughed as I followed him out of the gym toward the lockers.

"The hell did you just say?!" he growled, turning on me and if I weren't watching him so closely I'd likely have ran right into his chest.

I rolled her eyes, "I'm immune to your fire but you aren't to mine. If I got serious, you'd be Barbeque Bakugo." I snickered at my own joke.

I could feel the heat of his glare as he towered over me, his body blocking my path to the locker rooms. "Try me Bat Girl, we'll see who ends up on top."

A smirk pulled at my face as I leaned towards him on my tip toes. "That doesn't seem like a fair challenge, I imagine you're more a top than a bottom. I would hate to put you on a position you aren't comfortable with."

"Wh- Like you'll ever know!"

A laugh burst from my chest as I reached around him to feel around for the handle to the locker room, effectively bringing myself even closer to him. "Who would've thought all it took to trip up big scary Bakugo was a little comment." I grinned before pushing past him to enter the locker room. "See you tomorrow, partner."

**Bakugo**

It'd been an uneventful week with minimal crime activity in our assigned districts. It was the last day we had before our weekend under Endeavor's instruction began and considering the amount of studying I'd been cramming in for the upcoming tests, I couldn't be upset with a laid back night. Halfway through our patrol, Batgirl asked if we could make a few stops.

"I'm not some fucking girlfriend you can just take shopping with you." I snapped, not slowing my pace.

"It's not that kind of shopping, I need to pick up a few things from the grocery store for my mother."

I scowled at her. "And how exactly were you going to find these 'few things' on your own?"

She shrugged. "I usually just ask but if I have you with me to help it'll get done a lot faster."

"I'm not leading your ass around a damn store collecting your shit. Do it on your own time."

"What if I promise you lunch tomorrow as thanks?" she grinned up at me and I knew I'd lost this battle. What idiot would say no to a free meal?

Clenching my hands into fists, I glared at the infuriating woman. "You better know exactly what you fucking need or I'm leaving your ass in there."

Ten minutes later, I was grudgingly leading the blind idiot around the produce section, collecting each item she listed off to me. Thankfully the list was short and was able to fit in our on duty bag we kept quirk cuffs and the first aid kit. Returning to the route, I was lost in thought about what I wanted for my free meal and turned to find Aki gone. Confused, I scanned the crowd and spotted her bright feathered mask disappearing down an alleyway several streets away. "Where the hell is she going?" Hurrying after her, I snatched her arm before she could get any further.

As if she'd been in some type of daze, she shook her head and glanced in my direction. "Need something?"

"The hell are you talking about? You're the one walking off to who knows where!"

Confused, she pulled her arm from my grasp. Before she could respond, something blasted me against the wall of the alley. The sound of several sets of footsteps echoed off the brick walls and she turned toward the sound as a group approached.

"Well well well, if it isn't a few bratty students playing to be heroes." a voice hissed.

I strained against the invisible force that was holding me against the brick wall but couldn't budge. Glaring at the group that appeared from deeper within the alley, I realized it was a group of women and one man. But the women seemed... blank and empty. Clear sign of a mind control quirk. "Let them go and I won't beat the complete shit out of you."

The man chuckled. "Good luck with that, I've managed to collect quite a few with useful quirks. I'm sure they'll sell for a high price."

Of course we run into a human trafficker. Glancing toward Batgirl as I continued to fight against my restraints, rage coiled in my gut as I saw her battle tensed body suddenly relax. Whatever mind control quirk this guy had, it was strong to be able to ensnare Aki a second time.

"She's pretty cute, I think I'll take her too." he smirked as he made Aki join the group of women that acted as his shield.

"The hell you will!" I yelled, deciding I didn't give a shit about the building anymore. Throwing caution to the wind, I blasted the bricks behind me, causing enough space between me and the invisible force to slip out of it. Knowing I'd need to act fast to get to this asshole before he was able to force another of his hostages to use their quirk, I launching myself at the crowd. The idiot thought he had the upper hand because he was surrounded by civilians. Probably assumed a hero would never attack his own partner. Unluckily for him, his newest mind control victim was immune to my quirk. I aimed a heavy blast at Aki's back and sent her stumbling forward from the force of the explosion. Her fall created the opening I needed to grab the villain's shirt and yank him from the crowd. Shoving him against the wall of the alley, I snapped a pair of quirk cuffs on him and turned to see the women shaking off the quirk's effects.

"You good Batgirl?" I asked, glancing toward her as she seemed to still be shaking the mind control. She didn't respond so I focused back on the jackass I had pinned to the bricks and shoved him toward the street. Kido arrived quickly to take the trafficker into custody and I checked to make sure Aki was following before returning to the route. She was quiet for a while and seemed lost in thought. Probably beating herself up over losing her head to that bastards quirk. I know it would've pissed me off.

"Any lingering effects from his quirk?" I tried checking on her again but she still didn't answer. Whatever, if she wanted to pout about it then I didn't care.

A gasp of surprise pulled my attention back toward her as she completely missed the bridge walkway and plunged into the river we'd crossed every time we left route six and entered seven. Laughter punched me in the gut until I realized she wasn't surfacing and panic set in. Diving into the water, I spotted her sinking and quickly grabbed her around the waist to pull her to the surface. "What the fuck were you doing you idiot?!"

Rage immediately replaced the fear I'd seen on her face as she was sinking to the bottom of the river and she pounded her fists against my chest. "I can't swim you fucking asshole!"

I tightened my hold on her so she was pinned to my chest and couldn't hit as hard. "All your stupid bragging about your superior hearing and you didn't pick up the sound of running water?!"

"MY EARS WERE RINGING FROM YOUR STUPID EXPLOSION!" She yelled. The moment she was back on solid ground, she shoved away from me and pulled herself out of the water. Soaked to the bone, I could feel heat radiating from her as she cranked up her body heat to dry herself.

I pulled myself out of the river and watching her in silence. After weeks of working with her, I'd never seen her lose her temper. Despite my best efforts to push her buttons, she only ever showed mild irritation and snark. I'd also never seen her so terrified. Watching her now, she was clearly on the brink of losing her shit again so I decided against provoking her. How the hell was I supposed to know my blast had messed up her hearing? Although it made sense now why she hadn't responded to any of my questions since we left the alley.

"Let's go back and file the report." I said over my shoulder as I began leading the way back to the office. She silently followed, her jaw still clenched in anger.

We made it all the way back to the office and still she said nothing, it was starting to piss me off. Leading the way to the training room for our usual end of the day sparring, the moment my feet hit the sparring mat she attacked. Catching her ankle just in time, I shoved her backward to put her off balance and aimed a blast. But she was already on the move, relentlessly delivering a series of punches and kicks that I could barely keep up with. She was clearly angry about something because I'd never seen her this serious. It was also becoming clear the bitch had been holding back against me because I'd thought I was close to matching her close combat skill level.

"I can't believe you let me fall right into that river." she finally said, deflecting my kick and aiming a fist for my ribs.

I thrust myself backward with a blast from my other hand and shrugged. "Not my fault you walked right into it. I'm not your babysitter."

"No, you're my damn partner! For how smart you are, you can be real dense about obvious shit! You know I have enhanced hearing and yet it never crossed your mind that a blast that loud could effect me?!" She snapped angrily as she turned on her heel and stomped toward the door. "Let me know when you've pulled your head out of your ass!"

I watched her trudge across the gym in the opposite direction of the door. "You're going the wrong way, Idiot."

Flipping me the bird, she turned abruptly and was out the door before I could say anything else.

**Aki**

I angrily shoved my costume into my bag while I used my quirk to dry my freshly washed hair. I had no idea what time it was since my phone was damaged from my dive in the river but I hoped I would have time to get a replacement before they closed. I relied heavily on my phone for live time directions so I had no idea how I was going to make it home without it. Even my airpods were fried.

"Stupid, arrogant, ASShole!" I growled to myself for the ninth time since I left him in the gym. The door to the locker room slammed open and I scowled when I saw a familiar crimson signature. "Can't read? This is the women's locker, get out."

"You can drop your pissy attitude Bird Brain, I know where the hell I am."

Sucking in a deep breath to keep from exploding on him again, I pulled my bag over my shoulder and shoved past him to exit the locker room.

"I'm sorry, alright? I didn't know the blast fucked with your hearing."

I stopped in my tracks, caught between surprise that Bakugo was actually apologizing and my lingering anger.

"Next time say something woman. I'm not a damn mind reader."

I huffed in annoyance. He wasn't wrong, I was partially at fault for not making sure he knew I wasn't alright. "Fine. Apology accepted." I muttered before continuing out the door. I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to a phone store in time. And having to ask for directions the entire way was going to slow me down immensely.

"You're forgetting your groceries."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Bakugo's voice right behind me. I held out my hand for him to give me the bag but he simply stood there. "What are you doing? Give me the bag."

He snorted. "How exactly do you plan to get home? I know your phone went for a swim with you and phone stores are already closed."

I rubbed my temples in frustration, drawing in a calming breath. Of course it was just my luck that I couldn't get a replacement until the next day. "Who knows Bakugo, guess I'll be asking directions the whole way back to my mother's. Now hand over my fruit."

He didn't comply and instead exited the building ahead of me. "Where does she live?"

"Why the hell would I tell you that?"

"Because I'm walking your hopeless ass there, you idiot! I know you can't navigate the city alone without that phone telling you where to go."

I shouldn't have been surprised Bakugo noticed the importance of my phone, I'd always known he was observant but I guess I was so used to people thinking I was just a spoiled rich kid or a fake desperate for attention that its how I assumed most people saw me. I couldn't help but sigh in annoyance as I debated my options. Take hours trying to get to my parents house while asking for directions all along the way or endure the humiliation of Bakugo meeting my family. My mother only had two speeds, zero or one hundred and there was no in between. She'd either despise my partner or like him so much I'd never hear the end of her nagging about me needing a life partner. Both were not what I wanted to deal with right now but what choice did I have? "Fine, but once we get there you need to leave." I grumbled.

"Like I'd want to stick around anyway." he scoffed before leading the way toward the main entrance. I gave him my parent's address and he navigated there with me following like some stupid lost puppy. I hated being without my phone, I felt so lost and useless. It wasn't long before I could see the white heat signature of my father lounging in the living room as usual and my mother's blue signature scurrying around in the kitchen. Guaranteed she was cursing my name for being late with the last of the ingredients she needed for desert. The gate at the entrance of our property creaked open and I snatched the grocery bag from Bakugo's grasp.

"Thanks for getting me home, you can go now." I said in a rush, needing him to leave quickly before my mother realized I was home.

"Aki! You're late, which means you'll sit in the kitchen and bake those pies! And they better be perfect!" I cringed as her voice reached me from the hallway before the door even opened. I didn't need my enhanced hearing to catch every word out of her mouth, and from the snort of amusement I heard from my partner that was still standing in front of me, it was clear he'd heard her too.

"You need to go righ-" The front door burst open and I groaned. Too late.

"Hurry up sweetheart, and bring your friend. He at least deserves dinner after helping you get home." I could hear the grin on her face and my shoulders slumped. Fantastic. She liked him. I'd be spending the rest of the evening trying not to burn the house down with the degree of embarrassment she was surely going to choke me with.

"You should've run when you had the chance." I mumbled before shuffling into the house, hearing Bakugo following close behind. Of course he hadn't listened, no one would turn down a free meal. Having grown up in the house, I knew it like the back of my hand and could navigate it without relying on my hearing to find walls. It was like my brain just automatically knew how many steps it took to get to every nook and cranny of this place. I brought my partner into the kitchen just as my father turned off the television and stood from the couch. Pointing toward the table, I told him to have a seat before joining my mother at counter and placed the groceries down. "Sorry I'm late, we had some... difficulties on our route today and my phone got damaged."

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me in to kiss my forehead. "Good thing we have replacements here. They really do need to figure out how to make these phones more durable. Have you considered asking the tech department to make something for you? They come up with all types of interesting things to help heroes and improve their costumes, I don't see why they couldn't whip something up."

"I'll check with them."

She squeezed me before removing her arm and sifting through the groceries. "Why don't you get your friend a drink then you can introduce him. Dinner will be ready by the time your father's ass hits his chair."

I snorted a laugh as I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and moved to the fridge. "Bakugo. Water, soda, juice?"

"Water." he mumbled and I filled his glass before handing it to him.

"This is my mom, Kumi. And my dad," I said as he entered the kitchen. "Akemi. Mom, dad. This is my work study partner Bakugo, Katsuki."

"The U.A. student that won the sports festival?" My dad asked curiously as he took a seat to Bakugo's left. "Nice to meet you, son. I'm sorry you're stuck with my stubborn daughter." he teased.

"Hey!" I growled at him, a pout pulling at my lips.

"She's almost as bad as her mother so I feel for you, kid." my father continued, laughing as he ducked a fireball that came from the kitchen.

"Don't you drag me into this dear or you'll be baking the pies." Mom said as she brought over dinner. The smell of curry invaded my senses and I took a seat on Bakugo's right, across from dad. Mom filled everyone's bowls before her own and took the last seat. "So Katsuki, how has the work study been going? Endeavor's agency rarely takes students so this must be an opportunity of a lifetime for you as well"

"Better than working with that bastard Best Jeanist." he snorted as we all dug into our meals.

I rolled my eyes. "At least you had that opportunity, most hero agencies turned me down once they learned of my disability in my file."

"Which is ridiculous. She would not maintain top grades and rank in the top five of the hero course at her school if she wasn't fully capable despite her lack of sight. I'm still surprised the number one hero accepted her." dad said, bitterness clear in his voice. This was a long standing frustration among my family.

"It's because his son is one of the other work studies this season and I'm fireproof. What better way to push a fire user to their limits other than piting him against someone that can't be harmed by his quirk?" I mumbled. I wasn't an idiot. I knew that was the only reason Endeavor accepted my application but I didn't care. I'd do whatever it took to learn from the best, even if that meant being a stepping stone for another hero.

Bakugo scoffed and my gaze whipped toward him. "Idiot, that's not the only reason. Everyone knows Endeavor lived in AllMight's shadow. He took you in because your an underdog like him, and you work your ass off."

I felt tears sting my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of him, my mother was bound to do enough of that on her own. Forcing a smile, I shoved a spoonful of curry into my mouth since I had no idea what to say to that. It wasn't a direct compliment but probably the best I'd ever get out of Bakugo. And it had my heart galloping in my chest with gratitude.

"Oh I like you. You're not dating anyone, are you?" Mom purred and I almost smashed my forehead against the table.

"Mom!"

"What? He's taller than you, has the perfect personality to handle aggressive people like us, and has an impressive quirk. And let me tell you, he's handsome."

"STOP!" I growled, feeling heat burn up my neck to my face. "He's my partner, I have to see him four times a damn week, can you NOT make this awkward?!" Laughter burst from my right and I turned to stare at my partner in shock. I'd never heard him laugh, and his snarky chuckles didn't count. "Oh my god, mom, you broke him!"

"I'm not broken, Bird Brain." he said between laughter. "All your teasing and now you're embarrassed? Should've known you were all talk."

"You flirt with him hmmm? Dear, we should set up dinner with his family." mom and dad were already excitedly discussing if Bakugo's parents were as delightful as he was and I nearly fell out of my chair. Delightful was not a word I would ever use to describe him. But of course his abrasive attitude fit right into my house, we were all snarky bastards.

"Mom, don't you need to finish making the pies? I'm not going to be here all night so either get to it so I can bake them or you're on your own!"

She laughed at my expense but stood from the table anyway. Groaning, I finished my food before snatching Bakugo's bowl and standing.

"Hey, I'm not done with that Batgirl!"

"You're lucky you got a single bite of this free meal asshole. I wouldn't have to deal with this if someone hadn't blasted my ears!"

"I wouldn't have had to blast you if you hadn't let that bastard's quirk turn you into a puppet!" he snapped at me.

I hated when he was right, which happened to be fairly often. He was cocky enough, he didn't need his stupid head getting any bigger than it already was. Scowling at him, I started washing the dishes to avoid further conversation.

"Come to the yard, son. I'm curious how hot your quirk can get." dad said as he stood from the table. Of course dad wanted to play with fire, he never learned no matter how many times he was burned.

"You're fireproof too?" I heard Bakugo ask as he followed dad out of the kitchen.

"Naw, that's only a benefit of the Phoenix quirk Kumi and Aki have. But my flames are hot enough that you could say I'm somewhat used to the heat." I snorted at that. My dad's quirk was called Hellfire, he was the only other person I'd ever seen in my life that had flames as hot as mine and with a white heat signature. But he wasn't immune to his own flames like I was to a certain degree so it'd taken him years to build up the incredible control he now had over fire. He'd figured out a way to protect him skin from the heat so I wasn't concerned that Bakugo would harm him.

"That man never learns. I feel like he's forever searching for a flame hotter than his just out of pure curiosity." Mom mumbled as she mixed the pie filling.

"Lucky you that he's immune to your flames. I don't think there's been a single time he hasn't bugged me to try burning him when I come to visit." A perk of the our phoenix quirk was that we could mark our life partner with immunity so they couldn't be harmed by our flames, but it was far more... complicated than just that.

"All set sweetheart. It needs to bake at three hundred fifty degrees for twenty minutes. And please don't burn the crust this time. Once it's finished, your father will drive you and Katsuki back to school." she said as she kissed my cheek. "I'll go get your new phone set up for you and have it ready before you leave."

Thanking her, I kneeled in front of the oven and cast my flames into a perfect square shape around the pies and adjusted the heat accordingly. This had been our way of baking anything in the oven since I was a kid, both my parents had been very strict that absolute control of my flames was of the utmost importance. And I never scorned their guidance because experiencing Rebirth was not a walk in the park. After Twenty minutes of listening to my father sparring with Bakugo in the yard and trying not to drool as the smell of the pies filled the kitchen, we were finally piling into the car.

My mother approached the passenger side window where Bakugo was seated and handed him one of the freshly baked pies. "Thank you for joining us Katsuki, I hope this isn't the last. Take care of my little Hellfire back there alright?"

"She can take care of herself." he scoffed in response and I could practically taste the beaming smile I was sure she had on her face.