NeonHorizon: A very special shout out to animefairy299! She made some incredibly cute fan art of Shirayuki Ume and I can't express enough how much I appreciate that! It really made my day ^_^
Shirayuki stared curiously down into her bag, her eyebrows raising slightly. It was the end of the day so she was packing away her books, but her attention was grabbed by something odd. Something unfamiliar. Her fingers closed around it and she drew it out of her bag to get a better look.
The wrapping on the chocolate bar was bright red with little golden stars around the label. She tilted her head and slowly put it back. A quick glance to the rest of the classroom showed that no one was looking in her direction. I didn't put any candy in my bag this morning. Did Shinsou slip it in there while I wasn't looking?
"Yuki-chan, are you walking home with your friend?" Ashido saw the puzzlement in her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Yuki-chan? Hey, what's up? Are you feeling okay?"
"…I'm…fine…" She finished packing her bag and stood to walk with her friends. I can ask Shinsou when I see him again. Shirayuki kept her eyes lowered as she walked beside Ashido. The girl was afraid to draw any attention to herself in the hallway. She was sure that other classes had probably heard about her pushing Bakugou earlier. Just the thought of being stared at or whispered about made her stomach start to twist in knots.
"Are you busy on Sunday, Yuki-chan?"
The girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Kirishima. "…n-no…I'm not busy…"
"We should do something fun. You like karaoke?" Kaminari saw her whole face turning pink and smiled. "Have you done karaoke before?"
"…ah…I can't…imagine s-singing in front of other people…" she admitted. Bowing her head again, she frowned behind her mask. "…my voice…would be muffled and…hard to understand…I'm sorry…"
"There are other things we can do!" Ashido assured her. Giving her a warm smile, the girl set a careful hand on her shoulder. "We'll think of something fun; don't worry. And it won't be anything you're not comfortable with, alright? If there's something that you can think of, let me know."
"…a-alright…thank you…"
They separated and Shirayuki found Shinsou waiting for her near the entrance. The girl could feel her face starting to heat up as she got close to him and she bit her lip, hidden behind her mask. Walking alongside him, she felt her stomach doing nervous flips. Now that she knew how he felt and told him how she felt, things felt different between them. Closer. She was a little more self-conscious, too.
He seemed to sense her unease and reached over to gently take her hand in his. As their hands made contact, he had to ignore the rapid beating of his own heart and simply gave her a half-smile. "Did you have a good day?"
The boy's smile made her pulse speed up and she bowed her head to try to hide the vibrant blush that crossed her face. "…I…I had a good day…" she replied softly. She summoned forth some courage and tentatively laced her fingers with his, bringing their palms together. "…did you…have a good day, Shinsou…?"
"It wasn't bad." Shinsou moved a little closer when they got near the station, his grip on her hand getting a little tighter.
The train was fairly full at this time of day so he made sure to keep Shirayuki close to him. There were no seats available so they were forced to stand. He could see her getting nervous almost immediately and maneuvered them closer to the doors. Both arms wrapped around her midsection in a protective way, his indigo gaze narrowing upon anyone that looked their way for too long.
"…th-thank you…" Her voice was just above a whisper, her body tense in his embrace. Why can't I be brave like this morning? I was brave enough to stand up to Bakugou-kun, but I can barely handle riding a full train back home.
"Did that boy from your class give you any trouble?"
Shirayuki felt a lump forming in her throat and closed her eyes. "…I…I pushed him…because he teased me…" The arms tightened around her a little and she lifted a hand, her fingers closing on his right arm for a sense of reassurance. "…Shinsou…I'm fine…I…need to be able to stand up for myself…so…"
"But I don't like it. Things like that shouldn't happen. He wants to become a hero, but he's picking on you like a villain. It isn't fair."
She had not realized just how close he was until he spoke again and she felt his lips gently brush against her right ear. The heat of her blush seemed to be spreading throughout her and settled in the pit of her stomach alongside the usual fluttery sensation. I can feel his breath on my ear…and on my neck. My heart is beating so fast and…it almost hurts…it feels so loud. What if he can hear it?
"Shirayuki? Are you okay?"
"…y-yes…I'm fine…" Her eyes opened half-way and she tried to distract herself from her own nervousness. The girl's fingertips very lightly skimmed over her friend's arm, hoping that the movement would be enough to help her calm a bit.
"We're close to our stop. I'll get us out of here quickly; just don't let go of my hand, okay?" Shinsou felt her nod and lingered for a moment before bringing his face away from her ear. "Are you cold? You're shaking…"
"…n-no…I'm fine…" Shirayuki closed her eyes again, trying to hold still when she realized that she was indeed trembling with nervousness.
Grocery shopping was done on the way home and she was very glad that Shinsou had decided to go with her. She was still a little on edge from the train ride so the thought of going into a busy supermarket immediately filled her with dread. The second that they entered, she began to feel overwhelmed and found herself moving close to his side. Thankfully, he understood and reached over for her hand.
When she had everything, they decided to part ways. The girl thanked him, but hesitated before turning to head home. "…um…Shinsou…thank you…for the chocolate bar…that you put in my bag…"
Immediately, his eyes narrowed and he raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do that."
"…you…didn't…?"
"I didn't bring any snacks today." Shinsou glanced down at her bag, head slightly tilted. "Don't eat it if you don't know where it came from."
She nodded and they went their separate ways. Shirayuki frowned behind her mask as she walked toward her house, keeping her head bowed. If it wasn't Shinsou…who was it? The girl knew that her friends would have said something if one of them had given her the chocolate. For a brief second, she wondered if it was Bakugou, but that thought was swiftly pushed away. Even if he said that he liked her, he definitely did not seem like the type to do that.
Maybe…Midoriya-kun did it. Or Uraraka-chan? Walking down the sidewalk alone, she felt herself starting to slouch. The bags were heavy, but she had insisted on carrying them herself. She hated asking Shinsou to help her so much; it felt like she might be using him. However, now she started to wish that she had asked him to walk the rest of the way home with her. The bags were heavy and she felt self-conscious. It felt like every person she passed was staring at her.
As she neared her house, she could feel herself beginning to calm down. The thought of going to her room and working on some homework in the company of the cats made her start to smile. Her head was still bowed, eyes on the pavement beneath her feet. When the bags were forcefully yanked out of her hands, she released a sharp cry of alarm and stumbled.
Shirayuki nearly fell into the street, but a bag was dropped onto the sidewalk and a hand darted out to grab her wrist. Wide crimson eyes blinked, watery from surprise, and met a pair of narrowed crimson eyes. "…ngh…"
"What the hell are you doing, red eyes?! What kind of shitty reaction is that?" the blond snarled. Bakugou released her arm when she was steady and picked up the bag again, his eyes shifting away from her. "I came all this way and that's how you react?"
The girl's heart felt like it was sinking down into her stomach. She tried to reach for her bags, but he stepped back and kept them out of reach. "…p-please just…give me those…my grandmother is waiting for me…"
"I'm trying to help you! Just open the damn gate!"
"…why are you…at my house…?" Shirayuki stammered. "…wh-why…did you come here…and why are you…trying to help…?"
Bakugou's gaze briefly met hers again and then darted away once more, a faint hint of pink rising to his face. "Just open the damn gate! These are heavy!"
Needless to say, her grandmother was extremely puzzled to find Shirayuki returning home with this rather irate-looking boy that she claimed was her classmate. Attempting a sweet smile, the old woman accepted the shopping bags from him and started to put the groceries away. "Ume, you have so many friends now! Who's this sweet young man?"
"…th-this is…my classmate Bakugou-kun…um…Bakugou-kun, this is my grandmother…" Shirayuki introduced them, trembling slightly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Did you come to see the kittens?"
He was gritting his teeth, as if struggling with the interaction for some reason. "Yeah, Granny. Where are they?"
Slightly taken aback, her smile fell to a curious frown. "I think they're in Ume's room. Ume, do you want to go get them while I make some tea? Young man, if you'd like to wait in the living room-"
"Fine. Whatever." Bakugou left the room, shooting Shirayuki a brief glance.
The grandmother gave her a concerned look and then turned to start the tea. "Ume, just say the word and I'll kick him out, alright?"
"…it's…it's probably okay…" She doubted that he would bully her in front of her own grandmother, but a part of her was uncertain. She was just glad that her grandmother had told him to wait in the living room. The girl gathered the kittens from her room and brought them out to the couch. "…here…um…there are three boys and…one girl…and I'm still t-trying to find homes for them so…if you know anyone…that might want a kitten…"
To her surprise, he lifted the black kitten and set it down on his lap. The small creature stared up at him for a moment before nuzzling its face against his hand. "I didn't know your name was Ume. Who the hell named you that?"
"…my grandmother…but…everyone started calling me "Yuki"…"
Bakugou scowled, keeping his eyes on the kitten. "I'll call you Ume if I want to! Why the hell should I call you their nickname?!" From the corner of his eye, he saw her sit further down the couch from him and his look of displeasure deepened. "Did you eat the chocolate yet? It's gonna melt if you wait."