It was supposed to be a decently warm weekend, as Uraraka had heard the weather stations announce, so it wasn't difficult to imagine everyone's surprise when they finished their last Friday class and strolled outside to find that it was snowing.

Ignoring some of the groans coming from her classmates, Uraraka wasted no time in chasing after Ashido into the small flurry. It wasn't even close to winter, so the snow didn't stick to the ground and instead fluttered across the sky and melted upon contact with the lukewarm earth. Uraraka couldn't help but giggle at Ashido's childish display of spinning around in the open with her tongue out trying to catch snowflakes. She also heard Yaoyozoru behind her, she and Deku discussing something along the lines of how cold it must actually be in the atmosphere all those miles above them.

The last couple of days had been more clear, with blue skies and dry air, and if one had not been within the U.A. area, then it was probably a completely average week. However, for the students of U.A., particularly class 1-A, it had been unnaturally quiet. Uncomfortable, even. Even with only one of them missing, even when that person was easily the most volatile and unapproachable person among them, it felt strange, like something was missing. He may scream and shout his hatred for them all (with a couple of exceptions) and try to not associate himself with them, but whether he liked it or not, he was one of them.

And whether they liked it or not, they missed him.

It had been approximately three days since the sniper attack. Three days since someone had dared to try and murder Deku. Three days since Uraraka had nearly been taken out with him. Three days since Bakugou saved them both and nearly died.

Whatever Uraraka's classmates thought of their explosive comrade, she was sure that they could all agree how wrong it felt. Just like how it always felt wrong when any of them were absent. Just like how it felt after the attack at the summer camp.

"Uraraka!" Ashido called out, pausing in her twirling and running up to her. "You okay? You look down all of a sudden."

Uraraka smiled in return. "Oh no, I'm fine. Just thinking is all." She dramatically rubbed her arms as she started to shiver. "Brrr! It's surprisingly cold out today, isn't it? It's really pretty, though."

Her blatant attempt to change the subject didn't seem to go unnoticed by Ashido, if the sad smile that she gave her had anything to say about it, but she simply chose to give her a grin and begin to twirl around again, the snowflakes dancing around her as if it had been a choreographed ballet and she was the star. "It is pretty! I'd say it's definitely a hot chocolate day. Satou said he was gonna make some for everyone!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto Uraraka's arm and dragging her towards the dorms. "Ooooh, I can already taste it! Come on! Let's go get some!"

Uraraka simply giggled as Ashido excitedly pulled her along to catch up with their other classmates. Jirou must have made another jab at Kaminari, because he was having a fit and Sero was dying of laughter. Nearby, Yaoyorozu and Iida simply shook their heads in fondness and exasperation respectively while Todoroki rolled his eyes and Deku laughed nervously. Shoji and Tokoyami were walking to Kaminari's left, while Asui dragged Mineta away from Hagakure and Ojiro to not interrupt whatever they were talking about. Satou and Kouda appeared by the doorway, Satou joining Shoji and Tokoyami's conversation as they came by.

"Bonjour~." Aoyama greeted from Ashido's right.

"Hey! Where'd you come from? I didn't see you!"

"It's a secret~."

Uraraka laughed as Ashido smacked Aoyama's shoulder in good humor, causing him to stumble and nearly fall flat on his face. As he quickly recovered, Uraraka let her eyes wander back to her classmates in front of her.

To Kirishima, walking alone.

Uraraka felt a pang in her chest, her thoughts going back to the table next to the broken high rise window and the bloody tiled floor. She had apparently hit her head pretty hard, so a lot of what happened was fuzzy, but she did remember crawling over to Deku, who was sobbing into All Might's chest, while a flash of black, whom she now knew was Aizawa-sensei, sped past her carrying her dying classmate.

She did, however, very vividly remember the other night, huddled with Deku in his dorm room as they cried over their weaknesses and fears, and walked out that morning with the resolve to move forward. Any other context and the scenario might have made her blush furiously.

Sighing, as Ashido and Aoyama got lost in some conversation concerning fashion, Uraraka jogged over to where Kirishima was entering the dorms. "Hey, Kirishima."

The redhead turned to her, giving her a big toothy grin. "Hey, Uraraka! How are you feeling?"

"I'm great! No headaches today."

"Great news! I'm glad you're feeling better."

She felt as if she were walking on eggshells, but she had to know. They were both his friends, right? At least, she liked to think so. He was late catching up with them all, so she could only assume that he'd just gone to visit their ill-tempered friend. "How's Bakugou doing?"

Gauging Kirishima's expression, she was pleased to see the smile remain firmly and truly on his face. "Definitely better. He's a little tired from Recovery Girl's treatment, and even then, he's still a tiny bit sore. Don't tell him I told you that, though."

Uraraka laughed. "I'm glad to hear it. We were all really worried."

"Yeah. Believe me, I was too. I'd thought he was a goner for a little while there."

Uraraka's eyes softened. She couldn't imagine how worried Kirishima must have been compared to the rest of them, other than Deku. He was his best friend, after all, and he'd seen the damage first hand while she was seeing stars.

She let out a long sigh. "So, Ashido mentioned something about hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, that sounds really good right about now! Kinda wish Blasty was here to make it. Anything he makes is incredible."

"Yeah? I heard he was a good cook. He definitely showed off some crazy knife skills back at camp." She couldn't help but giggle at the fond memory, even if it could so easily be overshadowed by much darker ones. "I wish he'd cook for the class."

"I'll rope him into it for you guys sometime. They don't call me the one man bomb squad for nothing."

Uraraka burst out laughing, now picturing a very bizarre image of Kirishima in a SWAT team suit with a riot shield very slowly approaching a very angry Bakugou, who for some reason had a lit fuse sticking out of his head. She snorted to herself at the absurdity of it as she slipped into the kitchen with Satou, Yaoyorozu, and Deku, while Todoroki stood in the doorway and watched with interest.

"Would you like to help us, Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu inquired, causing Todoroki to look at his shoes with an empty expression and rub his arm sheepishly.

"I would have no idea what I was doing." he said simply.

"That's okay," she countered. "I don't either. I always had people preparing things for me. I never saw the process."

He stared silently for a moment longer while Deku started pulling out ingredients and Satou hunted down a pot. Uraraka watched in amusement before shuffling over next to Deku. After a moment, Todoroki was peering around Satou's arm as he poured water and salt into the large pot.

"Midoriya, could you pass the sugar? Yaoyorozu, the cocoa, please."

Uraraka simply sat and stared, enjoying the sweet scent that was now wafting through the air. Eventually, Todoroki was given the task of boiling the contents in the pot while Satou went to rummage the fridge for milk and Yaoyorozu fetched some vanilla. Silently watching her friends put together this nice treat, Uraraka couldn't help but smile, even when the routine was slightly interrupted by Deku looking into the common room when he heard the door open and an 'I am here!' alongside it.

"All Might," he greeted. "You're just in time for-"

Uraraka heard him gasp, followed by the sudden excited screeches of some of her classmates accompanied by the sound of chairs and tables being knocked over. Startled, Uraraka quickly took the space next to Deku, where she got a great view of the mess that now made up the common room and the small crowd of her classmates encircling Kirishima.

And a slightly tensed up Bakugou standing behind him.

All Might laughed as he slipped past his giddy students, sending Deku a knowing smile. Meanwhile, Kirishima slowly waved his hands in front of his friends as Bakugou began to relax behind him.

"Calm down, guys. He needs his space. Don't just charge at him." he reasoned as he turned to face the ash blonde. He then quickly but gently threw his arms around him. "And I get the first hug."

Despite the underlying exhaustion, the feral roar that immediately followed was music to Uraraka's ears. "WHAT THE FUCK, WEIRD HAIR! LET GO!"

"I am now a part of you."

"KIRISHIMA!"

"Your unwavering horse."

"Oh my g-, GET OFF!"

Kirishima finally relented, pulling back as the others scurried over to the couches where All Might had already planted himself. Ashido appeared next to the disgruntled teen, throwing a heavy blanket over his shoulders.

"I know you don't like the cold." she said. "Make yourself comfortable, just for today."

Bakugou glared dangerously at her, but miraculously didn't pull the blanket off and instead dragged it with him like a king's robe to the couch where All Might was, where he promptly dropped down and curled up like a cat. Uraraka remembered Kirishima mentioning that he was tired. Maybe even too tired to keep his tough act up? She didn't remember Deku mentioning him being this exhausted when he spoke with him last. Maybe he was just treated before he left the infirmary?

Deku sighed deeply next to her, possibly contemplating approaching him when Todoroki strode past them, stopping in front of and peering down at Bakugou with an emotionless expression and a steaming mug in his hands.

"Satou made it." He said simply, holding the mug out in front of him like an offering. Bakugou must have given him a confused look, because Todoroki continued. "The sugar guy, tall with big lips."

Another moment went by before Bakugou sat up. "Oh. He's supposedly good with sweet things, yeah?"

Todoroki nodded as he handed the mug off and watched expectantly as Bakugou stared at the drink warily. Finally, he took a small sip, not at all affected by its temperature.

"It's fine, I guess." he said.

"Bakugou said it's fine! It must be amazing!" Kaminari yelled from somewhere nearby. All Might gave a hearty cackle at his student's excitement as the rest of them lined themselves up in front of the kitchen for their own servings. Uraraka couldn't help but laugh, feeling her spirits lighten up even more at Deku's bright grin.

Today was a good day.

"Hey, so, uh, I wanted to thank you."

The explosion quirk user glanced up at Uraraka, who was sheepishly wringing her hands. It had been a few hours since he'd returned to the dorms, and he hadn't moved from his chosen spot on the couch since then. All Might had left with Aizawa-sensei to speak with the U.A. teachers, so the area next to him was completely empty. At first, people would try to take the spot, but he'd growl at them and they'd decide that agitating him right now wasn't what they wanted to do.

Even so, the class would still do small acts of kindness whenever they could get away with it. Satou saved an extra serving of hot chocolate for him, which he didn't really complain about. Sero had made it a point later that if Bakugou ever fell asleep at any point that day, they were strictly prohibited from drawing on his face. Iida seemed to agree with this sentiment, as when Bakugou did fall asleep, he stood vigilantly nearby keeping a close eye on where all of the office supplies were stored. Uraraka had to try very hard not laugh out loud at him.

At one point, Mineta gave him one of his porno mags. Despite the content, Uraraka couldn't help but be touched by the gesture, as she knew that Mineta probably treasured those things. Of course, the moment was completely ruined when Bakugou held the magazine up and flatly said, "Hey, look. Fuel for the fireplace."

Deku spent the next hour consoling the poor guy, while Jirou, Sero, and Kaminari spent that time trying to catch their breaths from laughing hard enough to turn blue in the face.

The first person to get away with sitting next to him was Asui, interestingly enough, who silently and bravely took the spot while he was dozing off and turned on the TV to watch a game show. Uraraka was present when Bakugou woke up and shot a look at the frog girl before curiously turning his attention to the show.

"It's a favorite of mine." She'd said. "My family and I would get together and watch it on weekends, but I'm kinda stuck here by myself for now."

Bakugou kept his eyes on the screen. "Kinda reminds me of this obstacle course show that the hag really likes."

"Who?"

"My mom."

Asui blinked, probably not quite able to imagine herself talking about her own mother like that, but decided not to ask, simply continuing with, "Oh yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. Would force me and my old man and to watch it with her. 'Family bonding time' or some bullshit."

Asui hummed thoughtfully before they lapsed back into silence. At the episode's conclusion, the frog girl decided that she'd taken up enough of his time and vacated the couch, leaving Bakugou and Uraraka as the only people present in the room.

And so, building up her courage, she'd slipped into the seat herself. And here she was.

"What?"

He stared at her accusingly as she folded in on herself. "I said thank you."

"For what?"

Uraraka turned to him, giving him a questioning look. "You know, the...thing...the other day."

Bakugou narrowed his eyes, seemingly burrowing into her very soul. "Why?"

"Why?" she parroted. "I mean, you saved me and Deku. A-and you...got hurt because of it."

Uraraka remembered that Deku had described a fidgety feeling at one point. This feeling of impending doom, that something was wrong. Kirishima had mentioned that Bakugou had been jumpy all morning that day. Somehow, they just knew, as a hero would. Like the kind of hero that she was aspiring to be.

So..., why didn't she feel it?

It had been like any other day. Nothing special.

So, why? What was different?

Just...why?

Why couldn't she be like them?

"So, ...I wanted to thank you."

Bakugou huffed. "Don't. You have no reason to."

"But-"

"Look, you were just in my way, okay? So drop it."

And she did. She sat in silence, staring at everything but the boy next to her as some cooking show started in the background. Uraraka sighed, slumping into the couch and closing her eyes tightly. She'd felt so good earlier, but she supposed it couldn't possibly last forever. She hoped that Deku was doing better.

"How's your head?"

Caught completely off guard, she shot up, staring at the red eyes glaring back at her. She stuttered before pausing, taking a deep breath and leaning back, staring up at the ceiling. "No more headaches. So, I guess it's good."

She could see Bakugou nod from her peripheral vision. "Aizawa mentioned that you hit your head."

"I did. Um, thank you for asking."

"Tch. Just a question."

She smiled, noticing the lack of any anger in his retort. Swinging her legs, she threw herself off the couch, stretching and waving her arms as she moved to return to her dorm room.

"You know, Uraraka," Bakugou called out, almost sounding half asleep. "Aizawa didn't feel like anything was off either."

Uraraka spun around so fast that she felt dizzy. "What? How did you-?"

"You were thinking out loud, dumbass." he responded, and Uraraka couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. "But listen, I told Aizawa about that feeling and he said that he didn't feel anything, either. Only All Might did. You get that?"

"Yeah..."

"And Aizawa's a pretty great hero, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"So, what does that say about your chances?"

Uraraka was left absolutely speechless. Shaking herself out of her shock, she took a few steps forward. "That doesn't really prove anythi-."

"Just shut up. Seriously, you're just as bad as Weird Hair with underestimating yourself."

"But I-"

"Nope. We're done here. Fuck off."

And he promptly fell over and went to sleep, leaving Uraraka a sputtering mess. Almost in a daze, she stood there, quietly contemplating, before silently walking to the elevator. As the doors closed and she began moving upward, a smile slowly crept across her face.

She liked this version of Bakugou. He should lay around in the common room half asleep more often.

She came back downstairs at about eleven o'clock that night to find an interesting sight.

Bakugou still hadn't moved, but not only was Ashido sitting next to him, but she was practically laying on top of him, with Sero squeezing in next to her. Kirishima and Kaminari were laying on the floor, one lying on his stomach and the other leaning against the couch by Bakugou's knee. The room was dark, save for the action film currently playing bathing them in a blue-ish hue, and barely hidden by the televised sounds of battle was soft chatter, mostly between Kaminari and Ashido, though one of the other three would add something every once in a while as well.

They all looked so comfortable, and Bakugou seemed so relaxed. Uraraka could only imagine how much Kirishima missed this.

And so, as silently as possible, she slipped out her phone and quickly snapped a picture before she could be noticed. Kirishima would appreciate having this, as would Ashido, now that she thought about it. Once she'd claimed her prize, she crept back up the stairs, not wanting to gain any attention with the elevator dinging, and immediately bumped into Deku on the second floor.

"Oh sorry, Uraraka!"

"No, don't be! I should've watched where I was going!"

Deku chuckled, scratching nervously at his scalp. "Um, well, I was going out for a late night jog. Since you're here, would you like to come with me?"

Uraraka smiled, glancing at her phone before stuffing it back into her pocket. "I'd love to. But first, I wanna show you something really cool. You gotta be really quiet, though, okay?"

Deku tilted his head in confusion, but followed her nonetheless as she happily giggled, a small skip in her step and stars in her eyes.

Yes, today really was a good day.