A/N: Another double update this week! After this though I think I'm gonna slow down a bit with the updates. So that I don't catch up too quickly to my backlog and have some time to keep up with staying a few chapters ahead with art.

Also it's my last week of the semester :D On Friday I'll be FREEEEE

Art -

[Complete Gallery] Add /21axlkt3bolc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

[Ch. 73] Add /21hq0ytkero2 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

Hitomi leaned back in her seat, grateful she was alone on the patio again as Nari and Yoshiho talked about their day at their part-time jobs.

As it turns out, Yoshiho actually lived on her own in the west, in a small studio apartment and earned money working at a popular cafe. It could be difficult at times, but Yoshiho always reassured them she found ways to manage.

Nari, meanwhile, was ranting about the latest nuisance in customer service.

"So anyways, I kept telling this guy, 'we're out of boba pearls, and we need some time to cook more,'" Nari droned, "but he was just not listening, and- hey, Hitomi, you still there?"

Hitomi flinched at the sound of Nari's voice saying her name, giving her friends an apologetic look. "Sorry…!" she exclaimed.

Nari giggled, giving Hitomi a sly smile. "A certain blasty boy plaguing your thoughts, I'm guessing?"

Hitomi glared at her, to which Nari only whistled innocently. "Stop that."

"Anyways," Nari continued. Hitomi saw her fumble with her phone, Nari's camera shaking. "Yoshiho, how was your day?"

Yoshiho had a faraway look in her eyes for a second, as if she was trying to recall a memory. "...I saw a cute dog today."

"Ooo, what kind?!"

Hitomi saw Yoshiho sit back, contemplating.

"I think it was a Hokkaido Inu, but I don't know dog breeds very well, so I'm not completely sure."

"Please tell me you got to pet it."

The Shiketsu student shook her head, her expression unchanging. "I saw it outside the window while I was taking someone's order, so I couldn't."

"Aww…" Nari pouted.

"Nari, you have your own dog to pet," Hitomi pointed out, yawning.

"I know that!" Nari said, her eyebrows furrowing. "But I'm a dog person. I wanna pet every dog I see or hear about."

"You say that, and yet you haven't been bringing Shun over and now I don't even live at my own house anymore."

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Nari whined, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's not my fault he had to stay at home 'cause of his broken leg!"

"Your dog broke his leg?" Yoshiho asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Hm?" Nari opened her eyes back up. "Oh, yeah. He chased after a squirrel when I went to walk him this one time, and he jumped over the railing of a bridge and fell into the river. He ended up fracturing his front leg, but he's fine now."

"Oh." Yoshiho yawned, before her lips quirked up in a slight smile. "Well, I'm glad he's better now, then."

As Yoshiho grabbed a glass of water on her desk to take a sip, Hitomi watched Nari lean closer towards the camera, the blonde's nose scrunching up.

"You know, Yoshiho, you should do that a lot more often. A smile really suits you."

Yoshiho choked on the water, spluttering at Nari's comment. "I'm sorry?"

Nari chuckled, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm saying you look cute when you smile."

Hitomi could feel herself drifting off, her head nearly hitting the table from sleepiness. She wasn't the only one feeling tired, as Yoshiho kept yawning while Nari struggled to keep her eyes open. The three of them had been talking for almost an hour, the time nearly midnight for Nari and Yoshiho back in Japan. Right as Hitomi almost fell forward, Nari spoke again, making her jump back.

"Anyways… it's getting late," the blonde said, stifling a yawn. "I think it's time for us to go to sleep."

"Oh… already?" Hitomi mumbled. "But… it's not that late over here…"

"Yeah, I can still stay up…" Yoshiho added, her voice sounding groggy.

"Yoshiho, you're literally drooling," Nari laughed.

Yoshiho's hand moved to wipe her mouth, looking to find she had, in fact, been drooling. "Oh, my bad…"

"We've both got work tomorrow anyways. And Hitomi, you've got your flight back to Japan too, right? So we should all get some rest."

"I guess you're right about that," Hitomi relented, letting out a large yawn. Yoshiho rubbed at her eyes, nodding in agreement.

"Good night, you guys!"

"Good night."

"Night…"

The three of them all hung up, Hitomi sighing as she set her phone down. She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table as her gaze moved to the sky. It was a dark blue, almost black, with white lights of the stars dotting the sky, and it was then that Hitomi realized she hadn't had the chance to stargaze as much lately. She rested her chin on her arms, sighing to herself.

She was still tired, of course, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to stay awake, but she figured staying outside for a little bit longer couldn't hurt.

Bakugou stared at the ceiling of the canopy bed, his eyes narrowed.

He had been trying to fall asleep for the past two hours, but for some reason it just wasn't happening.

Actually, wait. He knew the reason.

It was that blue-haired bastard he was sharing a room with.

He kept finding his mind drifting back to her, back to when she'd yelled at him and when she'd apologized.

She'd apparently said she'd hated him in Tagalog, but then backtracked and said she didn't mean any of it.

Bakugou tched, scrunching the blanket in his hand as his frown deepened.

So did Hitomi hate him, or not?

She sounded… genuine, when she apologized. But as she was doing that, Bakugou noticed something.

She avoided looking him in the eye.

All Bakugou could think about while she was apologizing was that she wasn't looking at him, as if she wasn't acknowledging him, and frankly, that pissed him off. It pissed him off enough that he didn't exactly accept her apology, just scoffed and said he didn't care.

But… she had seemed so hurt at that.

Bakugou turned his head to glance at the space next to him, a pillow in the middle of the bed like he had done the night before.

Hitomi still wasn't back yet.

Where the hell was she…?

It was already almost 11:40.

He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and cursing to himself.

She sure is taking her sweet fucking time.

He got up from the bed, running a hand through his hair as he made his way to the door. It creaked open as he stepped out of the room, the house flooded in darkness and silence. Bakugou walked down the hall, making his way to the living room and cursing to himself all the while. As he approached, he found it was empty, not a person in sight.

Not here…

He glanced at the kitchen table only to see it was empty as well, the table clean with the chairs pushed in neatly. Bakugou grunted, about to make his way upstairs before something on the patio caught his eye past the curtains.

Bright blue hair.

He approached the glass door, sliding it open with ease.

There she is.

Hitomi was leaning over the table, her head resting on her arms and breathing softly as she slept.

She looked so… relaxed. And carefree.

A stark difference to how she seemed to be around him lately. As if she had her guard up.

Bakugou stared at her from the doorway, putting his hands in his pockets. He watched as her hair flitted from the slight breeze, the silver moonlight giving her an almost ethereal glow.

And looking at her now, he couldn't help but think the night suited her.

With hair such a deep blue and silver eyes that resembled the moonlight… no other time of day could have fit her better.

Bakugou let out a scoff when he realized what he was thinking, halting his train of thought. His eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at her, noting the way she was sitting. Her back was hunched over the table and her cheek rested against her arms.

"What an idiot," he mumbled.

There was no doubt in his mind that her back was going to hurt tomorrow if she was left like that. And Bakugou, being her designated roommate… was going to be held responsible if she started complaining about it. He was almost sure of that.

And he just didn't want to add another reason… for her to hate him.

Bakugou approached the bluenette, crouching down and proceeding to pick her up.

She was light, and her head lolled to rest on his chest as he carried her inside. She hardly stirred, her lips simply turning up in a soft smile as Bakugou made his way back to their room. His jaw tightened at the sight and he averted his eyes.

God.

Why was it… that she no longer seemed to smile like this around him when she was awake? Why was it that instead he caught nervous glances, frowns, her averting her gaze?

It pissed him off.

Bakugou shouldered the door open, kicking it shut behind him with his foot. He laid Hitomi down on the bed, haphazardly tossing the blanket over her before walking over to his own side and climbing in. As he stared at the ceiling of the canopy bed again, he felt his mind begin to drift off.

Unsurprisingly, it drifted to the girl sleeping next to him.

He thought they were… friends.

It was something he assumed as a given up until this trip.

Hitomi seemed to like being around him (despite their wildly contrasting personalities) and he… didn't mind being around her either. Especially when she was more calm and serene compared to their other friends. Bakugou sometimes felt like it was easier for him to relax when he was around her.

…So when she suddenly blew up at him earlier that day, screaming at him with all she had and pushing him away, he couldn't understand what was happening. Or why it was happening.

She yelled at him with words he couldn't understand, the only thing he'd figured out being her chants of how she hated him.

He couldn't stop thinking about it.

Couldn't stop thinking back on every moment with her, trying to see them under the guise she hated him.

…Had her kind smile around him been fake this whole time?

Was it all just… a lie?

She had told him she was sorry. That she didn't mean what she had said.

But… what if that was a lie, too?

He couldn't understand her. Couldn't understand her contradictions.

Maybe Hitomi really did hate him. Maybe… that fucking grape shit was right.

If he really thought hard about it…

It did seem like she hadn't wanted to be around him. Even if she wanted to take back her harsh words, apologize to him, she didn't seem to want to… look at him.

That look in her eyes… it was as if she couldn't stand being near him.

And Hitomi had been looking at him that way for a while now. Bakugou remembered his father once telling him that eyes were windows to the soul. There was a lot you could tell about how a person felt just by looking into their eyes.

So all he could wonder was… Why did Hitomi look like she couldn't bear the sight of him? Like it pained her when she saw him?

Bakugou just couldn't find an answer.

She cried in front of him a few weeks ago, asked if they were "friends" a few days ago, and yelled that she hated him just a few hours ago. Things… just didn't seem to add up. All he could make sense of was that Hitomi seemed off whenever she was around him lately.

And it only seemed to be him she was acting differently towards.

It made Bakugou's eyes narrow as he continued to stare at the canopy ceiling.

He just couldn't move past the fact she'd said she hated him. How long had she been feeling that way?

Was every second they spent together, every smile she had given him, every single word she'd spoken to him… a lie?

Had she been putting on a facade, masking how she really felt this whole time?

Had she been stringing him along, letting him believe they were friends… when in truth, that hadn't been the case at all?

He turned over on his side, his cheek resting against the pillow. He frowned as he ran his hand through his hair, trying to understand. As his fingers tangled through his blonde locks, Bakugou suddenly froze, his eyes widening slightly in shock.

He… could've sworn he felt a similar sensation before.

Not something that he did himself… or what his mother would often do back when he lived at home… but… he could've sworn he'd felt the sensation of someone else's fingers combing through his hair just recently.

He turned to lie flat on his back again, his arms behind his head as he glanced at Hitomi. She was still sleeping without a care, her chest rising and falling slowly.

His eyes widened further as he remembered something faint.

"…about me… even… didn't need to."

Bakugou's eyes opened slightly at the feeling of fingers in his hair. His mind was like a fog, blurry and unclear. Had he woken up…?

The hand seemed to continue moving against his hair, combing out some small tangles. It was a soothing touch, one that felt soft and relaxing. Eventually, the sensation disappeared and Bakugou felt a lingering emptiness as he felt his blanket shift slightly. A feminine voice seemed to sound behind him, a quiet whisper.

"This… is a problem…"

As he felt the mattress sink slightly, Bakugou's eyes drifted shut as he succumbed back to sleep.

Bakugou's eyes narrowed as he stared at Hitomi, clenching his jaw. The memory… was really vague. Maybe it wasn't even a real one. Maybe it was just a dream.

But it left a heavy feeling in his chest.

With a small frown, he finally tore his eyes away, letting out a sigh.

If it had been real… and it had been Hitomi who'd combed her fingers through his hair, been her voice that he'd heard…

What did it mean?

If she hated him… why would she do something like that…? What exactly… was a problem?

He couldn't make sense of it.

Bakugou was finally jolted out of his thoughts by Hitomi stirring, the ash blonde feeling the mattress jostle slightly as she moved around. He paid her no mind, simply closing his eyes to finally drift off to sleep before he felt something fall on top of his stomach.

Bakugou's eyes shot open, trailing downward to see Hitomi was nestled up close to him. She was on top of the pillow he'd put to separate the two of them as if it wasn't even there, her arm hugging his torso.

She looked so peaceful.

What the hell.

Bakugou recalled Kirishima mentioning Hitomi liked cuddling things in her sleep once or twice, the redhead always feeling the need to gush about how adorable she was. Bakugou stiffened as he felt Hitomi snuggle up closer to him, close enough that he got a whiff of her hair, the floral scent throwing him off.

What the fuck.

Hitomi had to get. The hell. Off of him.

Bakugou grabbed her arm, trying to pry it off him before Hitomi only hugged him tighter, her grip tightening on his shirt.

Fucking hell.

He relented, letting go of her and letting his arm rest at his side instead.

Bakugou did not want to wake her up and deal with whatever would follow. He was too damn tired for that.

All he wanted to do was sleep.

Bakugou scowled, closing his eyes.

This girl was such a headache.

A/N: Fun fact. This is like- the third (possibly even fourth) version of this chapter because of how many times I rewrote some parts. And the original 2020 version of the screenshots with Bakugou finding Hitomi on the patio were animated gifs. They weren't up to my standards tho so I just redrew the set as still images. My art's improved since then :3 The last pic of them on the bed is still the 2020 version tho, 'cause I didn't feel like redrawing it and it was… okay (I say this with a grimace 💀)