For the next week he focused all his attention on making sure Uraraka was safe and trying to figure out a way on how to improve his abilities to communicate with her without freaking her out which was difficult on its own. The only time he couldn't be around was whenever he would go and visit his physical body along with his parents, but all it came down to was more of the same except for the fact that he seemed to show more activity from what the doctor was saying and he thought it was most likely because of how he was able to do stuff now even if it was only small, but it did however take a hell of a lot of concentration and patience-which at times he didn't have. Not even all the intensive training they did at UA could compare with how tired he'd feel whenever he would try and lift something heavier. But regardless he continued to force himself to push through even if he needed a whole day to recover afterwards.
"How the hell am I supposed to find out what this thing is without even talking to anyone or being able to research it on my own?!" he frustratingly yelled to no one in particular, already beyond pissed at the moment. No way in hell was he going to let anything happen to her or anyone else, but what else was he supposed to do? What else could he do?
All of his thoughts continued to get interrupted whenever he felt the corner of his lips lift at the sound of Urarakas carefree singing in the shower. Typically, he would glare at the interruption but the way it made his heart thump whenever she would, he couldn't stop himself from chuckling whenever she tried to hit a high note like she just did.
The shit people did whenever they thought no one's watching them was astonishing yet hilarious to him.
Cringing when he heard her attempt to hit another high note before the song ended, he looked back over his shoulder from his position on the couch with an amused grin. "Damn Round-face."
Jumping out of the shower after another long day of work, Uraraka quickly wrapped a white towel around herself before exiting the bathroom and brushing her hair.
"Do you have to do that?!" He whipped his head in the opposite direction inwardly cursing his luck, and feeling himself turn beet red. It only got hotter once he felt her sit down next to him with a blissful sigh. "Oh shit." Gasping he quickly made sure to scoot further away from her, gaping at the amount of skin she was currently showing until he swiftly felt himself fall of the couch. "Fuck!"
Repeatedly parting his mouth once he managed to stand, he continued to stare speechless with wide shocked eyes.
"Whoever thought it was a good idea to make a towel that small should be in jail right now." He breathed out, regardless of how much he could appreciate the view right now. "What the fuck am I saying?!"
Stiffly and carefully, he sat himself back down making sure to keep a good amount of distance between them with eyes glued to her coffee table. Flicking through the movies she contemplated between a romance or comedy before picking one.
As she leaned forward to pause it and place the remote down, out of pure instinct he felt his eyes follow her movements and could see the towel slightly loosening around her. But right before he could see anything he snapped his head away from the couch and towards the far wall, forcefully closing his eyes. "Uraraka! Put some damn clothes on please!"
When he felt movement on the couch, he waited another good five minutes before daring to turn around and releasing the shaky breath he didn't know he was holding when he realized she wasn't there. "Holy shit…"
Never in his wildest dreams -ok maybe not never- would he have thought to even get the chance to see her like that. Or rather almost see her like that. And even though he knew he wouldn't mind; he knew it was wrong and knew that he shouldn't even think that way right now. Not to mention the fact that if he did happen to see anything he wouldn't even know what to do other than freak out along with her of course.
Once he heard the microwave go off signaling the popcorn was done, he was surprised at the squeaky pitch in his voice. "Popcorn's done."
Exhaling loudly, she walked over to the microwave now dressed in her comfy pj's.
"Oh, thank god." Bakugo tiredly leaned back on the couch feeling himself relax as he stared at the ceiling counting backwards from a hundred. What kind of fucked up torture was this?
Quickly removing the popcorn from the microwave and placing it into a bowl, she headed back to the living room. Wrapping herself snug in a blanket with remote in hand, she let herself relax into the couch with eyes focused on the screen in front of her. This is what she's been looking forward to all day.
Rubbing the top of his head, he tried to pay attention to whatever movie she had picked which was surprisingly funny, at least the parts he did see and couldn't help but laugh along with her at some parts.
"Wow I didn't think this was going to be this good." She smiled to herself stuffing more popcorn into her mouth.
"Same here." He smirked, tilting his head sideways and observed the way the colors of the tv reflected on her face, brown eyes sparkling with excitement and laughter after every joke, and that smile that somehow always managed to make his heart flutter while at the same time keeping him calm and wanting it all to himself. When his eyes soften, he realized something…if this is what it meant to stay behind and get to spend moments like this with her for as long as he could. Then that's something he would hold onto with all his heart even if that's all he could get.
Yawning Uraraka picked up her phone to check the time before deciding to head to bed knowing she had the early shift tomorrow morning.
"Calling it a night already round-face?" he asked leaning forward on his elbows and watched her get up to go to the kitchen and wash the bowl before placing it on the drying rack. "You probably have the early shift huh."
When she entered the bathroom, she quickly brushed her teeth before walking back over to her bedroom and snuggling into the covers. This was one of her favorite parts of the night where she could just let sleep lure her into the next day without having to worry about anything else or think about what could have.
Bakugo quietly laid down on the other pillow behind her, still making sure to keep a respectable distance between them but still wanting to watch over her and make sure she was alright like he found himself often doing. When he saw her breath even out letting him know she had drifted off to sleep, he gave a small smile when he heard her mumble while still fast asleep and closed his eyes. "Night Angel face."
"…night."
Snapping his eyes open he abruptly lifted himself up on his elbow, staring wide eyed at the still sleeping girl next to him. "Did you just…?" When he saw her still sleeping, he shook his head thinking he had probably heard her wrong. "I must be losing my mind." He said, trying to remove that dumb thought from his mind before it let him hope over something that couldn't be possible. Instead, he let the smell of her hair relax him and taking a deep breath in closed his eyes. "I'm so screwed…"
X
The following morning Bakugo was comfortably laying next to her or so he thought until he heard a loud screaming coming from within the room immediately making him snap his eyes open in alarm. "WHAT?! WHAT?!"
"Crap I'm running late!" Uraraka swung the covers off herself, swiftly running out of her room and into the bathroom. "Not good!"
"For fucks sake Cheeks don't fuckin scare me like that!" he barked thinking that if he wasn't knocked out in a damn hospital bed right now, he would have by how loud she screamed. Groaning, he was about to continue complaining when he felt something hard against his face. "Huh?" Frowning he realized he'd been on the ceiling. "The hell? That's new."
"I need to hurry! I need to hurry…" she repeated over and over again, frantically running around the apartment brushing her hair and looking through the cabinets to snatch a protein bar.
"Oi that's not breakfast idiot!" he shouted knowing that it wouldn't do any good but that didn't stop him from feeling his vein throb everytime he saw her neglect a good healthy meal which she tents to do often. "Oi!" Trying to grab onto anything he could to try and help him down while floating through the air, he found it quite difficult to maneuver. "How the hell do you get down?!"
Counting on her fingers and mumbling to herself he saw her curiously looking around the place.
"Your phone's on your nightstand and the keys are on the coffee table!" He said trying to pull himself down by grabbing onto the nearby bookshelf.
Snapping her fingers, she ran into her room grabbing her phone, then back to the living room for her keys, slipping on her high-heeled boots and in a hurry slammed her door shut, successfully locking it before heading off to work.
"Wait!" The moment the door slammed shut Bakugo fell down along with it, slamming hard face first against the ground. "Damn…" Painfully lifting himself up and rubbing his face he glared at the door thinking that typically at this point he'd go after her, but with this new development became hesitant that if he did, he might lose control again and float up to the sky. So, the best thing would be to figure this shit out before trying to step foot outside this door again. "How the hell did that even hurt?" he asked while checking his hand to see if he was bleeding.
For the next few hours while she was at work, he spend every second trying to figure out how the hell he was able to float in the first place. He remembered feeling relaxed, which he always did when sleeping next to her, but this time it felt different. He knew he couldn't sleep anymore but could still feel himself feeling lighter somehow.
Gritting his teeth and eyes shut, he frustratingly balled up his fist trying again and again but it seemed like no matter how hard he tried nothing seemed to work. Unlike when he'd try to move things where he ended up drained and sweating from exertion, this didn't do any of that. In fact, he didn't feel exhausted at all after Uraraka left.
"Come on!" Angrily jumping up and down he knew if someone was to see him right now, he'd probably look like an idiot, but he couldn't care less at the moment. "Think think!" He began to stressfully pace around the apartment as he thought back. "Ok…the first time I was able to move something it was in the alley, and I was… mad or whatever. But this time I just laid there….so what is it?" Tapping his finger thoughtfully against his lips he thought long and hard until he furrowed his brows and decided to close his eyes. "I was laying in bed…closed my eyes…laying next to…. Uraraka." Slowly opening his eyes when he felt his feet shift, he looked down to see them hovering an inch off the ground. It wasn't much but it was a start. "HAHA, I did it! Holy shit I did it!"
X
Excitedly stepping out of the elevators Bakugo couldn't stop the proud grin from spreading across his face as he looked left then right to see if he could catch her anywhere. All he could see were a bunch of random extras walking around obviously trying to get last minute things done before it was time for them to go home and let the night shift take over.
By this point he had already made his way down the familiar aisle thinking she was probably at her desk finishing up paperwork. So when he saw her a few feet away typing away on her computer while Raccoon eyes was talking her ear off as usual, he couldn't stop the eager expression on his face as his quick pace turned into a jog.
"Oi you'll never believe what the hell I just did Cheeks!" Leaning over her desk next to her computer screen he eyed her excitedly. "I did it! I'm able to float! Well…maybe just a little for now. Ok so it might not be perfect, but you know me I'll get to it-" He gave a hopeful smile until he heard someone call out her name from behind him.
"Uraraka."
Looking over his shoulder he saw that same extra form before approaching.
"Oh, hey Haru, what's up?" she said looking at her screen once more before turning her attention to him.
"Hey Haru." Mina winked at her making Uraraka playfully roll her eyes.
"Hey, I was just wondering if you were already done for the day." He smiled down at her obvious confusion. "Remember… we were going to grab a cup of coffee…?"
Quickly blinking the confusion away, she suddenly remembered what they had talked about during their patrol today. "Oh no I remember; it's just I'm still finishing up here." She said with a small smile.
"Yeah asshole she's busy. So beat it!" Bakugo scowled at the guy next to him.
"That's fine. I don't mind waiting." Haru shrugged pulling up a chair next to her.
"This guy…" Bakugo slowly narrowed his eyes as his fists clenched on top of the desk.
"A-are you sure?" she asked, surprised when he sat down next to her. "I've got a lot to finish up here."
"See she doesn't want you here." Bakugo smugly smirked leaning against the desk.
"That's alright." Haru grinned.
"That's so sweet…" Mina cooed, dreamily leaning her chin in her palm.
"No, it's not!" Bakugo glared at Haru, not liking the way he continued to stare at his Uraraka as she continued to work.
"Can I at least walk you home?" Haru asked hoping she'd say yes.
"She doesn't need you to walk her home. I can walk her home just fine." Bakugo scoffed crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his eyes when she actually accepted.
X
Giggling Uraraka shook her head. "Wow I would've never have guessed that you were into romantic movies like that."
"Tch." Rolling his eyes again for what seemed like the hundredth time Bakugo continued to quietly walk on the other side of Uraraka, hands stuffed deep in his pockets as he glanced around the street.
Well, he stayed quiet for the most part. This guy could just talk and talk, didn't he know how to shut the hell up already?
"What can I say? I'm a sucker for the old classics." Haru smiled giving her a slight wink.
"Oh, what a load of crap." Bakugo bitterly scoffed shaking his head as they passed another store.
"Maybe we can catch one someday?"
When they stopped next to her apartment building, she felt him grabbing both of her hands in his, staring down at her questioningly before she quickly removed her hands from his grasp. "Um…I-I don't know. We've been pretty busy at work and-"
"Uraraka."
"Yeah?" she nervously bit her lip slowly meeting his eyes.
"I really like you-"
Clicking his tongue, Bakugo shook his head stomping the rest of the way up the stairs to her apartment and waited. There was no way he was going to stick around and hear the rest of their conversation since it was none of his business.
Smiling, Uraraka took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Haru that's really sweet of you, but I'm not sure I-"
"It's fine. You don't have to answer now. But please at least just think about it."
"Alright." She gave a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow ok."
"See you tomorrow." He returned her smile as his eyes following her up the stairs until she disappeared inside the building.
"About time." Bakugo grumbled impatiently waiting for her to unlock her door before he quickly let himself in.
Taking her shoes off she didn't waste time in going in for a nice warm shower while Bakugo sat himself on the couch, arms folded and glaring at the tv that was currently off like it had personally offended him.
Once she finally emerged from the bathroom and changed into a pair of black shorts and an overside pink t-shirt, she went about making herself some instant ramen for dinner.
"Alright." Taking a deep calm breath Bakugo swiftly stood up nervously rubbing his hands together hoping that this would work. Realizing he had to do something and quick. "Ok…this is it. I can do this. I have to do this."
Carefully placing her bowl on the coffee table to make sure nothing spilled, she curiously tried to remember where she had placed her phone knowing Mina was sure to call her later to hear all the details about what did not happen.
She knew her friend meant well and Haru was a nice guy, but she just didn't see him like that right now and wasn't sure if she even wanted to. "Where did I put…?"
When she saw it sitting on the coffee table, she couldn't help but frown since she was pretty sure she hadn't placed it there. What was even more odd was the fact that when she went to reach for it, it moved further away from her grasp. "Huh?" Shaking her head, she went to grab it again, but it just moved once more. "Ok…weird…" Panic was evident in her voice as she let wide brown eyes bounce around the empty apartment.
"Don't be scared…" Bakugo calmy said trying to calm her as well as himself. After every flick of her frightened eyes as she looked around, his nervousness and anxiety grew with it. Chest pounding so hard he had to try and force himself to focus otherwise this wouldn't work. When he saw her reach for her phone again, he began to move it all the way off until he carefully placed it in the palm of his hand and facing her. "See?"
Parting her mouth, she felt a jolt of panic in her stomach until she tried to rationalize that it was probably her quirk at work. "Release." Placing her fingers pads together she waited a good minute for it to work, but when nothing happened, she tried again but this time with a slight whimper and tremble in her voice. "Releassseee…"
The moment she saw nothing happen and the phone still floating in front of her, all the color suddenly drained from her face. She felt the flutter of panic rise within her once more as the phone…her phone, continued to wiggle left and right in a frightening yet playful manner. "W-what is going on?" She made a terrible, strangled sound before jumping on the couch and clutching the remote in her hand, it being the only weapon of choice close by at the moment.
"The remote, really?" Bakugo raised his brows in amusement, grinning at the sight of one of the best and strongest heroes he knew out there having a panic attack over a floating cell phone.
Placing the phone back on the table he watched as her frightened eyes followed it as he tried to think of anything else he could use to try and communicate with her.
"I-I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but this isn't funny!" she stuttered.
"Actually, it kinda is." He smirked when he saw her jump off the couch with every intention of running to her room.
"Woah woah wait!" running after her, he was able to jump in front of her to try and stop her frantic movements but without a plan in place, he completely forgot that he only had limited options when he felt her walk right through him.
"Oh hell. Please don't do that again." Grabbing his stomach, he suddenly felt nauseous and didn't know whether it was because of what just happened or because of the disappointment that threatened to cloud his mind of having to be reminded of the fact that he couldn't even make contact physical contact with her or anyone else for that matter.
"Where is it? Aha!" Digging under her bead she quickly got back on her feet now confidently holding a metal bat.
"Oh shit! Where the hell did you even get that?!" Lifting his hands up in surrender he took quick steps back. He knew she couldn't see him nor hurt him, but was he willing to make sure and find out right now? Probably not.
"Alright whoever this is I'm done playing! So, show yourself right now!" she growled swinging the bat around for good measure before once again repositioning her grip.
"Ok ok! Let's just relax round-face and stop swinging that thing at me!" Placing both hands on top of his head he took a deep breath until his eyes caught something on top of her dresser.
"Ok it's official. I've gone crazy." She said to herself darting her eyes around not even knowing what exactly she was even looking for. Maybe it was a villain who followed her home? Tightening her hold on the bat she made sure to stay quiet and try to control her heavy breathing to see if she could hear anything, but when she didn't, she hoped that whoever or whatever it was had already left.
But her hopes were squashed when she saw her small frog stuff animal that Tsu had given her back in high school slowly float off the dresser. "Oh, my gods…"
The small green frog hovered above her until she raised the bat again in warning and she saw it quickly move away from her. "That's right, get back you!"
When the frog continued moving away, still facing her and out of the bedroom, she slowly lowered the bat when the cute thing started lifting its little arms gesturing her to follow. Any other time she would have thought how adorable that looked but given the circumstance she wasn't about to let her guard down.
When she could no longer see it, she was seriously debating on just shutting her door but the other part of her was actually curious to know what the heck was going on and who had the nerve to come into her home, and it's not like she could call for backup since her phone was still in the living room too. "Oh mannnn…"
When she poked her head out of her room, she could see it still floating as if waiting for her to finally come out.
"Hagakure?" she wearily asked, eyes glued to the green frog who shook its tiny head while she slowly made her way closer to the living room to inconspicuously get to her phone. "Ok…if you're not Hagakure then who the heck are you and what do you want?"
Lifting its hands, she saw it pointing toward her laptop before it moved closer to it.
"Ok." Releasing a nervous breath, he tiredly placed the frog down next to her laptop while cautiously watching her walk closer to him, thinking he was going to pass out any moment from the exertion. "Here goes nothing."
"AGH!" Lifting the bat again in panic when she saw the mouse move on its own. Her heart was pounding so hard when she heard the sound of a key being pressed down. "B…? What does that-" she cut herself off when she saw another letter appearing on the screen and then another. "A…K…U…G…" Her throat suddenly felt tight, her grip on the bat now trembling and yet she couldn't remove her shocked eyes from the last letter on the screen. "…O…"
"Yes!" he happily shouted eagerly awaiting her reaction and hoping that she would believe him since he understood if it were him, he would be pretty skeptical as well. The last thing he expected though was the way her eyes grew impossibly more and the loud fearful scream that reverberated around the whole damn apartment. "Well, that's not what you want…"