"You okay, dude?"

Katsuki froze in place, suddenly very much aware that he had left the dormitory in nothing but tartan boxers and a sleeveless t-shirt as though he was on a trip to the bathroom in his house rather than a public space. As he looked to his left and saw who had addressed him, he found out that he wasn't the only one with that mindset. Kyoka Jiro stood in a state of equal undress, her bare legs and feet on display and her upper body and waist covered by a shirt that was slightly too large for her. A band shirt in black and white, featuring a gargantuan whale emerging from the ocean and toppling a ragged-looking ship.

It was a metal band that Katsuki knew and loved. One known particularly for their drummer, whom he aspired to be like. The sight momentarily gave him a jolt of a feeling he wasn't at all familiar with getting from other people… and one that he immediately squashed. Katsuki turned away to avoid staring awkwardly at Kyoka's chest or the hem of the shirt that may or may not have been hiding underwear beneath it. It took effort not to mull over the possibilities, and Katsuki closed his eyes to be doubly sure they stayed well out of his mind.

"I'm fine," Katsuki said with a little too much force to be convincing. "Just… I forgot something."

"Sucks. Happens to the best of us," Kyoka mused as she walked closer, her footfalls muted by the hallway carpet. "But you don't sound fine, Katsuki. Are you sure you don't want t-"

"I just have to piss," Katsuki said quickly, cutting Kyoka off and beginning to walk away from her and toward the bathroom. "Not looking to stand around and talk."

Though it was the truth, he couldn't deny that hearing his full given name spoken aloud by someone other than his mother was both strange and somewhat pleasant.

"You and me both," Kyoka deadpanned as she gave chase. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be up at this ungodly hour. Honestly, I'm kinda glad you don't want to stand around and talk right now. The mattress is calling me."

Katsuki said nothing as he pushed through the bathroom door and left Kyoka to her own devices. He took his time going about his morning business as he ran through an itinerary in his mind- retrieve his shorts, work out downstairs, shower, find a private spot somewhere outside, call his mother, and pending her availability, visit her. It was all going to be so simple… until he stepped back outside of the bathroom. Katsuki had thought himself to be in the clear given Kyoka's eagerness to leave him and get back to bed. He hadn't counted on her admission of not wanting to talk "right now" to be limited to such a specific time frame.

"So, ready to talk, now that we're both feeling better?" Kyoka asked from her place leaning on the wall between the two bathrooms.

The girl let out a yawn and did an overhead stretch as Katsuki shot her an annoyed glare. It was then that he confirmed she was indeed wearing underwear beneath the shirt. Katsuki had a bit of trouble looking away while Kyoka's arms were up over her head and her eyes were closed, and he hated himself for it. The curves of her hips were alluring in a way he couldn't deny, no matter how much he wanted to.

"No, I'm not," Katsuki insisted as he forced his eyes down to the carpet. "It's family bullshit. Nothing important, and nothing you need to get involved with."

"Well, you helped me with my family bullshit," Kyoka pointed out. "Let me return the favor."

Katsuki shifted his weight from one foot to the other, knowing that the argument was sound. He didn't feel fine. She did owe him one. He didn't know how to deal with what he was feeling, or how best to approach the upcoming call.

"…what, out here, half-naked where anyone can see or hear us?" Katsuki asked lamely.

"Not that unusual for a college dorm building," Kyoka answered. "We could take up one of the tables over by the window. No one's really gonna see anything but our shirts if they walk by, especially with all the lights out. Come on, Katsuki. Let me help you, for once."

The sound of his name gave him a pleasant little tingle yet again. Katsuki let out a weary sigh and began to head for one of the tables. He sat down and leaned back into the chair as Kyoka took up the one across from him and slouched over the surface of the table, her arms folded atop it. With another yawn, the girl rested her chin atop her forearms and gave Katsuki a sleepy smirk.

"…you'll feel better just letting it out. Trust me," Kyoka insisted.

"I do," Katsuki admitted both to her and himself. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be bothering with this… this whatever."

"So, what's going on?" Kyoka asked. "Things not going well at home?"

"Things are fine at home, now," Katsuki said, unsure if it was the truth. "My parents split over the summer. Partially because of me."

Kyoka sat up a bit straighter, suddenly looking much more awake as her expression shifted into a frown.

"Katsuki, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," he denied as he folded his arms across his chest. "It was a long time coming, and… it's better this way. My dad's a fucking asshole, my mom is… she's trying, but she's also kind of an asshole, and I'm an asshole. I was supposed to visit her last night after taking care of some other things, and I was so tired that I just… forgot. I woke up to a text from her, and now I feel like absolute shit. Not much you can do to help there. Happy now?"

"No, I'm really not," Kyoka answered. "And you're probably right- I don't think I can do much to help, but I can be here for you, any time you need it."

"Be here for me?" Katsuki asked, physically recoiling back into his seat. "What does that even mean?"

Kyoka raised a brow, feeling as though she didn't understand the question.

"I… you know, just letting you vent. Talk it out, get it off your chest… it does help to have someone willing to listen to you. Letting it all bubble up inside leads to bad things. I've seen it happen to a lot of friends, and I've had it happen to me, too. I don't want you to hold it all in and explode because you feel like you've got no one to talk to."

"I don't feel better," Katsuki warned. "I feel like I'm just wasting time. It's my problem, and I have to deal with it."

"But sharing the burden c-"

"Some burdens can't be shared," Katsuki snapped. "Or… they shouldn't be. I fucked up. I have to fix it. That's all there is to it. Didn't you want to go back to bed, anyway? We're not getting anywhere, and you look exhausted. Get some sleep, Kyoka."

The name felt odd on his lips, but he didn't hate it. Despite trying, he also didn't hate her, or that she was still making an effort to make him feel better. It was unsettling and odd, but in a weird way… it felt nice that she cared.

"I'm up now," Kyoka said with another wide yawn. "Once I'm awake for more than like… five minutes, it's all over for me. I wish we had coffee or something, then I could probably be more capable of intelligent thought and advice."

"…I don't drink coffee," Katsuki said flatly.

"Tea?" Kyoka inquired.

"…sometimes?" Katsuki replied. "I… guess? I don't hate it."

"Then let's do tea sometime, one day before classes start," Kyoka suggested. "Tea-date doesn't flow as well as a coffee-date, but…"

"Date?" Katsuki asked, almost spitting the word.

Kyoka blinked in surprise, once again momentarily dumbfounded by Katsuki's seemingly unfamiliar status with the common expression.

"Not… like that," Kyoka said with a small blush. "I mean, it could… no, not like that. It's just an expression. More like hanging out, and just… god, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Katsuki asked, finally starting to get annoyed.

"Blowing it?" Kyoka replied. "Pissing you off? I know you're not really… the social type. I don't want you to feel like I'm making things worse or actually wasting your time. I really do want to help, and we're kind of getting away from the problem, and… I'm just babbling like a complete idiot, aren't I? This is awful…"

"Would you just… calm down?" Katsuki asked, not liking Kyoka's state of panic at all. "You're doing fine, I guess. You're not really pissing me off, I get that you're trying to help, and if I felt like you were really a waste of time, I'd get up and walk away. I don't know why the hell I'm still sitting here with my ass freezing in this shitty plastic chair, but I am. Take that as a sign."

Kyoka was very tempted to ask "a sign of what?" but managed to resist the urge.

"Right. Okay," Kyoka said with a sigh as she stretched her arms across her chest as if warming up for training. "I think… you definitely need to call her."

"…no shit," Katsuki deadpanned. "But I don't want to."

"No one ever wants to call home," Kyoka mused. "At least, not sane people. It's always a pain in the ass, and calls from home are also a pain in the ass or typical needless conversations. At worst, they're bad news."

"You're not wrong," Katsuki agreed.

"But in a case like this… just call, explain that you're under a lot of pressure, and it slipped your mind. She's probably incredibly worried about you, and hearing that you were just a little overwhelmed will probably go a long way toward making her feel better."

"I'm not overwhelmed," Katsuki insisted.

"Then why did you forget?"

"Because I had a lot on my mind…"

"That's the same as being overwhelmed," Kyoka pointed out. "Isn't it?"

"…I hate all of this," Katsuki said as he finally allowed himself to slump in his seat. "Everything that's going on right now just sucks ass."

"Everything except us right here, right now," Kyoka tried. "Right?"

"I guess," Katsuki halfheartedly agreed. "Some of you people do seem… okay. 1-A is already a better crowd than my 'friends' in high school."

"That's good to hear," Kyoka said as she stood up from the table and rolled her shoulders. "What about Midoriya, though? I thought you've known each other for a long time."

"Fuck him," Katsuki said without missing a beat. "You're leaving?"

"Nah, I just need to stretch my legs," Kyoka said. "Maybe you should stretch yours, too."

"What?"

"Get up," Kyoka said as she rolled her eyes. "Please?"

Katsuki pulled a face as he got to his feet. He knew what was coming a moment before it happened, and yet, he was powerless to stop it.

Maybe he didn't want to.

Kyoka's arms were warm as they wrapped around him, and her head was heavy on his shoulder. Though he was tense throughout the process, he could tell that the hug was somehow helping her as well. Slowly and against his better judgement, he gently put his arms around Kyoka's back, letting them hover for a moment before pulling her in a bit tighter. The sensation was almost totally alien to him, as was the feeling of her modest breasts against his chest. Katsuki could feel his heartbeat speeding up as he maintained the contact. Over a few seconds, he settled into the hug and allowed himself to close his eyes as he breathed in the raspberry scent of Kyoka's hair.

The sound of footsteps in the hall near the lobby caught Katsuki's attention, and he opened his eyes. He was a second too slow to break free of the hug before Daisuke entered the lobby. The two boys made eye contact as Kyoka finally let Katsuki go. Daisuke gave him a nod and smirk before turning and heading toward the bathroom.

"…fuck."

"What?" Kyoka asked as she opened her eyes.

"Nothing," Katsuki asked. "Uh… thanks for the help. Get some sleep so you don't look like a zombie all damned day. We'll talk again later."

"Sure," Kyoka replied. "And thanks for giving me a chance. Good luck with your mom. See you soon."

Katsuki said nothing while he stomped toward the bathroom once again, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what to say.

Author's Note:

Let the hijinks begin!

-RD