Chapter Text
An irritating whine of the sirens follows your trail, with flashing blue and red lights reflecting off the puddles that settled into dips of the street. At least four to six police cars ride your ass and your breathing becomes ragged and short the more you run. Faster and faster, as far as your legs will take you. Shit, where the hell are the others ? The time to stop and think about where to head towards next should’ve been done a couple blocks ago, but you were careless. You have no one to blame but yourself.
Getting caught and detained isn’t an option; it never will be. If anything, you would rather die than be arrested, but you wonder when it all came down to this extreme. Since when did it become the norm to shit on the people trying to save others? To try and slander the good guys while the bad guys are still lurking underneath the city streets, like filthy sewer rats?
It didn’t make any sense. Heroes weren’t always looked at like freaks of nature. It was only the past decade or so that the press and government really locked down on the whole ‘superheroes bad, normal good’ spiel. The only logical explanation would be that a villain posed as a hero, destroyed the city and made life a living hell, then disappeared to whatever swamp they crawled out of. No one knew who exactly executed it, but there would be no reason not to believe that a villain was behind it. Now you and the rest of the heroes were left with the shit end of the stick, dealing with the aftermath. Best believe it wasn’t pretty.
Your legs begin to feel like jello, shaky and sore the more you speed down the hill, which in turn only made the cars accelerate faster and nearly running you over. So you take a risk, and quickly dive onto the gravel as the heat of the engines whir over your head. Surely it was luck rather than your own impulsive stupidity that you managed to escape, but regardless you quickly scurry into the alleyways of the buildings, pulling out your cell and dialing Yagi.
Asphalt stains your hero costume, and the exposed skin of your arms and legs are covered in multiple lacerations thanks to the stunt you pulled, yet you were alive and free from handcuffs, so you couldn’t complain. Though you were certain that you would get an earful.
Yagi’s car parks directly in front of the entrance to the alley, shielding you from any roaming passerbys, and with an irritated frown, you slump into the passenger seat. He studies your appearance with heavy sunken eyes, his mouth tugged into a disapproving scowl. You try to ignore it, and instead hook a leg over the other and stare out the window as he shifts the gear into drive. For the whole five minutes of uncomfortable silence that develops, you hope that he’ll forget about tonight and never bring it up again, but that was never Yagi.
“You can’t do reckless antics like that again, (Y/N),” he scolds firmly, yet his tone still holds that paternal softness. You glance over at him, eyes focused on the road, and you feel guilty. Yagi had always treated you like his own daughter when he took you in, after being abandoned by your parents for manifesting a quirk. He quickly made you realize that family didn’t have to be by blood. As far as you know, Yagi is closest thing to family you have, and having him worry over your wellbeing like a father only confirmed it. He was only trying to keep you safe, and you frayed from the plan, putting not only yourself but the others in danger as well. Instead of arguing, you simply remain quiet.
“Are you injured?” He inquires gently, and you shake your head. He scoffs flippantly and moves his hand that sat on the center console to pet your hair. “I’ll have Ochako take care of those for you.”
When you arrive at the base, a rundown apartment complex with barely any residents, you drag your feet to the living room where, undoubtedly, the rest of the group will be waiting for your return. You couldn’t quite say they were used to you running off on your own, thinking that you could handle yourself and end up in trouble, but it would be a good assumption. Being naive and careless would get the best of you, but it was only in your nature to see through loopholes and act in the spur of the moment.
As soon as your dampened socks make contact with the carpet, a large pair of arms engulf you into a bone-crushing hug. “What the fuck were you thinking, (Y/N)?” Bakugou’s low voice in your ear yet again sends another string of guilt into your gut. The only answer was, you weren’t.
“I’m sorry,” was all you could muster, a surge of tears threatening to spill any second. Bakugou definitely wasn’t one to show his emotions, and for a long while you were sure that he had two moods: calmly pissed and extremely pissed. He proved you wrong one day when you came back from a mission nearly collapsing on your knees, as he cried and sniffled while cradling your limp body. That was the first day you realized your true feelings towards him, and his towards you.
“You can’t just leave the group like that. You know we can’t go after you.”
“I know,” you sigh. “I just- I really thought I could do it this time. That could’ve been our only chance to finally kill him!”
He pulls back only to glare at you incredulously. “Are you fucking insane?”
You aren’t sure how to answer that. Maybe you really were. Avoiding his intense gaze, and wishing the floor would swallow you whole was the only thing you found yourself wanting to do.
“(Y/N),” he pleads, gripping your chin between his thumb and index finger firmly. “As strong as you are, there’s no way in hell you can do everything on your own. Don’t pull shit like this again.”
“But-”
“Oi,” he bares his teeth, causing you to snap your jaw shut. “I don’t want to hear another fucking thing out of that pretty mouth other than a promise.”
You shrivel up at the compliment mixed into the reprimanding, and flush slightly from embarrassment. “I promise.”
“Good.”
Though his arms wrap around your midsection again, the warmth had disappeared and had been replaced with resentment, almost. Disappointment. Chagrin swelled in your chest when he pulls away, leaving you alone with Ochako and her first-aid kit. Eyes had been watching and ears had been listening as your body grew hot with shame.
The ride home to your shared apartment was void of any communication whatsoever, and it stung. Even more so than when Ochako rubbed hydrogen peroxide on your open wounds, and somehow silence was more painful than a lashing.
You know you were wrong, yet your prideful conscience didn’t let you admit it out loud. But to put the others in danger, that was the worst part of it all. You can’t remember how you became so thoughtless. Maybe it’s the desperation for society to finally accept you as people, rather than aliens. Or maybe it’s to revenge your parents; to rub in their faces that you’re doing fine, better than you would have ever been if they kept you. Or maybe it’s for yourself, to prove that you’re not a bad person. None of your friends will ever be evil as the media claimed, and neither will you.
That still didn’t make up for the fact that you put everyone including yourself in danger, but why couldn’t you grasp that in the beginning? That when you put on your hero costume, your life wasn’t the only one you would be thinking of. Yet you were selfish, and inconsiderate, and that wasn’t at all what a hero is supposed to be.
Bakugou’s back is turned to you on the bed, and though you can’t see his face, you can tell he’s not asleep. He gave you a kiss on the cheek before he rolled over, and by now you were expecting cuddles and affection. Now given the cold shoulder, or back more like it, you weren’t sure what to do. The only way to find out where to go from here, is to apologize.
“Katsuki,” you murmur, loud enough to grab his attention but still very timid. He grunts a response, and that didn’t help your confidence. “I’ve been thinking about it, and you all were right. I’m sorry.”
“We’ve discussed this already,” he replies icily.
You swallow thickly. “What I’m trying to say is that… you and Yagi are the only family I have. I haven’t been thinking about how my actions affect you both, even the rest of the team. To be honest, I wouldn’t care if I had to die trying to stop Shigaraki. If it meant that the world would be a better place for you and the other heroes, then that’d be good enough for me,” you sigh. By the end of your explanation, he’s already facing you with his head propped up by the palm of his hand. His expression is impossible to decipher, so you continue. “But now I realize that I have a whole lot more to live for. So from now on, I’ll be more careful with my decisions and I won’t venture off on my own anymore. I want to stay alive, if not for me, but Yagi and...you, Katsuki. Because I love you.”
His stare melts under your words and his arm drags you closer into his chest, so tightly as though he doesn’t want to let you leave his sight again. His lips press kisses into your hair and you shyly reach up to thread your fingers through his hair and he breathes in deeply.
“I love you to the ends of the earth, (Y/N). Please don’t ever take it for granted. I want us both to be happy and alive in the future, hopefully together, if you don’t mind,” he mutters facetiously.
You giggle into his mouth, a longing kiss muffling the sound. “You want to grow old with me, Katsuki?” You tease softly.
“Obviously,” he rolls his eyes. “You’re an amazing woman, but a total pain in my ass.”
“I’ll work on it, give me maybe 5 to 80 years. We’ll have to wait and see.”
He grunts before gently wrapping you into his side, your head resting against his chest. A gentle lullaby of a beating heart, and warm lips pressing into your hair are what finally allows you to sleep.