Why had no one stopped to help anyway? Camie had time to wonder before falling...

"Camie!" Bakugo dashed after them, and Deku would have, but Slick was going to fire again, and he had to stop him instead, he pinned him down. "You d--- villain!"

Bakugo jumped off the overpass.

Hopper managed to use his feet to kick off one of the cars and launch both of them back into the air, but then he let go of Camie and careened off toward the side of the road.

"Ahhhhh!!!" Camie saw the cars coming up to meet her again.

Bakugo reached her literally a split second before she hit one and slammed her, just barely avoiding a truck and then landing on the roof of a semi....

Camie blinked and opened her eyes. "I'm not dead...Woohoo!" She cheered.

"You idiot!" Bakugo shook her. "What were you thinking!"

"I was trying to save your behinds!" Camie cried. "Dude, he hit me with a truck! A truck! I'm lucky to even be talking right now!"

"Lucky? That almost killed you!" Bakugo was checking the back of her head. "Do you have a concussion..."

"I probably do.." Camie said, her head was still throbbing from that. "But I'll live, you know...if we get off this truck..nice save, btw...uh is Deku gonna be okay up there?"

"That nerd? Yeah, he'll be fine, there was only one of them left." Bakugo said.

They looked around.

People were honking at the driver trying to get him to stop, but he didn't seem to understand what they meant.

"Bakugo, there's something I was going to tell you," Camie was still kind of dazed. "I lost my nerve though."

"Eh, is this really the time?" Bakugo looked around. "I think we could just jump. If you hang on to me."

"Oh sure." Camie said. "I could do that forever."

"What?" Bakugo wasn't sure he heard her right over the sound of the highway.

"Did I say that out loud?" Camie looked confused.

"Just hang on." Bakugo decided she was definitely concussed.

Camie grabbed onto him obligingly and he blasted off the roof and they had to tuck and roll onto the side of the road...

They'd gone probably a km at least up the road now from the overpass.

"Better go help that stupid nerd..." Bakugo said.

"Yeah, I guess..." Camie said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bakugo asked.

"Wow, you're acting really concerned." Camie noted.

Bakugo turned red. "I...wasn't...I'm just making sure you can still fight."

"I know bro...I just..." Camie faltered. "I mean...uh thanks for saving me, there."

"I...think we're even." Bakugo said. "Since you warned us about that jackass."

"This keeps happening." Camie said, they were moving now. "I mean, we seem to make a pretty good team."

Bakugo didn't disagree.

"I guess we're compatible." Camie said

Bakugo almost jumped. "You mean our quirks?"

"Oh, yeah our quirks," Camie said.

Dang it, she thought. Even confused I don't have the nerve to--oh what the heck!

She grabbed Bakugo's arm and spun him around to face her.

"I like you." She said.

Bakugo looked at her like she'd sprouted wings.

"What?" He said blankly.

"I like you." Camie said, now that she'd said it once it was easy. "There, I said it...whew...that wasn't so bad."

Bakugo's mouth fell open.

"Well...your move, Explosion King." Camie said. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"

"Is this a joke?" Bakugo said.

"Joke? Why would it be a joke?" Camie was offended now. "You dum dum, I'm trying to confess here and you ask if it's a joke, how humiliating!"

"You're serious?"

"Of course I was serious-- don't know though, you're making me kind of second guess it now." Camie crossed her arms. "You could just answer me..."

"Well, you just said something crazy out of nowhere and you expect me to just answer you!" Bakugo was tense now.

"Why is it crazy?" Camie asked.

"Because--it's...you--" Bakugo was at a loss.

"So...I guess..." Camie faltered again. "I mean, I kind of figured it was this way...Well that's okay...I'm still glad I got that off my chest...I guess I always have the excuse I was probably concussed right?"

"Do you even know what you're saying then?" Bakugo said.

"I was going to tell you a couple days ago when I was normal and I lost my nerve," Camie said. "I mean maybe hitting my head ruined my filter, or something, but I know I'm not just imagining this...sorry, bro, I guess it's all me, huh? Let's not make it weird, I get it, no hard feelings."

She shrugged. "Let's just go save Deku."

She started to walk past.

Bakugo grabbed her arm and stopped her. "So this is real?"

"What did I just say--also ouch, that was my bad arm." Camie said.

"Oh...sorry." Bakugo let go. "This is not the best time for bringing this up, d--- it! You're literally bleeding."

"Sorry, I guess I suck at timing!" Camie said.

"Yeah, I guess you do." Bakugo said. "I wasn't ready for that, the way you just threw it out there."

"Excuse me for having feelings!" Camie shot back.

"It's not that!" Bakugo said. "It's--" He paused. "I was already scared, I thought you were gonna die back there, and now you're telling me this, it's a lot to take all at once."

"Uh...oh, you know what, you're right." Camie put a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, that was way stupid of me. I should totally have waited till after we were done with this mission. Ah! Just forget I said it okay? I'll tell you at a better time."

"You can't just take it back!" Bakugo said.

"Well, what do you want me to do then?!" Came cried.

"Well I'm not saying you had to apologize for anything, just...stop talking." Bakugo said.

"Stop talking? What the h--- dude, that's not helping!" Camie cried.

"Did you want me to answer?" Bakugo looked really embarrassed.

Camie's pulse pounded...but her headache was totally forgotten for the moment.

"Oh..." she said.

Bakugo was staring at the ground. "I...uh...er...I can't freaking--frick you, Likstar."

Shine? What did she have to do with this?

Camie smiled faintly.

"If you're taking that long to say it, I bet I know what you're trying to say." She said. "I mean, if you're going to say you don't like me back, just nod, okay?"

Bakugo didn't nod. He just turned redder. "I---" he was still sputtering.

Camie smiled, her heart was as light as feather right then.

"Ah...Baku..." She said.

She reached out and lifted his chin. "Hey, look at me."

Bakugo was still really red and barely met her eyes.

"It's okay, I got you." Camie said. "I'll make this real easy for you. If you don't like me, stop me before I do this."

"Do wh--" Bakugo didn't get a chance to finish, Camie pulled him forward and kissed him right on the mouth.

Bakugo was totally caught off guard...but he didn't yank himself away...

Camie didn't push her luck past a few seconds, she pulled back. "Well...you didn't stop me."

Silence...Bakugo literally could not form sentences right then.

"I'm gonna take that as an I like you too." Camie said.

Silence still.

"Good." Camie said. "That means you're mine now." She grinned.

Bakugo finally regained some powers of speech. "Who the frick says that?"

"I do, gonna stop me?" Camie said.

"I could stop you." Bakugo said.

"Don't be such a jerk," Camie said. "I own you now, just accept it, move on."

"Shut up!" Bakugo said.

"I'll shut you up." Camie kissed him a second time, to his shock.

At that moment he noticed some people on the highway had pulled over and were recording this.

"What the-- you delete those files right now you d---- losers!" He yelled at them.

The people were terrified. "Ah...okay, okay!" they cried, as Bakugo's hands shot sparks.

Camie started laughing. "Omg, I totally forgot we were standing by a highway...how embarrassing...but did one of you get pictures of that, because I'd totally keep it."

"The frick you will!" Bakugo said. "I ain't doing it if some random strangers are gonna have videos of it."

"So you will if they delete those?" Camie said.

Bakugo shrugged.

"Well you heard the guy, delete that stuff!" Camie yelled at them. "Come on, before I come over there and kick your a--"

They flinched. "Both of them are crazy..."

They swiped on their phones.

"Problem solved." Camie said.

Bakugo was still embarrassed. "D--- it, why didn't you wait till we were somewhere more private...?"

"Ah, Baku, come on, I'm just proving I'm not ashamed of you." Camie patted his shoulder. "Besides, that was hot... Anyway, weren't we supposed to somewhere or something? I don't really remember why we're out here."

"I... It was...Deku!" Bakugo suddenly looked around. "D--- it..."

"Oh, right...our mission..." Camie said.

* * *

Shoto and the other pros had found Deku already, and arrested all four of the criminals.

But no sign of Bakugo or Camie.

"There are no bodies on the street, so they didn't get hit by a car," The sidekicks reported. "We're going to look for them along the highway."

But before they spread out to do that, Bakugo and Camie did appear, Camie was moving slowly and her arm was bleeding, but both of them were grinning kind of crazily, the pros thought.

To Shoto it just looked more upbeat...for Bakugo away.

"Are...you two okay?" He asked.

"Kaachan!" Deku cried. "You're not hurt? Camie?"

"I feel fine." Camie said. "I mean, I'm probably bleeding out, but I don't even care."

"She hit her head too." Bakugo said.

"More like that truck hit me in the head..." Camie said.

"Let us take a look..." some paramedics were on the scene, attending to Hopper, who was not dead but severely wounded from the gunshot.

"For the record..." Camie said said, while they were examining her. "He didn't actually try to kill me...except for dangling me over the overpass, but like, it was a deep fake...so yeah...the others are all worthless scum though."

"Uh...okay..." the police seemed to find Camie a little odd too.

"Surprisingly, the truck only just slightly hit her head." The paramedic said. "Her shoulders took most of it, she's lucky. She'll still need a CAT scan though."

"Can we go the hospital with her?" Shoto asked. "We're kind of friends."

"We don't really need you here anymore, so if you want you can." The police said. "You should check with you supervising Pros though."

Burnin didn't care, so they did go with her.

Deku spent most of the time of the wait apologizing to Camie for getting her shot.

Bakugo finally told him to shut up and go away before he killed him.

"My dad says he'll send the butler to pick us up and take us back to UA." Shoto looked up from his phone. "I guess I'll go wait for him if you two are fine here."

"We're good." Camie said. "Man...this is starting to really hurt though..." she leaned on Bakugo.

Bakugo felt embarrassed, there were people in the waiting room.

But no one seemed to really care.

He resigned himself to the inevitable.

Camie had priority treatment as a hero, so she was seen pretty soon after that, and scanned. No major problem was detected, they told her to take a day or two off for school, and that would be that.

Shoto said the butler could drive her home too so she didn't have to take the train.

"Nah, just let me go with you guys, Shine can send me from UA." Camie said. "It's a long car ride."

"I guess that might be best." Shoto admitted.

***

"Oh, my goodness..." Shine saw the condition Camie was in. "So much for keeping this streak of not getting hurt." She hugged her.

"It's okay, Shine, I tried your advice, it worked." Camie said.

"My..." Shine frowned, then she looked at Bakugo. "Oh...it did?"

Bakugo looked at the floor.

"Well, okay then." Shine said.

"So getting concussed was totally worth it." Camie added.

"I...will take that for a one time thing." Shine said.

"It was my fault," Deku said. "I got carried away, I never should have yelled at that guy...honestly..." he glanced at Bakugo. "I thought you'd be yelling at me by now."

Bakugo shrugged. "What the point, you're just going to do do the same reckless s--- again anyway. Yelling at you wouldn't make you smarter."

Deku was rather more stung by that then he would have been by actual yelling.

"We all make mistakes, Deku." Shine said. "Don't worry about it. Just be wiser in the future."

Deku slunk away.

"He didn't do that much." Shoto said. "We...just weren't expecting them to take actual heroes hostage."

"That has to happen a lot..." Shine said.

Shoto shook his head. "Villains are usually afraid of us...I feel like the Meta war maybe has made heroes seem more vulnerable to common criminals...I don't know."

"Hmm...well, Wally could tell you some stories of it happening to his buddies, the important thing is to keep your head." Shine said.

"Yeah...good job, Camie." Shoto admitted. "I heard you made the car stop."

"You know, I tried to think without using my quirk." Camie said. "Like I have to do that a lot anyway, and it was cool, actually it was like all these possibilities open up in my mind."

"Hmm..." Shine said. "I often wonder if superpowers really limit more than they expand. Your world loves to talk about the possibilities quirks create, but in reality, they made everyone less creative. They define themselves by those powers, and the same irons humanity uses to think it's breaking its chains, actually become the news chains to bind it in. Freedom is in being human."

"That's deep, sis." Camie said.

"I do what I can." Shine said. "And speaking of quirks...Wally and I think we've found her." She shrugged. "But we're gonna wait till you recover...we're not in a big hurry, this time, fortunately. And if you help, I want you at top capacity."

"Oh really?" Camie said.

"You're invaluable for this," Shine said. "You're quirk is most useful against them..so yes, if you are up for it, you must be healthy."

"I'm so up for it." Camie said. "I'mma get better fast." She rubbed her head. "Ow..."

Shine walked away.

Shoto went off to find Momo.

After sitting in silence for a while, Bakugo looked up at Camie.

"What happened out there, you were serious?"

"Dude, do I need to prove it again?" Camie said.

"No--uh..." Bakugo didn't want anyone to walk in and see that! "I mean...what did you mean...like...did you want to..."

"Uh, Bakugo, whatever you're going to say, remember I'm a classy kind of chick." Camie said.

"What? Now..." Bakugo turned red. "I just meant date or something, weirdo."

"Oh, right...heck yeah, I want to do that." Camie said. "Do you?"

"I...uh...it...I ...wouldn't mind...I guess... " Bakugo said.

"Oh my gosh, really?" Camie almost squealed. "I thought you'd say you were too busy!"

"How much extra time does it really take?" Bakugo said.

Camie snorted. "With that attitude, I dunno...But if you're up to the challenge..."

"I'm up to any challenge," Bakugo snapped. "Are you? You're the one whose school forbid it."

"Oh screw them, I'm so transferring next year anyway." Camie said. "If I can...and like, for now, I sneak over here all the time. What's the big difference if we're just exclusive?"

Bakugo shrugged.

"Like don't be stressing that bro," Camie said. "Oh should I say...bae."

"You're not calling me that."

"I am calling you that." Camie said. "You can't stop me! I can't keep calling you bro, I gotta show the other b-----s that you're taken!"

Bakugo almost had to smirk there...but one thing was still on his mind.

"But...why do you want to date me?" he asked.

"Why? Because I like you," Camie said.

"Why...?" Bakugo frowned.

"Because I do," Camie said.

"That's not an answer."

"What, you want a list or something?" Camie said, "Your head's not big enough?"

"I..." Bakugo hesitated. "It's...just...you're not just trying to prove a point?"

"What are you talking about? Like, prove I'm tough enough for you?" Camie said, "That's stupid."

Bakugo was silent.

"Are you really insecure about it?" Camie tilted her head. "I guess she was right..." 

She reached out and put her hand on Bakugo's hand. "Don't be stupid, Baku. I wouldn't go this far and make out with you in front of a crowd of people if I was just trying to prove a point."

"We didn't make out!"

"Well, whatever we did," Camie said, "The point is, I'm dead serious. I've actually liked you for months... I just didn't want to call it that. The truth is, I'm...me...not the uber serious type, ya know? I wasn't sure at first I was gonna be right for you. You're way intense, and I like that, I really do, but can I compete with it? And then, you know, I just thought I don't care, I want to try...and you're way different from me, but that's good, right? I might kid around a lot though, but if I was really serious about a guy, I'd be serious, you know? I wouldn't play with you like that--because we're friends, and that's just not how friends do."

Bakugo nodded. 

"What about you. Are you serious?" Camie asked, "Am I too dumb or something? You're not just saying yes 'cause no other girl would ever like you, right?"

"What?!" Bakugo cried.

"Well, you can't have gotten too many offers. That's kind of why I thought I had a shot." Camie said, "You won't dump me for someone smarter?"

"Smarter?" Bakugo scoffed, "I..." He was uncomfortable. "I wouldn't bother looking for anyone else, I'll just put it that way. I don't have the time or energy to waste on hunting around for a better offer, even if one existed, but you're not bad in a fight, and you make funny s---. I don't really know what else to look for anyway."

"Digging deep there," Camie said, "You didn't even say I was hot."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"You're not denying it."

"Oh, shut it, you know what you look like. Why should I have to say anything?" Bakugo said.

"A girl likes to hear it anyway. Keeps up our confidence!" Camie said, "I mean, I'll say it about you if you want. You're way hot."

"Stop that!" Bakugo was red again.

"You're so easy to tease, man..." Camie laughed, "All right, I'll stop tormenting you..."

"Look, I don't just commit to things lightly," Bakugo finally managed to say, and he managed also to sound mad about it, "so if you think I'm just gonna agree and then change my mind just like that, you're a freaking idiot. Dumba--."

"Ah...." Camie said, "Also, frick you if you call me dumba-- again. Show some respect to your new gf, dude. I'm gonna say, you can only use idiot from now on. Not dumba-- or moron."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, I'm still gonna call you an idiot sometimes," Camie said, "because sometimes you are, so that's fair. But the other two are way too rude for your SO."

"That makes no sense."

"Dude, it's called a compromise," Camie said, "Don't be such an idiot right now. Just take the deal."

"Err, fine!" Bakugo said.

"Great," Camie said, "and no loser either. Because if I'm dating you, I can't be a loser, and if you say I am, then you are too. Someone insults my bae, I'mma destroy them."

"What?" Bakugo had a hard time following that.

"I'm saying I'll beat you up," Camie said.

"Like you would!"

"Dude, don't mess with my boyfriend!" Camie said.

"If I freaking am your--" Bakugo realized he was being baited. "Stop that."

"Oh, this is gonna be fun..." Camie smiled at him coyly.

Bakugo huffed and blushed again...but didn't argue.

https://youtu.be/_Bu0bm3LHcw

[Aww.

I did it, finally! And that was adorable...and spicy.]