(Y/n) drummed her pencil inaudibly on her exercise book, half concentrating on what the teacher was saying and half staring blankly at the foreign words written on the board.

She yawned, her eyes falling on the clock above the board with hopes that the bell was about to ring. It was only ten minutes left and she couldn't be any happier.

The girl decided to look around the class just out of boredom. It wasn't an unusual sight to see many already bored out of their minds and (Y/n) smiled inwardly, knowing she wasn't alone. She turned to her left to look at Katsuki, who was surprisingly busy with writing down what the teacher was saying.

(Y/n) rested her head on her palm and stared at him for a while. Luckily for her, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings so he didn't notice her blatant stare.

All the while she was staring at him, her mind kept wandering to the day before.

Ever since she met him, she knew him to be someone who always went for what he wants and whenever an opportunity presented itself, he'd never hesitate to take it. He was always honest, well for the most part especially when it came to what he was fighting for and his brash actions never failed to display what he truly felt. He hated sugarcoating things and most of all, he hated doing things he didn't want to do. So then, if he wanted to kiss her then why didn't he?

It was a stupid question with an obvious answer but (Y/n) couldn't help but ponder on it. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was actually considering him having kissed her and also the more she convinced herself that it was just mere curiosity over something bewildering.

She slightly pouted. All of the thinking she had done since the previous night had only proven to be a cause of an unneeded headache and even she had forgotten why she was even thinking about it in the first place. She sighed and shifted the hand she had supported her head on to massage her spent eyes between her fingers.

Sometimes trying to figure Katsuki was like taking on Calculus and Mathematical Engineering at the same time.

Unbeknownst to her, the sigh had caught Katsuki's attention, making him look up from his notes. He turned his head to look at her and rose an eyebrow. (Y/n) rested her head back on her palm to resume staring at him but froze when her eyes met his. Her face heated up and the corners of her lips turned up in an awkward smile. She then quickly snapped her head to face the opposite direction and bit her lip hard.

He must think I'm a total weird head. She cringed, hoping that he had stopped looking at her.

Her fingers tightened around the pencil as she mentally counted down to ten. On reaching ten, she risked a peek at him over her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat when she found him staring back at her with an unreadable look on his face, cheek propped up on his closed fist. She quickly turned her head back, her face flushing even more.

Oh God, I'm a stupid idiot!! She screwed her eyes shut when she continued to feel his eyes burning into the back of her head. Please stop looking at me. Please stop looking at me. Please stop looking at me. Please stop looking at meeeee...

(Y/n) retained that position all through class, not once moving a muscle or looking back. She was still very embarrassed. Funny thing was, she couldn't remember ever being so flustered before whenever he caught her staring. Usually, she'd flip him off or stick out her tongue at him but not this time.

This time, she felt like covering her head with a bag.

***

"Alright class," Cementoss concluded after the last bell chimed. "For today's assignment, I want you all to write a two-page essay on Beowulf versus the Modern Hero. As the introduction, give the definitions of both the modern day hero and the eighth-century hero. Also, ensure you refer to the poem 'Beowulf' since it will be mandatory for both your essay and your general knowledge. Remember, research is important," he sent Iida a pointed look. "Papers on my desk tomorrow morning at nine sharp."

A resounding series of groans filled the classroom the minute Cementoss walked out of class. The screeching sound of chairs being scraped on the floor and loud chatter accompanied them shortly as the students started preparing to go home.

(Y/n) quickly jotted down the name of the given homework at the top margin of her book before tucking her pencil and pens in between the book and closed it. Uncrossing her ankles, she grabbed her bag from the floor and packed her book in it. She rose from her seat and slung the straps over her shoulder, ready to leave for her destination.

Suddenly, someone shoved her forward but she quickly caught herself before she hit the edge of her desk. She turned to glare at the culprit but the scowl immediately curved up into a shy smile on seeing Katsuki's playful smirk.

Nonetheless sheepish, she averted her gaze from him to her desk and pursed her lips to prevent the smile from widening any further. A few seconds later, she turned back to see him head towards the door. When he was finally out of the class, her shoulder's sagged as she heaved out a relieved sigh. She then gently smacked her pink cheeks twice while blinking rapidly to snap herself out of it.

Okay, girl. She closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. Breathe. Forget about Katsuki. Today is a no Katsuki night. You're going to go to your boyfriend, demand that you spend time with him and have a no Katsuki night. No thinking about him. You have boyfriend. You have boyfriend. You should think about boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. With a sharp exhale, she opened her eyes with newfound vigor and smacked her cheek for the final time. Hokay. Let's do this.

With a firm nod and final resolve, her fingers hooked around the straps of her bag and she turned around to head towards boyfriend.

"Good afternoon, young, silent and handsome," she greeted in a sing-song voice when she reached him. "Any plans?"

Shouto regarded her for a moment before nodding.

"I'm going to visit my mom today. Why do you ask?" he inquired curiously.

"Just asking," (Y/n) shrugged and traced a finger on his desk. "I have nothing to do and being bored isn't an option."

Shouto tilted his head at her half answer and smiled lightly. "Do you want to come?"

Abso-fuckin-lutely. "Yeah," she replied, quasi-innocent. "I mean it's not like I wanted to ask but yeah totally."

"If you wanted to come you could've just said so," he slid his hand into hers as they began walking to the door. "Wouldn't want you to get bored."

She smiled and mentally insulted herself. But halfway through, she managed to convince herself that it was all for the best and that spending time with him would help get rid of the unhealthy thoughts.

"I did," she nodded her head. "Indirectly."

The dual-haired male shook his head, "Okay fine. Let's go then."

"Okay."

***

"Are you nervous?"

(Y/n) sent Shouto a wobbly smile and nodded. "A bit. Yeah. I haven't met her before, you know."

"Don't worry. She'll like you, I'm sure of it," Shoto assured her, placing his hand over the doorknob.

"What if she doesn't?" (Y/n) asked while nervously playing with her fingers.

"She will," he smiled before quickly pecking her cheek. "I did."

(Y/n) rolled her eyes in amusement. "Of course you did. Now open the door."

Shouto did as he was told and stepped aside for (Y/n) to enter first. The girl took in a deep breath before entering the room.

She was met with the sight on a white-haired woman sitting on a pristine, white armchair while she stared at the cup of hot tea in her hands with a brooding look. At the sound of the door opening, she looked up from the swirling drink and blinked in confusion upon seeing the unfamiliar girl.

"Hi..." (Y/n) shyly waved at the woman.

The woman's eyes flickered behind the girl and her eyes brightened. She lowered the cup to her lap and smiled.

"Shouto dear," she said in a soft-spoken voice. "Who's this?"

Shouto closed the door behind him and took the girl's hand in his. (Y/n) sent him a quick grateful smile for the assurance.

"Mom, this is the girl I told you about," he looked at her and brushed his thumb over her knuckles reassuringly. "This is (Y/n), my girlfriend."

Shouto's mother gasped and she placed the cup on the small table next to the chair before rising up to cross over to where the duo was standing. She gingerly cupped the girl's cheeks as a fond smile appeared on her lips.

"Awe, look at her," she slid her hands down her arms and took (Y/n)'s hands in hers. She gave them a gentle squeeze before sending Shouto an awed smile. "She's so pretty."

(Y/n) shyly smiled and returned the squeeze, touched by his mother's compliment. "Thank you."

She sent the boy beside her a side-long glance and giggled. Shouto's mother looked almost similar to one half of him, with her white hair and grey eyes. The only difference is that she looked so weary and tired, but still could manage a kind smile.

"I'm so glad to have met you. I'm Rei Todoroki. Shouto's mother. Shouto's told me many things about you," his mother said, glancing at Shouto then back to (Y/n).

"Good things I hope," the (h/c)-haired girl narrowed her eyes in banter.

"All of them good," Rei chuckled before letting go of her hands. She gestured towards the armchair. "Come sit. You're very welcome."

"Thanks," (Y/n) followed her direction, hands held in front of her as she looked around the hospital room. The smell of medicine and antibacterials was dominant but (Y/n) could detect the faint smell of lavender that coexisted with the presiding ones.

The room looked normal for a private hospital room, brightened up by the daylight coming from the large window near the bed and the various 'get well' cards and flowers that were on her side table that at least succeeded in making the cream-colored room seem less dull.

(Y/n) smoothed down her skirt and took her seat on the armchair as the boy sat with his mom on the bed.

"So," Rei began, reaching out for the cup of tea she had left on the table next to the girl. "Tell me about yourself."

"Myself?" (Y/n) took the cup and gave it to his mother, earning her a small 'thank you'. "I think he pretty much told you everything so I don't know what else to repeat."

The woman smiled as she brought the cup to her lips. "Then you can always tell me something peculiar about yourself," she took a quick sip and quickly looked at her son. "Shouto dear tells me how much you like to do rather odd things for a girl your age."

"Odd things?" (Y/n) echoed with an arched eyebrow and sent Shouto a playful but questioning look. "Just what have you been telling her?"

"The truth," Shouto said with no hesitation.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes in amusement. "Be that as it may, I don't do odd things really. Take this one time," she folded her hands on her lap and her eyes darted to the upper left of the room. "I pulled an all-nighter just so I could finish this really good novel I had bought and to make it worse, I had school in the morning," she smiled nostalgically when she recalled the disgusted look Katsuki had given her on seeing her haggard appearance the next morning and how she slept through three-quarters of the day's classes. "Yeah, it was a good Tuesday."

"Aww,"

(Y/n) looked back at them and self-consciously rubbed the back of her palm with her thumb. "Did...I say something wrong?"

"No dear," Rei placed a hand on her chest, a look of adoration written on her face. "She's so adorable, Shouto dear. How did you get this one?"

"She forced herself on me."

(Y/n) choked on her spit.

"What? She did?" Rei asked, her voice though was filled with wonder instead of horror.

"Yes," Shouto nodded earning a glare from (Y/n).

"For the last time, it's called being persistent on being friends not forcing myself on you. That holds a deeper meaning," (Y/n) scowled.

"Of course, that's what I meant," the boy smiled innocently, making (Y/n) roll her eyes in defeat.

Rei observed them with an affectionate smile on her face as she took a sip of her lukewarm tea. Her nose crinkled in disgust at the off-taste and pushed some of the cards on the table away to make space to place her cup down. Choosing to request the nurse for another cup of tea and to apologize for being a bother later, she turned back to the kids with a renewed smile.

"I'm so happy to see him finally making such good friends. Not many children wanted to befriend my Shouto when he was young. Especially when his rough childhood caused him to be so withdrawn from the other kids his age," a thoughtful look clouded the Rei's face as she threaded a hand through Shouto's hair. "It's nice to hear that someone took the effort at least. Seeing him smile like this, makes me so glad. So very glad."

Not knowing what to say or wanting to say anything that could ruin their moment, (Y/n) stayed silent and simply smiled as she watched their interaction. When they were younger, precisely in middle school, Shouto would always tell her how much he wanted his mother to ruffle his hair again like she did when he was a kid and there he was, finally getting what he dearly wished for.

(Y/n) looked at Shouto and her heart melted. He looked so...peaceful and content, like everything was finally right in the world again. He kept his eyes on the ground the whole time but it was pretty obvious how happy he was with the way he was leaning into his mother's hand and the faint smile on his face.

Awww, look at him. I bet if it were Mitsuki ruffling Katsuki's hair, he'd probably scream to hell and back. (Y/n) snickered before she stopped herself in perplexion. Why am I thinking about Katsuki?...

"It's also nice to know that he has someone who loves him and takes care of him," Rei's voice got her attention and she quickly smiled in response.

"Don't worry," (Y/n) said. "He's in good hands."

Rei hummed happily and placed her hand back down to lean her head on his shoulder with the boy placing a kiss on her head. (Y/n)'s eyes almost teared up at the scene. She was never one to be jealous of others' parents, even though she always wondered how it'd be to have a mom to kiss her goodnight and good morning. So seeing this was enough to move her heart.

On noticing (Y/n)'s sudden change in her mood, Rei shot the girl a concerned look and lifted her head form Shouto's shoulder. "Dear, are you crying?"

Shouto noticed this too, his eyes softening as he imagined how she must've been feeling watching them.

"It's nothing," she shook her head and looked down at her lap, blinking back the traitorous tears. "I'm sorry I just...suddenly miss my parents."

"Oh," Rei placed her hand over her chest in sympathy. Shouto had told her of (Y/n)'s backstory before so she was quite aware. "I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable."

"No," (Y/n) gave a choked laugh while swiping at her eyes and sent her a strained smile. "I'm just-just so happy to see you guys finally happy together after so many years apart. It's really beautiful."

Rei sighed when she saw more tears brimming in (Y/n)'s eyes. With a sympathetic smile, she spread her arms wide to receive her.

"Come here, sweetie."

A sob escaped (Y/n) and she let the tears stain her cheeks as she leaped into her comforting arms. Rei wrapped her arms around the girl and began to gently rub circles on her back. The room was filled with constant sniffing as she cried silently, her heart crying out to the parents she had never met as she sank into the comforting hug and the loving smell of lavender.

***

Despite the impromptu emotional rollercoaster in the hospital, (Y/n)'s no Katsuki night had actually managed to be quite the success.

After leaving the hospital, she and Shouto managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the park for an evening stroll. That had gone well and out of ten, she had managed to think about the ash-blonde only once and that was when she saw a Pomeranian that she took a picture of because she thought it looked like him. Other than that, she had a lot of fun with Shouto, who also bought her ice-cream and walked her home like the gentleman he was.

Later in the night, after (Y/n) had had dinner and finished her back-breaking essay, she prepared herself to go to bed.

Dressed in her nightwear, (Y/n) stared at her reflection while she tied her hair up into a bun. She took her toothbrush from its holder, briefly ran it under the running tap and squeezed some toothpaste onto the bristles. Returning the toothpaste into the holder, she began brushing her teeth.

The sudden obnoxious sound of her ringtone went off from her room, making her pause to listen. Confirming that it was indeed her phone ringing, her eyebrows snapped together as she wondered who was calling at that time.

Maybe it's Shouto. But what is he doing up so late? She spat in the sink and resumed brushing as she exited her room.

She picked up the ringing phone from her bed and her eyes widened upon seeing the caller ID.

Incoming call: Fireworks

She hesitated, her thumb hovering over the green icon.

She deliberated on whether to ignore it as she stared at the screen with a sense of dread churning in the pit of her stomach. It was supposed to be a no Katsuki night and he just had to ruin it all because gosh darn it if she didn't wanna pick it up so bad. She slowly continued brushing her teeth as she mulled over the choices.

Time was quickly running out and if there was one thing she learned from past experiences with Katsuki; if she doesn't pick the first time, then he won't pick the next time.

Sometimes, she just fucking hated the guy.

Frowning, she accepted the call and pressed the phone to her ear. She wanted to hit herself for breaking her no Katsuki night rule but she would've felt bad ignoring him just because of some stupid rule, she had to be forgiven. Besides, it's not like he did anything so bad to deserve to be ignored in the first place.

"Shalk to mih," she said, words a bit distorted due to the brush in her mouth. She tried to disregard the weird 'punch' feeling she just received in her stomach when she felt him breathe from the other side but it didn't go away.

"Good to hear you're not dead yet."

(Y/n) made a face. Something about the way he says it sounded like he wasn't happy to hear that.

She took out the toothbrush to correctly speak. "Um...okay? Hello to you too?"

Katsuki simply grunted and (Y/n) couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. "So, what emergency is it now? Did you fall down the stairs? Need some feminine insight on something? Missing clothes? Essay coming hard on you?"

"Shut the fuck up! Only weak pissants find that shit hard," Kastuki said.

...I found it hard. (Y/n) hummed as she went back to the bathroom. "So, since it's none of the above, you missed me..."

A sputtering sound was heard from the other side. "What the-fuck no!"

"Yeah sure," she snorted at her reflection in the mirror before resuming to brush her teeth. "You sho mishd mih. You shimply kant o a 'ay wishout mih."

Katsuki was silent for a while then he spoke. "Going to bed?"

"Yep," she replied after spitting in the sink. "Are you going to bed too?"

"No. I'm making omurice," he grumbled. Sure enough, (Y/n) could hear the sound of something sizzling in oil from the other side. She frowned and pulled the phone away from her ear to put him on speaker so that she could rinse her brush.

"Why on earth are you cooking at..." she peeked at the time at the top right corner of her phone as she placed it on the counter. "One am? That's, like, unnatural."

She began rinsing her brush, before proceeding to rinse her mouth.

"It's called dark lunch piss ass, get a fucking clue, you dipshit," Katsuki growled, clearly sounding annoyed.

(Y/n) finished rinsing her mouth and laughed. "Whoa okay, slow down there buckaroo. It was only a joke," she placed the brush back into its holder. "But seriously, did the essay fuck you up that much that you even had to cook now?"

"Just fucking thought of cooking and I'm doing it right now. What, you got a problem with that?!"

(Y/n) dried her hands on her hand towel. "Nope. None at all," she then picked up the phone and switched off the loudspeaker and placed the phone back to her ear as she exited the bathroom. "Besides, I didn't know you cook."

Katsuki scoffed. She could hear the sound of a spoon being aggressively scraped against a bowl. For a minute there, she felt sorry for the poor bowl. She guessed that he must've had her on speaker since she could hear the clattering of spoons and pans as they were being carelessly thrown into the sink and the sound of running water. Raising a brow, she wondered how his parents were able to sleep through the racket he was making because if she was there, she's have thwarted him upside his head with a cooking stick.

"I'm the fucking best cook you'll ever fucking meet!" he gloated, his voice sounding like he was a distance away. "My fucking food will practically blow your dumb mind to bits!"

(Y/n) winced when she heard something being banged against the sink. Probably a pan.

I hope his mom catches him. "Well since you're bragging so much about it, how come I haven't had a taste of quote, unquote, "your fucking food"?" the girl sat on the edge of her bed and leaned back slightly, supporting her weight with her arm.

"Because you didn't fucking ask!" he snapped, his voice was closer.

"I'm supposed to ask? What kind of chef are you?" she smiled up at her ceiling. "You're supposed to offer me anything I want out of the kindness of your hateful, black as fuck heart."

The line went silent, the only sound heard being the sizzling from the food being cooked in the background before Katsuki spoke.

"...That's a joke right?"

"Maybe," she challenged in a teasing voice before shifting the phone to her other ear. She then turned to the essay paper and pen she had placed on her side table and reached for them. "How's the cooking going?"

"Normal, what'd you think?"

"Didn't burn down your humble domain yet?" she placed the paper on her lap and her eyes skimmed over her introduction. "Wouldn't want Mama Bakugou to slap you around, now would we?"

"I'll kill you."

"Same threat, still untouched," she giggled while spinning the pen between her fingers. She slightly frowned when her eyes zeroed in on a misspelled word and quickly crossed it out to write the correct one above it.

"Done," Katsuki announced after a period of silence.

"That was fast," she noted offhandedly.

"Wasn't baking a fucking cake," he then sighed. "Better get this up and finish that damn essay."

"Well, it's not that easy if I do say so myself," she set her lips in a grim line as she crossed out another spelling mistake. "This work was set to fry our minds."

"Your mind is already fried so what difference will it make?"

The corner of the female's lips lifted up. "You really like taking a jab at my intelligence, don't you?"

"You're one IQ point above brain death, what's fucking surprising about that?"

(Y/n)'s eyebrows furrowed but she still kept on smiling. "I'm...oddly not offended."

"You should be. I mean every word of it."

"Ha ha ha," (Y/n) dryly commented and crawled back on the bed to turn and lie on her side, paper placed on the bed. Putting him on speaker and placing the phone next to her paper, she supported her head up with her palm and tapped the end of her pen against her paper. She heaved out a sigh and flipped to the next page. "Anyway, how's the food?"

He huffed out air through his nose. "Is there a point to this question?"

(Y/n) giggled. She could tell that he was frowning. "Nope. Just...didn't have anything else to ask."

"Why am I not surprised," he scoffed. (Y/n) noted that he had begun eating as his next words were slightly muffled."It's the fucking best."

Humming, (Y/n)'s eyes flickered from her paper to the surface of her duvet. "We should cook together someday or we can have a cooking challenge to add it to our list of challenges. How does that sound?"

Katsuki scoffed a condescending laugh. "You're on. I'll beat you to the fucking ground with my killer food."

"How on earth do you manage to make cooking sound so violent?"

"It's a fucking skill."

"Uh huh sure..." she looked at the screen of her phone, staring at the seconds that kept on passing with the call. She pursed her lips as an idea crossed her mind. "You know, you should totally cook for me one of these days.

"Want me to cook for you?"

"Yeah..." she looked back at her essay and skimmed through the remaining part of the essay. "I could cook you for you too. I make a mean spaghetti bolognese and chicken in red wine," she smirked. "I'm pretty international with my dishes."

"Huh, maybe you're not so useless after all," he griped. (Y/n) could hear papers being rustled from the other side, an indication that he too was working on his essay while eating.

"Hey," she pouted. "At least I make mine at decent times and not like you Mr.Dark lunch."

"Fuck you," he said with no hesitation, making her snort.

Already tired of perusing through her work, she picked up her phone, put it off speaker and pressed it back to her ear. She laid back on her bed, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she tapped on her forehead with the end of her pen.

She chewed on her bottom lip when something crossed her mind, something she had been thinking about for quite a long time. She pondered whether or not to ask him but somehow she just couldn't get the words out. It would be weird to ask him, especially after he told her his reason and she told him to forget about it. Also, he might figure out that she had been thinking about it and she wasn't about to let that happen. She hated having to overthink things but she'd rather overthink it than let him know of her true thoughts.

So, instead, she settled for something less stressful and which might cause awkward silence.

"How's essay," she asked.

"Shitty," he grumbled.

She sat up and got off the bed. "Didn't think you were a slow writer."

"Didn't think you were a slow thinker and yet here we are."

"That's mean," she frowned in amusement as she picked her essay from her bed and placed it on her side table. She placed the pen on top of it but it rolled to the side and fell to the floor. Cursing under her breath, she bent down and picked it up to return it on top of the paper. "I seriously hope you choke on your rice."

"Not happening," he said, voice slightly muffled due to his stuffed mouth.

After turning off the lights, she threw back the beddings and got into her bed. She settled in between the sheets and covered herself up to her chest. She let out a blissful sigh and nuzzled her head into her pillow.

"Asleep?"

"Hm?" she then added. "Almost. Not yet. Just got into bed."

"Sleep. It's late."

"You're the one to talk..." she went silent for a second before asking, her voice a little quieter. "Hey, how'd you know I'd be awake at this time?"

"Just knew."

"How?" she pressed, brows furrowed together.

"Just knew."

She shifted her face to the side and groaned into the pillow. "Katsuki, tell me."

The boy heaved out a long, suppressed sigh. "Fucking fine. I was standing outside your fucking window and I saw your lights on."

"Ha," she said without humor. She tugged up the covers while she peered at nothing in the darkness. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could make out the outlines of her furniture. "You're so weird, you know that?"

"I'm weird," he echoed in an unamused voice.

"Yeah," she turned to lie on her back. Her eyes began to feel heavier and her body was blanketed with warmth all over, like she was being drugged. Despite her foggy state, she could hear his breathing from the other side and she felt oddly relaxed by listening to him simply breathe.

"You're...so hard to understand too," she continued, risking closing her droopy eyes. "I guess that's why I find you kind of intere...sting and...stuh. Like when you didn't kiss me...it was cool, like your...spiky hair...luhv it..."

"Sleep dumbass. Can't even talk straight," he murmured.

"Huh? Wha," (Y/n) cracked an eye open. She hadn't realized that she had started dozing off until he spoke. "What are you talking about? I'm as awake as an owl. See."

"Can't really see."

"Oh yeah," closing her eye, she let out a heavy exhale before chuckling. "I closed the curtains. I'm sorry..."

From the other side of the line, Kastuki stared at the finished essay that lied on the table before him. His plate of food was close by, hot and steaming and halfway forgotten. He kept silent as he listened to her breathing become steady and leveled, indicating that she was falling asleep. After a few minutes, a soft smirk appeared on his face.

She thought his hair was cool, huh...

***
Confession; due to the fact that I'm more active at night (during the day I have zero to none energy while at night I can literally mortal kombat a whole army) I'm one of those people who cook after midnight 😅 also I'm a chef in training so it's more fun Ahaha!