Bakugou's head was a muddled bag of mixed emotions. He felt relieved, scared, and happy all at the same time. He wondered why he felt so tranquil now that he had found you. Maybe you did mean more to him than he initially thought...

In any case, he was elated to have you in his arms safe and sound.

However, it was odd how he had discovered you. One minute Bakugou was yelling like a mad man down deserted streets the next he saw a glimmer of light pulsating from within an inky black alley. He followed the dim glow curiously and like the light at the end of the tunnel, there you were groggily stirring as if you had just woken up. The glow he had seen seemed to be something radiating off your skin. He shook away the confusion as to why that was and sprinted towards you. The pressure of his anxiety lifting from him at the sight of you was enough to make him ignore the strange observation.

And now there he was with his distraught friend and a sore abdomen.

Bakugou tilted your chin upwards to make you glance up at him. Tears glistened off your face, but you appeared to have calmed down a little. He hummed and pressed your head under his tenderly. What had happened to you...?

"We should get out of here. This area doesn't look safe," Bakugou murmured to you. Whatever it was that occurred, it probably wasn't wise to stick around the scene.

You nodded, but as you did your eyes became downcast. "Bakugou, listen...I...I'm sorry about what I said today. I was so angry with you and—"

"Now's not the time for this," He interrupted you with a curt wave. "Come on, you wanna make me feel better? Then let's get out of here."

You sighed in defeat. "Alright."

He took you by the hand and helped you up. He noticed how small and dainty your hand was in his large one. Even as he looked at you right then, he couldn't believe how fragile you appeared compared to your usual tough demeanor. What was it that made you break down like that?

Just then, your grief stricken eyes fell on his. "Bakugou," You breathed unevenly. Your lips trembled as more tears welled up in your eyes. You blinked them away and unexpectedly hugged the blond in a tight embrace. "Thank you for coming."

Bakugou was stunned by your display of affection and was glad you couldn't see the slight heat rising from his cheeks. "Of course I'd be here, idiot," He muttered, enveloping your small frame.

You must have gotten embarrassed because you pulled away with a nervous cough. "Um...thanks again, Bakugou," You repeated yourself and rubbed your arm anxiously.

The teen rolled his eyes and rustled your hair. "Let's get you home, brat." Your lips softened into smile at this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugou remained close to you as you both walked in silence. He was acting rather cautious considering the danger you were previously in. Which reminded him, you still hadn't explained what had happened to you...

"It's been a while since we've done this huh?"

Bakugou blinked. "Done what?"

"You used to walk me home all the time," You chuckled in a quiet tone. "Or did you already forget?"

"Of course not," He scoffed. "You begged me to do it 'cause fuckin' short circuit kept bothering you."

You gasped with laughter. "What!? You were the one who told him to fuck off after you told me you didn't care."

"I didn't. I just knew you'd keep hassling me about it if I didn't help your shy ass."

You stuck your tongue out at him. "Rude ass."

"Whatever."

Silence settled once more between the two of you. But before it could stay, Bakugou got your attention.

"So...what happened to you back there?" He tried to inquire nonchalantly. It probably didn't work because the relaxed expression you previously wore creased with worry.

You averted your gaze. "I-I don't really know."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Bakugou's brows furrowed a bit in annoyance.

You opened your mouth to say something, but bit your lip. Your reddened eyes were clouded with a strange fear. "I...I saw something."

"What?"

"I don't know."

Bakugou glared at you, irritated at your secretiveness. As hard as you tried, your tone couldn't mask your underlying emotion. There was something you weren't telling him.

The blond stopped causing you to do the same. You glanced up at him curiously. "(l/n), what the fuck happened to you?" Bakugou was frustrated. What was there to hide? And why did you have to hide it from him? Did you seriously not trust him?

"Bakugou, it's nothing—" You began to say when he cut you off. "Don't give me that bullshit! It's obvious something is bothering you."

You pursed your lips, vexed by his persistence. "I don't want to talk about it. Just drop it, please."

Bakugou growled and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, I'm not gonna force you....I just thought you'd want to let me in on why the fuck you were freaking out back there." Without another word, he picked up his feet once again and followed the concrete path. He heard a long sigh emit from you as you trailed along with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night sky was solid black by the time you two got to your house. The rickety roof with its daunting, drawn windows wasn't very welcoming in this state. Nevertheless, Bakugou had no comment on the matter. He knew your living conditions weren't the best but it didn't make him think any less of you.

"Wow, this place looks creepy." You let out a dry laugh.

Bakugou shrugged, not giving it too much attention. "It's dark. Your parents asleep?"

"It's just me and my mom, and no, she's working right now. She probably won't be back till tomorrow," You said.

The blond was taken aback. "What?"

"She's working a night shift toda—"

Bakugou shook his head. "No, I heard what you said. But are you seriously fucking telling me you're gonna be here alone?"

You looked bewildered by his reaction. "Well, yeah."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here."

"What!?"

"You think I'm just gonna ditch you after the shit that just happened to you? It's not safe to be alone at night as it is, but after this? You've gotta be delusional if you think I'm walking away like nothing."

Bakugou may have been overstepping his boundaries, but he knew he was right. You were faced with enough danger that day and it didn't sit well with him to leave you exposed in such a sketchy neighborhood. You on the other hand were stunned.

"Bakugou, I have nowhere else to go. This is my home. I can't leave," You explained, wide eyed.

"Then, you're not. I'm staying."

He might have missed the panic on your face if it weren't for the moonlight illuminating it. "WHAT?"

"You deaf? I said I'm staying!"

"Here!? Why??" Your astonishment seeped into your tone.

"'Cause I'm not some idiot who would drop your ass and leave!" Bakugou argued defensively. He would never admit he might have been a little worried. Good thing you were too preoccupied with your confusion to notice.

"B-Bakugou, you don't have to do that..."

"I know."

"I mean, what I'm saying is, I'm used to being on my own and—"

"And?"

You huffed softly. "Are you even going to listen to me?"

"If you keep saying stupid shit, I'm not. Now come on, it's getting late," Bakugou reminded and strolled up to the front door. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

You stared at him with a conflicted gaze. He thought for a second you were going to run him off when you suddenly marched up to the door and unlocked it.

Bakugou had never been in your house before so for a second he was little intrigued to see your home life. When you two got inside, he found that the place looked a lot bigger than what the building led on. It was still small, but cozy enough for a couple to live in. The furniture nor the décor was out-of-this-world, but it accommodated the space and brightened up the rather bland walls.

"Sorry, it's not much, but it's home," You said nervously, seeing how he inspected the place.

Bakugou shrugged with indifference. "It's fine."

"Since you're a guest, you can take my bed. I'll find you some blankets."

The teen turned to you. "No, you dumbass, I invited myself over. Go to sleep and I'll be here."

You glared at him slightly. "Bakugou..."

"Shut it, princess. I'm not the one who went through hell tonight," He retorted.

"At least let me give you something to work with," You said.

Bakugou pondered this for a moment. He found no repercussions with it so he went along. "Fine."

"Alright, come on upstairs." You beckoned him up the steps that lead to a single room. He assumed it was yours when you turned on the lights and saw your stuff scattered around. It wasn't dirty but it did have many things that he could perceive as things that were yours. A few posters, a large desk, a dresser, and a bed made up the majority of the room.

"This is kind of embarrassing," You chuckled timidly. "I'll grab you some things, just wait here." You pulled some stuff out of your closet before disappearing into the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh my god, Anger Boi™ was in your house. The universe might explode. Or maybe the house, depending on how pissed off he got.

All jokes aside, it did take you aback when Bakugou refused to abandon you. His reasoning made no sense but then again his actions sometimes didn't make a lot of sense either. Rather than fight him on it, your exhaustion took over and you let him stay. You also found it comforting to have him there after what you encountered earlier.

Goosebumps trailed down your skin at the memory. What was that thing? You knew what it looked like, but who it could be was beyond you.

Maybe it was just some punk with quirk that allowed them to do that? A villain? Or was it something else entirely? You felt like you were going insane running circles around questions with no definite answers. Had you just imagined the apparition? It felt so real though...

You shuddered again, this time getting angry with yourself for letting the thoughts invade your space. You tried to push them aside and placed the items in your arms on the bathroom counter. You had brought with you a tank top and some shorts as pajamas which you quickly dressed in and brushed your teeth. Afterwards, you headed out to grab some covers for Bakugou and started back up the stairs.

You found him sitting at your desk nonsensically flipping through a book you had lying around. Strangely enough, having him there didn't seem so crazy anymore. It felt almost...normal. You also noted his attire seemed like sleepwear which probably meant he was going to bed before he came to find you. He wore a simple black tank and sweatpants.

His gaze flickered up as you entered. "I got you these. Are you sure you're going to be okay?" You questioned.

"I'm fine. Stop worrying so much dammit." Bakugou shook his head with a huff and took the blankets.

You hummed in reply. "You ready to go to sleep?"

"Sure."

Your eyes felt heavy as you inhaled deeply and let out a yawn. "Same." With a final arm stretch, you switched off the bedroom light.

"I swear, if you snore I will kick you," You joked as you headed towards bed. But when you looked up you saw the faint shape of the blond standing in front of you.

You blinked. "Bakugou?"

He seemed to be staring at something. You felt his movements closing in on you and suddenly his hand had cupped your face. "Bakugou??" This time your tone had shifted to one of alarm.

You heard him release a small breath and murmur something as he thumbed your cheek softly.

You frowned, surprised. "What?" Bakugou's gaze was glued to yours, watching with this hypnotic trance that you had never seen on him. But it wasn't his expression that had startled you. It was the fact you could see his expression at all. Soft hues of pink and purple bounced off his skin allowing you to see his face. You instantly realized where the light was coming from and pulled away.

"Oh my god!" You panicked, covering your cheeks with your hands.

"Hey!" Bakugou snapped, but you had already turned your back to him and began trying to calm down. "What are you doing, idiot? I was looking!"

"No!" You shouted back. His stubbornness was making it hard for you to focus.

"Why not!? I wasn't doing anything!" He retorted, spinning you around by your shoulders.

"Stop it, you asshat!"

Bakugou let out gruff exhale. "I'm not gonna hurt you, stupid! What's so bad about looking at your face anyway?" He pried away your hands from your cheeks and once again the luminous glow from them radiated into the room.

You felt the heat of embarrassment rise from your skin making the situation worse. The light burned brighter with your emotions. "There? You saw. Now will you let me go?" You sighed anxiously.

"I don't understand. Why are you so shy about this?" Bakugou questioned.

"Because it's embarrassing! I hate my freckles," You said, still fighting against his grip. (a/n: I hate to break the narrative here, but I've noticed some feedback from this scene and I'd like to explain it. I understand that some may or may not have freckles which is why I made it specifically to fit all skin types. The freckles only show if the reader is comfortable enough to emit them and they glow so if they did, they'd show up on any skin tone. It's an out there idea but I truly think it'd look absolutely stunning on anyone.)

"What?" The teen gasped in disbelief. "Why?"

Dark memories resurfaced as you searched for the words to respond. "I got made fun of a lot as a kid for this, okay? I don't like it because of that."

Bakugou frowned, but let you go. "What...what is it?"

You bit your lip. "It's from my quirk. You can't really see them in the daytime because of the sun, but in the dark I have freckles that glow. As a kid, they used to shine pretty brightly and I couldn't control them as much as I can now. So, I got bullied for how stupid they look," You explained, crossing your arms as if to guard you from some invisible threat. "I can usually hide them, but I guess being home made me forget to do so."

Bakugou remained quiet for a moment. You thought you might have said something wrong when he finally responded. "Whatever it is you think about your skin, you're wrong and those bitches from your school can go fuck themselves. Your freckles are nice..."

It sounded like a pity comment to you. "You getting soft on me, Bakuboi?" You said weakly to evade the serious atmosphere brewing about you two.

"I'm serious, dumbass." He rolled his eyes, but they soon rested on you curiously. "They're pretty cool on you..."

Your cheeks lit up pink as you looked down at your speckled arms and legs. You couldn't recall anyone ever saying that about your skin. "Thanks, Bakugou," You spoke quietly with a small smile.

He nodded although there was still a strange look in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now come on, go to bed."

You complied and began to diminish the visibility of your freckles when Bakugou suddenly caught your arm. "And don't feel the need to hide them just 'cause I'm here..."

You stared at him with a puzzled gaze but silently agreed. His unusual tenderness was stirring a gut wrenching feeling in you that you weren't sure how to interpret. Even your face was feeling a little warmer.

You crawled into your covers as Bakugou set up his on the floor. Guilt ate away at you while you stared up at the ceiling. "Bakugou, are you sure you're okay sleeping on the floor?"

He sighed, annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm fuckin' fine? And I'm not sleeping; I'm gonna watch over you."

"I don't need a guard dog," You argued.

"You're right. I'm a much better alternative."

You rolled over in the direction of the blond. Despite being up in arms just now, you felt you had no strength left to put out. However, this didn't mean sleep was coming to you easy. You closed your eyes and tried to let you mind wander, but whenever it did the horrible form of that creature jolted you back awake.

You felt uncomfortable in your own skin. You couldn't sleep, you couldn't think, you hurt all over due to today's exercise in class. It all felt like you were merely a witness to it all. But you weren't. You had experienced all of it and now you were teetering on a tightrope of anxiety and fear.

You might have broken down and cried from stress right then if it wasn't for...

"Why are you sighing so much?" Bakugou snapped you back from your thoughts.

Bakugou. Where would you be right now had he not come for you this evening. The way you treated him and the events that took place that day also crossed your mind.

"Bakugou?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Um...I'm sorry," You whispered softly, gripping your pillow. "For everything. I know you don't want to hear it, but I really am sorry about what I said today. And...for keeping what happened tonight from you..."

"You see...I feel like even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me," You admitted.

Bakugou paused. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It sounds crazy."

"Try me."

You let out a shaky breath, trying to muster the courage and words to actually get this off your chest. You sat up slowly and faced the blond. "What I saw...it was terrifying. I didn't know what was going on, what I should do..."

"You're not going to believe this but...there was this monster, this thing that I...it was in front of me and...well, it looked like me. It was so creepy and disgusting and I ran. I ran away, I don't know for how long but I got cornered and then...I called you. I didn't have anyone else but you right then. I wasn't even sure you'd answer, but you did. And you came. And..."

You cast a glance over at Bakugou and cracked a sheepish grin. "Gah, I'm rambling aren't I? I'm sorry. I just..." You wanted to say more, but found that you couldn't. You stared down at your luminous hands for some kind of help.

Just then, Bakugou stood up. He silently made his way next to you and sat down on the bed. You were struck with surprise when he pulled you close to him with his arm.

He rested his chin on your head and exhaled angrily. "Stupid...you've been keeping this all to yourself? Don't try to act so tough all the time." Even though his words were a bit harsh, his tone wasn't.

You wanted to laugh as tears welled up in your eyes. "Yeah...I'm sorry," You smiled and hugged him back. He was so warm...

"Thank you for coming with me today," You said bashfully. You genuinely felt more at ease with him by your side.

"Where else would I be, idiot?" Bakugou shook his head and rolled his eyes, but you knew he was just teasing. "Get some sleep, you brat. You're gonna need it after today."

He made to get up, however you shocked yourself when your hold on him tightened. Bakugou looked at you quizzically.

"Um, would you mind if...can you stay here, please?" You asked, your freckles blooming bright red in embarrassment.

The blond smirked softly. "Sure thing, night light."

"You ass." You glared at him with playful smile.

"I'm just fucking with you."

Bakugou slipped underneath the blankets and put some distance between you two. You both faced each on your sides.

"Thanks for doing this."

"Is constantly worrying gonna be your thing now?"

"Maybe," You chortled.

"You best quit your shit." He flicked your forehead.

"Ow!" You pouted while Bakugou merely laughed. "Go to sleep, glow stick."

You threw a quick quip back at him before cuddling into your pillow with a yawn. With a final deep inhale and exhale, you closed your eyes. "Goodnight, Bakubutt."

"Goodnight, brat," He hummed back.

Hey guys, I sincerely apologize for the huge delay. School kept me busy and I really wanted to get this far in the story without writing various chapters going on about the same thing. It turned out to take a lot longer than I thought lol 

Hope the fluff and the wait was worth it X)