Finished - December 8, 2022

Word Count - 2909

Music - Reverie - BrunuhVille

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Within the darkness of his bedroom, Bakugo slowly woke up. It was very normal for him to get up before the sun had risen, in fact he hadn't slept in since he was a child.

Because of his determination and driving complex, his brain kept him from resting properly. Once he is awake, his mind won't relax. He must always be moving, improving and constantly training.

Though this particular morning felt different, he felt warmer, safer somehow. As if a weight was pushing him further into bed, causing him to actually want to stay.

Bakugo lifted his head up to look at his bedside clock, as usual, his internal timer woke him up at 4:08 am sharp.

Upon his inspection, he remembered the events of last night and examined the extra person in his bed. Takari had spent the night in his room, in his bed, in his arms. He breathed in satisfaction as he realized it was not a dream. It was real.

Takari laid sideways, tucked into a slight ball with her back against his chest. Her head rested on top of Bakugo's left bicep as it stretched out beyond, his right arm wrapped over her ribs and under her arm. She then used her right arm to hold his arm in place, like it was one of her stuffed animals.

The position was intimate and gloriously comfortable. Instead of jumping directly out of bed, he laid back down and pulled Takari an inch closer. He didn't want to wake her up, so he made his movements small and slow.

With the added presence, Bakugo had a reason to stay in bed. To finally rest without guilt. Though he probably wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, he still stayed. Glued to Takari's sleeping frame, he observed this new version of her.

He had seen her asleep before, but this was different. She looked serene and completely content. Her eyes shut and lips slightly parted as she breathed through her nose. One of her legs had found its way on top of the covers and tucked up into her chest slightly.

Bakugo's eyes traveled to every inch of her, wanting to remember every detail about that moment. As his eyes wandered lower, he noticed a patch of discolored skin peeking out from the bottom of her black shorts. He remembered that this was the same place Takari would fidget when she wore shorter skirts, the constant motion of pulling it down.

In the forest she had hinted to having some kind of childhood accident, but she never went into detail of the event. Only about a centimeter of it was visible from his position, so he couldn't see it clearly. But he put the pieces together that it was probably an old scar.

By this time, he could see the light of the sun finally starting to show through his window. He didn't have any curtains on his windows because he had no use for them. He always woke up before the sun rose and he usually dressed himself in the bathroom. Therefore he didn't see the pressing need to cover the windows.

One more glance at the clock proved that it was just about 6:30 am, which meant that this was the first time Bakugo had stayed in bed until the sun came up.

He didn't feel rushed or guilty about staying in bed, instead he felt refreshed. Ready to kill that exam at the end of the week, he was pumped full of energy.

The sun rose higher and brightened the room with its morning rays. Which woke up a cranky Allira, who was much less thrilled about the appearance of the sun and wished it would go bad down.

As many knew, Allira was not a morning person. She was the type to hop out of bed with a smile, or great everyone good morning. All mornings were torture.

Therefore, the fact that the sun blared into the room was extremely frustrating. Why was it coming in? Were her curtains drawn?

Allira peeked through her eyelids to see the reason for the sun's early glare. The windows didn't have any curtains, none at all. That was odd, Allira always made sure to close her curtains before bed, because of this specific situation. She could have sworn she had curtains.

This was when she remembered, realized that this was not her room. She was in Bakugo's room, still in bed with him.

She made a mental note, that was the first thing she was going to change. Bakugo needed curtains, not just because she liked her sleep, but she didn't want anyone looking in and seeing her in BAkugo's room.

She took a second to read her position before she made too much of a ruckus.  Because she didn't know if Bakugo was awake yet, and she didn't want to disturb him.

Using her senses, she felt the pressure of Bakugo's arm under her head and another around her ribs, tucking into her chest. Which she realized she was holding tightly with one of her own arms.

Her heartbeat escalated upon realizing the closeness of their position, but dared not move from it. She was incredibly cozy and warm, if she listened close enough she could hear his breathing behind her ear. He didn't sound asleep so she took the chance and turned herself over to face him.

Large arms loosened their hold of her as she adjusted, affirming her suspicions of Bakugo being awake. Once she had properly faced him, they made soft eye contact. Her vision was blurry, but she was close enough to see him with her extremely nearsighted vision.  Though, it didn't stop her from doing her famous squint.

"You're already awake?" She asked, knowing the answer, since his face was void of all evidence of sleep.

"Yeah." Bakugo nodded, his voice low and gravely. There was the evidence, his morning voice was extremely sexy.

"How'd you sleep? Hope I wasn't taking up too much room." Allira rubbed her eyes, trying to see a bit better.

Bakugo almost chuckled. The question was simple, and the answer was obvious. It was the best sleep he'd had in his whole life, better than she could even imagine.

"Fine." He shrugged.

Takari sighed in relief, as if she was worried about his sleep patterns.

"But you drool." Without hesitation, Bakugo decided to have a little fun with her. Interested in her reaction.

"What?!" Takari lifted her body onto all fours, horrified by the statement. The girl started stuttering, apologizing furiously and moved her hands around the bedding to try and find the notorious drool pool.

Her reaction couldn't have been better, Bakugo's arms crossed over his belly and he laughed out loud. "You should see your face." 

"Wait, you're not serious?" Pillow in hand, Allira froze.

"Relax! Yes, I was joking." He wiped an amused tear from his eye.

It was a mistake to make fun of her while holding a deadly fluffy pillow. Aggravated Allira strengthened her hold on the pillow and slammed it into his face.

"That's not funny!" She continued to hit him with fluff as his laughs repeated.

"Geeze. Are you always this physical in the morning?" Bakugo grabbed the pillow and held it over her head, which pulled her face close to his.

Frozen in the moment, the pillow fight ended and something different started. Allira's eyes drifted around Bakugo's charming features, from his jawline to the intense look in his eyes. His lips looked rosy and ready, while the mess of his hair stuck out in morning tufts. He was beautiful. A beautiful man. Thought she would never tell him that.

She wanted to touch him, to hold him close, to feel him against her. But she didn't quite know how to approach it without feeling awkward.

"C-Can I hug-g you?" She stuttered.

"Of course! Why are you asking?" Bakugo answered quickly, his cheeks blushing.

"I don't know, I didn't know if you wanted it too."

"Hug me!" He ordered.

Allira giggled at his demand for affection and obliged, dropping the pillow she wrapped her arms around his surprisingly slim waist.

Bakugo nestled his head into the curve of her neck and breathed in. Takari smelled amazing, it was a faint scent. One of blueberries, flour and sugar. Like a fresh spring, berry pie. Soft tones of florals and natural shampoo. He could get used to this.

He soaked it in, loving every second of their proximity. Yet, his desires didn't stop there. He wanted more, a lot more. But he didn't want to push Takari out of her comfort zone. He had to take things slow, so be settled for second best.

"I want to touch you." He spoke softly, waiting in anticipation for her answer.

Takari straightened and turned up her head to look at him. This was his way of asking permission, she understood that. Takari trusted Bakugo, she knew he would never hurt her. Therefore she nodded slowly, hiding her cheeks with her hair.

Once he was given the okay to continue, Bakugo let his hands travel. His fingers slipped under the base of her large, baggy shirt and traveled up her spine. Up and down he explored the silk of her bare skin. It surprised him that she wasn't wearing a bra, he could feel the absence of where the straps would be. God, that was hot.

The loose black fabric creased and folded with his movements, as if his hands were digging around under the cloth. Takari moved in closer, to reach his lips. Her hands lifted around his shoulders and into his hair, the feeling was bliss. Messing with his hair and scratching his scalp, that was his weak spot.

With the added pleasure of her hands upon him, he took a moment and dropped his hands from her back. He reached down and pulled her legs around his waist, so that she was sitting on top of him directly. The action caused Takari to yelp in surprise, which Bakugo took direct advantage of and pushed further into her lips. He captured every inch of her mouth and dominated her easily.

Allira wasn't thinking straight, in fact her brain wasn't able to focus on anything besides the delight she was experiencing. She was drunk at the control Bakugo had over her. The fact that he was so assertive and direct sent her into a different headspace. The prospect was thrilling and highly satisfying.

His hands were warm and left trails of fire, her body was hypersensitive everywhere he touched. Even if they hadn't crossed the lines of "intimacy", the feel of his hands on her hips, arms and thighs was bliss.

However, there was one place she was not ready for him to see. Her heart skipped a beat as she left one of his hands trail up her right thigh and poke at the underside of her shorts.

"Wait!" She pulled back immediately, breaking the moment and covered her leg with her arms.

Bakugo stopped everything, scared for a moment that he went too far. He didn't want to overstep anything, but he hadn't gone anywhere incredibly inappropriate. Something else must be wrong.

"You okay?" He asked and slowly lifted his hands to her shoulders. "I hope I didn't push you too much."

Allira kept her hands glued to her right thigh and stuttered. "I-I have...I have a scar."

"So?" Bakugo deadpanned, not understanding the problem.

"Well, you'll think it's gross." She defended, surprised that he didn't react strongly against her malformation.

Without responding, Bakugo's face stayed flat and unreadable. He grabbed the bottom on his own shirt and ripped it off in one clear movement.

"What are you doing?!" Allira attempted to remove herself from Bakkugo's lap. She covered her face with her hands to hide the furious blush on her cheeks, but looked through the cracks in her fingers.

Takari had never seen Bakugo shirtless before and needless to say, it was incredible. She knew that Bakugo was fit and strong, but dang. Every muscle in sight was toned, smooth and eye-catching. Her eyes moved from his smooth belly, to his pronounced pectoral muscles, which she deemed her favorite.

However, there was one aspect about him that she had not been prepared for. Upon his skin, many intrusions were scattered across the skin. Ripped, rough or sliced areas of healed tissue. Several scars caught Allira's attention. An especially large one that hooked over his collarbone and shoulder.

Unable to stop herself, she lifted one of her hands to examine the old wound more carefully. Her fingers traced the edges of the scar slowly. Though she didn't find it ugly, in fact it looked really cool.

"These are my proof that I can handle everything that's thrown at me." Bakugo spoke seriously. "They remind me that I am strong, even if the world around me is wicked. I am proud of myself and my flaws."

Allira listened to his words carefully, taking everything he said to heart. Allira had lived her life, ashamed of her scar. She thought it meant weakness and shame for not being able to help properly. She had never thought about it that way before. He had such a different perspective, a healthy way of seeing himself.

The ideas put a smile on her face as she lowered her hands back to her shorts. Heartbeat pounded wildly, as she pulled up the pant leg. She hadn't shown anyone her scar before, but Bakugo had been kind enough to show her his scars. It made her feel brave enough to do the same.

The black fabric lifted to reveal a nasty scar, though it wasn't a normal scar. Stress fractures were etched into her skin, similar to cracks in glass or a rocky hillside. The edges of the cracked skin were rough and turned up slightly. In between the cracks, streams of discolored flesh laid dormant. The scar had ong healed, but still looked strange and painful. This pattern wrapped around the top of her right thigh and bed into the lower part of her hip.

Bakugo leaned over to look more closely, his fingers traced the cracked edges gently. He had never seen a mark like that before, it was bizarre and interesting, but also scary.

Allira watched as he examined the scar, no one had ever touched that area before and the connection felt weird. He was being so gentle, it sent a shiver down her spine 

"How did you get this?" He asked, eyes not leaving her thigh.

"It's from my quirk." She answered plainly.

"What?!" Suddenly Bakugo became furious and sat up straight.

Allira pressed her hands against his chest, giving her just enough space from his yelling to speak. "It happened when I was little, before I knew how to use it properly."

This seemed to appease Bakugo for the moment, yet he still held a look of anger in his brows.

"When I was five, my family was caught in the middle of a villain attack. My mother, UltraViolet, was one of the Heros working against the criminals. Our apartment collapsed on top of me and my father. I had very little control over my quirk, but was somehow able to hold up the ceiling for a while. My mother, she saved us from the wreckage."

"She sounds very brave." Bakugo seemed settled now. "You both were."

Allira laughed in agreement. "She was an amazing woman and an amazing mother. I miss her a lot."

"Then let's go see her." Bakugo suggested.

"Bakugo, I already told you she died." Allira reminded him flatly.

"You think I'm stupid?" He rolled his eyes. "She's gotta have a memorial somewhere right?"

Allira sucked in a breath, at the thought. He was right, her mother worked as a Hero here in Shizuoka. She was bound to be buried in the Hero Memorial Grounds.

"You're right, she does." Allira smiled, excited at the thought of visiting her.

In all her years, Allira had never been able to visit her mothers grave. They had moved around so much that they never had time, or had been too far away.

Allira was born in Shizuoka, she lived her first few years here in this Hero city. It wasn't until now that she had revisited her birth place.

"But we have class." She realized in disappointment.

"After school. Obviously." Bakugo spouted. "Did you think I was going to skip class? Hell no."

Of course he wouldn't skip school, Bakugo was too much of a rule follower for that. Even with his edgy, ruthless personality, he always followed the rules.

He cleaned his room, attended class with good grades and went to bed early. He prioritized his education above almost everything else, because that's what would push him to the number one spot.

"Speaking of class, I better head back to my dorm before everyone else wakes up." Allira pulled herself from Bakugo's lap and fixed her clothes.

Bakugo groaned as her presence left his body. As much as he needed to go to class, he would rather stay in his room with Takari all day.

"Don't whine, I'll meet you downstairs." She snickered at his reaction.

"Fine. See you there." He sighed.

With that, Allira gathered the remainder of her things and quietly snuck up the stairs to her own dorm. Her mind buzzed with excitement for the day.