"Who gave me a rose?" You repeated, raising a brow. For a moment you paused, not quite processing his logic. It was only a flower. Who cared?

"I got it from a friend." You said bluntly. "She gave it to me with Mom's bouquet."

"She?" Bakugou asked, tone softening as he looked at you.

You nodded. "Her name is Violet. She runs the flower shop just off of Petal Grove. Ironic huh? Name, shop, and location all line up conveniently. We've become friends since mom passed." You explained.

"Oh..." Bakugou hummed, finally taking a knee next to you. His legs were folded beneath him as you uttered a quiet prayer then looked at the headstone. "Hey mom, it's really beautiful out isn't it?" You asked quietly.

Bakugou seemed taken aback as you started to speak to the stone as though your mother might rise up to respond to you. "Izuku is training really hard, and Inko treats like I've always been hers. You would have loved to meet them. Other course... I've only told you that a million times."

There was quiet as you stared, it seemed foolish, but you wished to see her, even if her rotted body could only maintain stiff and robotic movement. Knowing she was listening would have been a comfort. "Kacchan's here today..." you said more quietly. "He beat me here. I hope you don't mind... a lot has changed since the last time we got to speak. We're friends now, Kacchan and I. I fought some villains the other day too. Got my first battle scar. It's kinda horrible, but I feel like it would make a cool story. I keep overusing my quirk though. I've gone nuclear twice since starting at UA."

You could feel Bakugou's eyes locked on your crouched frame. You babbled without care for this crimson gaze, reviewing the week carefully so not to spill too much about Izuku's quirk. As you began to wind down, there was silence. You looked at the smooth stone and thought, fingering the petals of your flower and thinking. Your eyes drifted to the bloom, the vibrant red reminding you of someone. Your brow furrowed.

"Bakugou, why did you get upset when you saw I had a rose?" You asked, catching his attention easily.

He grit his teeth and turned his nose away from you. "None of your business." He growled.

"It's my life so yeah, it is." You retorted.

He narrowed his gaze at you and remained stubbornly silent. You tried to match his spark, but you couldn't summon the same emotion in front of mom. Even being near her grave brought a sense of peace over you. You broke away your eyes and sighed as you looked back at the rose. You could see his iris in the crimson cascade of petals. Twisting the bloom in your hand first, you extended your hand towards Bakugou and offered him the flower.

He jerked away as though you'd thrown a punch but you waited patiently as he slowly looked at the rose in confusion. "What're you doing?" He asked.

I know why it caught my eye now.

You smiled sweetly and pressed the flower to him. "It reminds me of you." You said briefly. Before he could open his mouth to object you spoke again. "Look at the petals. The vibrant red hue matches your eyes. It's almost like a fire has been trapped in it. Like your quirk. And the thorns are missing."

"What do the thorns have to do with anything?" Bakugou asked.

"Well, when you pick a rose, it isn't without pain. They're covered in thorns to protect themselves from creatures that would destroy their beauty. But once it's picked, and taken home and dethorned and away from danger, it's beautiful." You leaned down and sniffed the blossom before smiling. "It smells sweet." You said gently.

You looked back up at Bakugou to see his face consumed in red. He seemed deep in thought as his eyes locked on the shaking flower in his fist. As suddenly as he had become flustered, he roared and you jumped to your feet in fright. "K-Kacchan?!" You stuttered, "Are you okay?"

His venomous eyes locked on you and a cold chill ripped through your back. You jumped without even thinking. "What the hell are you trying to do?!" He yelled, grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you.

Not that you weren't shaking already, but you laughed nervously and spoke without missing a beat after. "I'm sorry Kacchan!!! I-I just started rambling again. Just forget it okay?"

He roared again and this time you audibly squeaked. "What do you mean forget? Did you mean it or not?" He asked, seeming more confused than angry.

"I-I'm mean sure but if you don't... uh..."

He stopped shaking you and just looked at you with wide eyes. Your loose hair blew around your face as you blushed at Bakugou. His face moved closer to yours and you gulped, unsure of what he was going to do.

"Uh, K-Kacchan...?" You muttered, trying to break his steely expression.

He continued to look at you and you dropped your gaze once more. You could feel your hideous scar on your face as though it were screaming for attention. Your cheeks lit with red again as you tried to shy away, unsuccessfully you might add. You closed your eyes and waited. Your breathing stopped completely.

Suddenly, his weight fell away. He took the rose from your hand and you sighed in relief. You opened your eyes once again. His nose hovered a few inches from yours, but his eyes were entranced by the bloom. He seemed lost in thought.

You laughed spontaneously, breaking the veil over the two of you. You cleared your throat. "What I meant to say was it reminds me of your eyes." You said quietly. "That was my point. You can forget the rest of what I said."

"Why did you pick a rose that reminds you of me for your mom's grave?" He asked.

You rolled your eyes, but not without a laugh. You looked at the rose again and smile. "I didn't get it for her grave. She never did really like roses. It just... caught my eye."

Silence hung from your mouth for a moment. The rose then moved, presented before you in between two pinched fingers. You looked up at Bakugou, a perfectly timed breeze swaying his hair away from his hypnotic eyes. You felt almost breathless, his nose turned away from you but a vague blush over his cheeks. "Well it's your rose. Take it." He ordered.

You hesitated for a moment, flashing back to every stereotypical anime moment you'd ever seen a tsundere confess. Giggling, you wrapped your hands around his outstretched hand and smiled. "Hey, why don't we go get lunch or something? I don't have anything going on today, well, other than visiting mom."

His eyes snapped towards you and you almost jumped. "Uh, sure. Whatever." He muttered, trying to seem cool.

You took your ribbon and tied your hair back once again. Without waiting for him, you snatched away the rose and began to darted throughout the tombstones. On a normal day, you's just glide on air and easily surpass the boy but you were still recovering. Your body still throbbed dully from the injuries, but you carried on with an air of excitement. You hadn't expected the day to go so well.

"Hey!" Bakugou barked, hurrying to find your side. You made sure he walked on your side that hid away your scar. You weren't accustom to it yet. Nor did you really have the courage to accept it as you were. You kept your eyes up, leading Bakugou from the cemetery towards a small cafe you'd grown to love. You'd found it on the way back from school, having taken a new detour to see if you could reach the cemetery any faster.

However, you only ended up completely lost. As rain started to pour, you tried to find shelter. That's when you found the quaint little establishment. Now you knew the route like the back of your hand, but you enjoyed the small feel of the shop, as though isolated from the complexities of the outside world.

Bakugou seemed confused as you approached the store, his expression a dead giveaway. You snickered to yourself before pushing open the glass-paned doors and breathed in the lingering scent of bread alongside a warm wave of welcome warmth. "I found this place when I was lost once." You announced to Bakugou. "I love the food here."

"How did you get so lost you found your way here?" He asked.

"Failed experiment." You said bluntly. He shrugged indifferently and squinted at the menu as you approached the counter. The worker, a girl with long black hair and chestnut brown eyes plugged into her olive skin, smiled sweetly. You'd met her before, but it never extended past a brief smile or nod before it became business. "I'll have a sweet tea and whatever the special is today." You chirped happily. You moved to grab your wallet when Bakugou spoke up, causing your movement to stutter. "And a black coffee with the same special." He added quickly.

"I'm not-"

You wanted to say you wouldn't pay for him, but as soon as he finished his order, he slammed his cash down with almost too much vigor. The girl squeaked at his harsh action and took the money gingerly. "Go find us a seat." Bakugou ordered.

"Yeah, sure."

You turned heel and surveyed the small dining chairs for a moment. Luckily, a small booth was tucked in the corner, already empty and perfect for two. You walked to the seat happily and sat, once again perching yourself so that your scar was away from sight.

It didn't take long, but Bakugou arrived with the food in hand and sat down heavily across from you. Your body was angled so that your leg swung to the side. Not ladylike, you knew, but functioning for hiding your healing wound. You looked down at the food hungrily and took your own share without a word. You could almost swear you saw Bakugou grin at you, but as soon as you moved to look you only found his gaze elsewhere.

But I want it to be on me...

Your cheeks instantly, hesitating mid-bite as you processed the wayward thought. Shaking your head violently as though to rid yourself of the mistake, your gaze fixed elsewhere to try to spark a new chain of thought.

"How long are you going to fail at hiding your scar before you just give up?" He asked, not bothering to attempt small talk.

Your cheeks deepened in hue and you laughed nervously. "What? I'm not trying to hide it I just happen to be sitting so you can't see it!" You faked, not even convincing enough to fool a child.

"I wasn't born yesterday." Bakugou growled, eyes lowering to your cheek and craning his neck to look at it.

You turned your head stubbornly and huffed. "It's none of your business." You muttered. "My scar. My choice."

"You can't hide it forever. Might as well rip off the bandage and get used to it."

You tried not to laugh at the unintentional joke and instead cough as you face him straight on. "I'm not hiding it. See, you can see it can't you? I'm not hiding."

"Actually I can't." He reported. "Your tilting your head so I can't."

"What?!"

Bakugou grabbed your chin and yanked your head to the side, too hard. You winced briefly as he examined the wound then slowly turned your face towards him. "It looks cool. You shouldn't feel bad about it." He said, this time more gently as his hand lowered. It fell over yours, your fingers grazing one another but not flinching away.

You locked your eyes on the mess of hands and tried to subdue your racing heartbeat.

Oh god... he looked at me... I can't... why is it so hot in here all of a sudden?!

A gunshot cracked through the air and you yelped. Whipping around, both you and Bakugou watched from cover as three masked men. You froze as one of them stepped forward. He was short compared to the others, but you knew that aura of fear that rolled off of him. Your hands shook as he spoke coldly. "We're here for a little... exchange."