Chapter Text
Uravity pinched her eyebrows, looking at the whiteboard with the vague stirrings of a headache tingling above the base of her neck. Glancing next to her revealed Arctic Burn’s similar expression, eyes storming with frustration, boredom, and confusion.
BonBon’s eyes went blank for the fifth time since the shock and her limbs stiffened, mechanics squealing as they went through yet another spasm of activity they hadn’t been designed to handle. Uravity winced at the harsh sound, the noise throbbing on already-frayed nerves.
Funtime was getting treated in the office’s infirmary. The gash on his forearm had been seeping scarlet the whole way home, and he had been stumbling a lot when he had to walk. The hit to his head had, obviously, been rather harsh. It left her wondering just how powerful that helmet was, that it hadn’t bashed his helmet in. Arctic Burn was nursing a sprained wrist, ice immobilizing the offending joint. Her own arm had a thick bandage wrapped around it, twinges of pain ripping through it as she moved and her fingers buzzing with an uncomfortable numbness. The cat Quirked woman had nasty claws, and it was a deep wound. She had been told that there was nerve damage from the large cut, and she watched her fingers stubbornly stay still as she tried to move them. Looking up again, she jerked when she saw the policewoman- Hoseki, her brain supplied- in front of her.
“Uravity. Go home.”
“W-what?” Uravity shot to her feet, hearing her chair slide back with a squeak against the linoleum. Hoseki looked at her, eyes carefully impassive.
“Go home. Rest. Let yourself heal.” Uravity stared at the police officer, feeling something she couldn’t name swell inside her.
“W-what do you mean? There was a lead! There were villains there! There’s gotta be someth-”
“Uravity. The fight’s over.” Uravity shook her head and turned from where she’d been pacing, staring down the police officer.
“I-I can’t go yet! There’s stuff to clear up, and leads to follow, and-”
“We are saving those for our next meeting, when you have all recovered. I am the officer in charge, Uravity, and you need to take a break.” Hoseki’s voice was Uravity drew herself up and went to say something, but her throat tightened and her eyes blurred. Blinking the water away, she glanced at Arctic Burn and BonBon. Her chest tightened as she saw BonBon’s miserable expression as she twitched and spasmed yet again, how Arctic Burn flinched when he reached out to help with his sprained wrist.
Her eyes flicked back to Hoseki, who had an annoyingly soft look in her eyes.
“Fine.”
Hoseki put a hand on her shoulder, voice now matching her eyes.
“It’s okay, Uravity. Pros need a break too- you’re a teenager, and you lost someone important. But, you need to know when to step back.” She moved her hands to Uravity’s free hand, pressing something cool and smooth into her hand. Looking down, she saw an intricate flower, glass-blown but hefty in a way that tells her it’s sturdy, in her palm. It was a soft green stalk of flowers, blooms drooping in a way that reminded her of foxglove. Hoseki looked her in the eye, something oddly insistent in her expression.
“It’s a gladiolus. Keep it safe, okay?”
Uravity swallowed, before ripping herself out of Hoseki’s grasp and turning her back, stalking away.
Uraraka ripped her mask off as she walked down the streets, blessedly empty after the evening rush. Tucking it under her arm, she idly turned the glass as she walked, staring at it.
Why had Hoseki given this to her? Why would she?
A glinting of a darker green was at the base of each bud, and her breath caught in her throat. It was almost the green of Aizawa’s eyes, almost the green of his hair, almost…
It was his color, soft and personified in glass, and loathing swelled inside her before she could stop it. Gripping the flower, she whipped around and threw it away from her, feeling that embarrassing wetness in her eyes slip out over her cheeks.
She heard the flower clink against the pavement as she breathed, clenching her fist and gritting her teeth against the emotions battering her. Forcing her eyes open, she commanded herself to look in the direction of the flower, she looked down until her eyes reached the floor, and-
She sank to her knees, feeling a sob burst out of her throat.
“Miss? Are you oka- Uraraka?” Her head shot up to reveal Ms. Abigail, clenching her purse strap.
Ms. Abigail looked at her, kneeling on the floor and sobbing, and her eyebrows softened in concern.
“Love, you look awful… what happened?” Uraraka tried to force words out but all that emerged was an embarrassing hiccup noise that hurt her throat, swinging her head back to gaze in the direction of her glass flower, seeing where it lay on the floor with the broken blossom innocently lying next to the stem.
“Can I touch you, Uraraka?” Pale hands gently picked the flower and broken-off piece up as Ms. Abigail spoke, all business. Uraraka forced a nod out, still kneeling stupidly in the entryway of the stupid alley.
She heard more than saw someone settle next to her, hearing a soft clink as her flower was put back onto the floor. Eyes flashing wide, she reached out with protest on her tongue.
Ms. Abigail pressed the cool glass into her hands and gently grasped her forearms, bringing her a little further into the alleyway and close by her side. Without thinking, Uraraka curled into the warmth and she felt Ms. Abigail curl an arm around her, pulling her a little closer to her.
They sat together, Uraraka clutching the glass flower to her chest as she cried into Ms. Abigail’s shoulder, on the dirty floor of the alleyway. And Uraraka could not find it in herself to care.
When Uraraka lifted her head again, it was to that same warmth and soft comfort she had closed her eyes to. Ms. Abigail’s head was leaned back, and she was humming quietly to herself as she looked up. Uraraka followed her gaze, her own eyes widening at the sight. Ms. Abigail looked down, smiling.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?”
The sky was vibrant, corals and purples and pinks uniting in a beautiful aurora surrounding the sun. She just nodded, eyes wide and taking in the sight.
“We had sunsets like this every night in California. The brightest shade of coral you’d ever see, with softer pinks and lavender… That is one thing I miss about California.” They sat in quiet together, watching the sky fade from purple to a soft indigo. When the first star appeared, Uraraka let herself look away. Her gaze landed on the flower, and a stab of guilt rang through her when she saw the broken-off flower. Ms. Abigail looked down, and her face lit up.
“Oh, don’t worry about that!” Reaching into her purse, she procured a-
Uraraka’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Is that superglue?” Ms. Abigail’s cheeks went pink as she chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.
“Well, I have a lot of glass things at home, and it eventually became a habit to keep glue on me at all times! Now, can I see the flower?” Uraraka moved to hand it over but hesitated, hand pausing. Ms. Abigail’s grin softened, and she placed the glue bottle on the alleyway floor.
“Here, you can do it yourself, if you want!”