Chapter Text
You yawn as you walk quietly back to your dorm. Your father sent you a recipe for banana bread he thought you’d like, and though you enjoy baking you find it difficult to enjoy the baked goods themselves. Your dad knows this, but you decided to humour him anyways.
It’s currently 6:37 in the morning as you crawl back into bed to hopefully get some sleep. The rest of your class mates usually wake up around 7, so the loaves of banana bread you’d pulled out the oven should be cooled off enough to eat, but not cold just yet.
You turn on the fan sitting to the right of your bed on your nightstand, setting the power level to three to drown out the noise of the world around you. Cozying underneath your comforter and settling in for a hopefully undisturbed sleep, you finally let the drowsiness of the week lull you into a peaceful slumber.
Or so you thought.
You hear a scream and an explosion before you can fully shut your eyes. It seems Bakugou’s up earlier than usual. The yelling get’s closer as you, yet again, start to regret being on the same floor as that hot-headed pomeranian.
“God, does he ever shut the fuck up?” You remark to yourself as you tumble out of the warm blankets, the cold air hitting your skin and sending a chill throughout your entire body. “It’s too early for this shit.”
You reach for the bottle of pain killers on your night stand and pop a few in your mouth. ‘Hopefully this’ll get rid of my headache.’ Slipping a sweater on over your pajamas and grabbing a book, you open the door to your dorm only to be met with more screams and chaos.
“Bakugou! Slow down, you’ll run into someone!”
“You can’t tell me what to do shitty hai-”
You hold out your arm book in hand, right as Bakugou comes running past your dorm again, hitting him square in the face.
“HUHH?! What the hell was that for you string obsessed freak?!” He switches his attention to you as mini explosions begin to crackle in his palm. “You wanna die?” You simply flick him on the forehead, catching him off guard, and begin walking off to the common room. “Could you quiet down? You’re giving me a headache.” you say over your shoulder, calm as can be.
“Your attitude’s startin’ to piss me off. Why I oughtta-”
Before he can finish his sentence, Kirishima comes up behind him placing a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t just run off like that, man! You’ll wake the others. It seems you already woke up Y/n.” He pats the other on the back and starts walking in the same direction you had just a moment earlier. “Let’s go get something to eat to get the day started.” He says, wearing a sharp-toothed grin as a grumpy Bakugou began following behind him, muttering something under his breath.
.-__________________________-.
You watch as a few of your classmates flood into the common room, most having been woken up by Bakugou’s antics this morning. You sit cross-legged in one of the chairs in the far corner reading, away from any prying eyes. It’s not the first time you’ve done this, you’re used to going unnoticed by your peers most days. In fact, it was quite the surprise when you heard Kirishima address you by your name , you were sure nobody knew it.
You’re brought out of your thoughts when you hear Uraraka squeal and start gathering everyone at one of the tables. “Guys! Hurry, hurry, check this out!” She gestures towards the two loaves of freshly baked banana bread you’d made not too long ago. “Oh my gosh, they smell so good!”
She and the rest of the girls all gushed at the bread you made while the guys all stood there confused. Nobody knew it was you who’d graced them with such a delight, and you planned to keep it that way. You didn’t deserve the words you knew they’d fling your way if they found out. ‘It’s nothing special.’ you told yourself.
You decided it best to ignore the ruckus and continue reading. Masked Prey by John Sandford, a book lent to you by a friend in the general studies course. It was proving to be quite interesting too.
"Stokes was a small, thin man with short, thinning brown hair that he cut himself using a home barber kit he’d bought at a garage sale for six bucks. It worked well enough, he thought, though he only had one clipper attachment, so his hair was always the same length. When he took off his “Don’t Tread On Me” ball cap—something he didn’t often do—it gave him a hedgehog-like appearance. Other than that, he appeared pretty ordinary with brown eyes, a short nose, and a small mouth, though his teeth were a dull gray from his past meth use.
Before exiting his car, Stokes gathered up the pile of Diet Pepsi cans and Hostess Fruit Pie boxes from the passenger floor, pressed them to his chest to carry them all at once, and tossed them in the trash outside Chuck's Wagon. Inside, in the dim light, he spotted Elias Dunn sitting alone at the bar, a bottle of Budweiser in hand, watching Fox News on the TV.
"Hey, El," he greeted, taking a stool a couple of seats away. He didn’t sit right next to him—that might seem weird. Dunn glanced over, his expression possibly showing disdain, and simply said, "Stokes."
Your reading gets cut short when you hear foot steps approaching your spot in the corner, but you don’t look up. They come to rest on the back of the chair you were sitting in, leaning over your shoulder to look at the book in your hands. When you flip the page the perpetrator finally speaks up.
“Hey, I was still reading that.” They sounded annoyed, with a playful hint in their tone. “Seems pretty interesting, who’s it by?” They ask, still a bit too close for comfort. “Some American author.” You respond dryly, your gaze never leaving the book.
Only when the invader pokes your cheek do you decide to look up, and you’re met with dark eyes and a wide grin, the signature of one Hanta Sero.
His grin gets impossibly wider, “So, you finally gonna stop ignoring me?” And with that, your eyes are back on the book. In your peripheral you notice his smile fade as his expression melts into one of disappointment.
He pushes off the back of the chair and walks around to stand in front of you. You flinch when he waves his hand in your face as a way to grab your attention, you shoot him a glare at the action. “Can I help you?” You ask rhetorically, finally shutting your book and placing it in your lap. “You should join us,” He grins, a smile already painting his features again. “Couldn’t help but notice you looked kinda lonely.”
You stand up, wincing when your foot hits the ground. Must’ve sat on it wrong. Grabbing your book, you give the man in front of you your undivided attention. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to pass. I prefer things this way.” Without another word, you walk off back to your dorm.
Sero watches you walk away and he can’t help but feel a little worried about you. You were so quiet and reserved, you never spoke to anyone, even Aizawa-sensei hardly noticed you. Despite what you said ‘I prefer things this way,’ there was something in the back of his mind that told him that that wasn’t the case, that there was more to it than what meets the eye.
He’s pulled out of thoughts when he feels someone grab his arm and start dragging him toward where the others were still gathered. Kirishima flashes him a sharp-toothed grin as he drags Sero away. “C’mon man, why the sour face? You're missing out on some awesome banana bread!”
“Holy shit! This is amazing! Mmm~ Who -mmph- made this?? It’s sooo -mmph-ing good. It’s like heaven -mmph- in my mouth.” Kaminari says with a mouth full of the bread you’d left for your class mates, earning an elbow to the side from Bakugou. “Chew with your damn mouth shut, dunce face!”
Tsu and Uraraka were sat with the other girls wondering where this magic loaf came from. “Wow, do you think one of the teachers got it?” Ashidou asks with stars in her eyes. Tsu only shakes her head at the suggestion, “No, it doesn’t taste store-bought. I think someone in the dorms must’ve made it.” Hagakure nods her head with vigor, the action going unnoticed to the others due to her quirk. “I definitely think so! Do you think Satou made it?” And with that the girls all call over Satou to ask the question they’re dying to find an answer to.
When asked he only shakes his head, “Wasn’t me, but whoever it was is super talented. I don’t think even I could top this, I’m more of a desserts kinda guy.” The group sigh in disappointment, wondering if they’ll ever solve the mystery of who made it.
You stand in the corridor listening in to the conversation. ‘Everyone seems to really like it. I almost feel bad. It’s not like it’ll happen again.’ You think to yourself as you pull up the notes app on your phone and begin typing out a grocery list.
‘Just this one time.’
‘I can’t risk them knowing it was me….’
‘So just this once.’
.-__________________________-.
You lie awake in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. Two fans, Four blankets, Two melatonin, and Five pain killers. All that, and yet here you are. You clocked out for the night at around 8:30, you know you’ve been laying here for hours, but you dare not look at your alarm clock with its big, enticing, red numbers.
2:43
You couldn’t help it. Each day the bags under your eyes increase in size. Insomnia be damned. The last you can recall getting a good night's rest was when Bakugou knocked you out cold for saying he had the personality of a chihuahua. But you have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny.
As you were about to try and knock yourself out, it being the only way you know how to get even a wink of sleep, your phone lights up. You roll over and grab it off your night stand and unplug it.
You had a text.
From the only person you ever considered a friend.
-Toshi-
you up?
It was Shinsou. The two of you became friends pretty quickly due to having similar quirks. Villain’s quirks as people called them. That’s one more thing that you had in common.
He was the only person you ever allowed yourself to get remotely close to. Especially after you swore you’d never make the mistake of having “friends” again. It wasn’t easy getting used to the loneliness, but then you found Shinsou, and Shinsou found you. He made the loneliness more bearable.
For as long as you could remember, all you had was each other. You had Shinsou, and Shinsou had you. Sure it was still lonely, but you were lonely together. And that was all that mattered to either of you.
Until that fateful day when you got your results back from the U.A. entrance exam. You opened your letters at the same time, excited as can be, only to be met with disappointment. You had been put in the hero course like you had hoped, but Shinsou was put into general studies. Thus separating you from your other half.
You open up your messages to reply.
-Toshi-
you up?
-You-
im never asleep
you cant sleep either?
-Toshi-
nope
you wanna go on a walk or smth?
maybe hit up a gas station
-You-
sure im down
meet ya by the front gate in 5
-Toshi-
k
So here you are, about to sneak off of campus with your best friend. All you had on were some loose sweat pants and a jean jacket over an oversized hoodie. You weren’t quite sure how you were going to get over the wall, because the front gate required a high level keycard that only some of the teacher and personnel had.
As you contemplate the possibilities a tap on your shoulder makes you squeal and turn around to look at who was behind you. Just as quickly as you turned a hand covered your mouth, muffling the squeal. You were about to retaliate when you noticed the too familiar somber eyes and fluffy purple hair of Shinsou.
“If you don’t shut up you’ll get us caught.” He says sleepily, removing his hand from over your mouth just as you licked him. “The fuck was that for?!” He whisper yelled at you. “Don’t put your hands in my face and shit like this won’t happen.” You gave him a stern look. He just shrugs his shoulders at you. “Fair enough, I guess.”
“How are we gonna get over?” You ask, staring at the high wall in front of the two of you. Shinsou gestures toward a tree growing near the wall that was just barely taller than it. Only then did you notice the capture scarf Aizawa-sensei gave him around his neck.
Carefully you make it over the wall using Shinsou’s capture scarf around one of the trees branches. Once both you and him are on the other side you begin your walk to the nearest gas station.
“So, Denki messaged me earlier today.” You look at him confused. What did that have to do with anything? “Oh, really?” He nods, “Yeah, he told me that when everyone woke up this morning there was magic banana bread waiting for them.” Oh, that makes more sense. “That was you, wasn’t it?” He looks at you warily, awaiting an answer. You panic slightly and look away, you could feel his gaze on you.
He sighs, “I figured as much. You really do have a knack for baking. There shouldn’t be a reason for you to hide it.” Your eyes stay trained on the ground in front of you. “This is becoming quite the one-sided conversation. You’re usually a lot more talkative.” He has to pry his gaze off of you to look up. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. You could see every star visible to the naked eye.
“It’s nothing really.” Your voice is small and quiet, but you don’t look up. “Just got bored ‘cause I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d try out a recipe my dad sent me.” You finally meet his gaze, struggling to maintain eye contact.
Another sigh. It seemed that despite his efforts, Shinsou could never get you to view yourself as highly as he did. “Whatever you say.” The conversation ends when you reach the gas station. You head inside to grab your favorite snacks and pay at the counter. When you’re back outside you and Shinsou sit on the curb while you eat.
The silence echoes around you, only broken by the occasional car driving past. God, you couldn’t stand silence, it gave you this awful feeling in your stomach, like you knew something bad was about to happen. Shinsou knew this, so he tried his hand at having a conversation with you again.
“You’re capable of so much more than you know.” Well that was not what you expected. What you did expect was that he’d drop the earlier conversation, but no. He just had to keep it going. “I’m tired of watching you hurt yourself because you’re ‘useless’ when really there’s so many things you can do. You just don’t know what to do with yourself so you place a label on your forehead.” You stare at the pavement beneath your feet like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “Y/n, you can’t just keep throwing a fit ‘cause you don’t have a purpose, you need to actually look for and find your purpose before you can do that.” He yawns and rests his head on your shoulder.
He’s right, and you know it. He’s always right. It’s just so hard to find any motivation to do anything anymore that you’ve stopped caring, but it still hurts. But maybe you do have a purpose, somewhere in this world, you just have to find it-
No. Save the mind-blowing revelations for later.
You check the time on your phone.
3:28
“It’s cold, we should start heading back. Plus we’ve already been gone for 45 minutes.” You whisper. Shinsou lifts his head from its spot on your shoulder and stands up, his hand extended toward you. You take it and hoist yourself up so that you’re both standing. You gather your trash and start walking to throw it away when you bump into someone.
“ Shit. Sorry, I didn’t see-” You look up at the person you’d just collide with, “-you…..” Right in front of you stands your homeroom teacher, Eraser Head. Well, it seems you’ve been caught.
“Y/n? Are you Oooooo…… Shit.” Well, it seems you’ve both been caught.