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Mustard hated storms HATED them. They reminded him of all of the bad memories before he found the league. The slamming of doors, the yelling and the insults he would get both home and school which all conveniently happened during these godforsaken storms. His room having a window didn't help either, he was now sitting alone in the hallway wearing his helmet and gas mask while just in a white T and shorts trying to (unsuccessfully) block the noise. Even covering his ears didn't help either, the guy on the news said it was gonna be a pretty violent storm as well.
Every boom of thunder made Mustard whimper and flinch, he hated himself for this, he could shoot a gun for crying out loud! He should've gotten over this by now right? He was just going to go accept that he was going another night without getting any sleep. But the storm was getting worse and his breathing ramped up, he just wanted rest and peace.
"Mustard?"
She was just about to get ready for bed when Toga saw Mustard in the hallway shaking like a small dog and she was pretty sure he was crying. She walked up and squatted next to him, face filled with slight concern. He was wearing his pajamas while still heaving his helmet on, his hands were up to his ears under his helmet, if he wasn't sounding like he was on the verge of tears she would have found it pretty cute.
"Hey what's wrong?" She said in an uncharacteristically soft tone.
"T-toga?" Mustard noticed her, his voice filtered through his gasmask.
Before either could respond, a huge clap of thunder hit causing Mustard to yelp and made him try and curl himself into an even smaller ball. Toga now knew what was wrong.
"Hey, look at me sweetie" she lifted his head to face hers and smiled, using another hand to rub his shoulder.
"Are you.. scared of storms?" She said, Mustard only nodded miserably.
"Yeah..I am…" he shamefully admittedly, trying to bury his face into his knees.
"I..I just want it all to stop." He felt so embarrassed, he was supposed to be a merciless villain with a powerful quirk, yet here he was trying to hide from a simple thunderstorm.
"Do you want me to go find Magne or Compress?" She tilted her head, she still knew about Mustard's age regression and he would usually go to them if he needed help with something.
"No.. they're already asleep and I don't wanna bother them again." He'd go to them about the storms but they were happening more often and he didn't want them to get annoyed by him. Even though they said it doesn't bug them. Toga got an idea on how to help him, yeah she can be psychotic at times but wasn't going to let the youngest member of the league be out here suffering like this.
"Here." Toga gently lifted his helmet off which he surprisingly let her do and saw that his eyes were watering a tiny bit, Toga frowned at that, wiping the bangs from his face she had a plan to make him feel better. She stood up and reached her hand out to him.
"Why don't we go to my room and we can have a little sleepover! How's that sound?"
He considered it. He didn't really trust Toga all that much compared to someone like Compress or Magne but he sure as hell didn't stay here shaking and on the verge of tears.
"Fine." He reluctantly agreed.
Toga smiled as he grabbed her hand and helped him up, grabbing his helmet as well to not just leave it out in the middle of the hallway. Outside it looked like the storm was getting worse and the thunder was getting more common and much louder.
Mustard yelped and held Toga's hand impossibly tighter, moving much closer to her as she guided him to her room. Toga giggled at that as she messaged his hand.
Once they were there he studied her room, there was a huge pile of stuffed animals with dozens of knives pierced into them. The rest of the room was pretty normal, her bed had pink sheets and the light to her room had a cover with a bunch of bats drawn on it. Her bed was practically buried in pillows and blankets, it looked cozy.
"Here!" Toga picked up Mustard bridal style with surprising strength, Mustard felt a blush in his cheeks. She flopped them both on the bed with him on top of her, she quickly positioned them in a comfy spot and draped the both of them under the covers.
She set his head on her chest with one arm wrapped around him in a hug and the other hand on his head, running her nails through his hair. Despite being only one inch shorter than her he felt tiny in her hold.
It felt..relaxing.
"Your hair is so soft! Like a little puppy!" She complimented, quietly giggling to herself as she played with his hair.
"Mmm..shut up." He responded bashfully, his blush getting a bit more red.
Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the room followed by the loudest boom of thunder yet, even making Toga jump a bit. Mustard shrieked at the thunder and clung to Toga as tight as he could. The storm was right on top of them, the wind was violent and of course the thunder was louder than ever.
Toga quickly tightened her hug and started to whisper sweet nothings to him, she could tell that he might start to slip a tiny bit.
Sniffles and whimpers then turned to muffled sobs as he buried his head into her chest, finally letting out his emotions.
"Oh… sweetie shh shh it's okay, it can't hurt you, I promise." Toga kept up a stream of comfort and reassurances, she gave him head scratches while using her other hand to reach for something on her nightstand.
"Here, look at me sweetie." She lifted Mustard's chin to look her in the eyes.
"I was gonna give you this as a gift but it looks like you need it now so…look what I got you!". She showed him a pink bat plushie and some plush green earmuffs, she placed the ear muffs on his head and let him snuggle the plushie. She put more pillows and blankets over them for maximum comfort. He snuggled closer to Toga and she began to hold him again, rubbing his back.
"T'ank you..Toga." He mumbled into her chest, wiping his tears off with his sleeve.
"Awww your welcome little sweetheart! Now let's try and get some sleep okay? I'll keep you safe, I promise" she placed a little peck on the top of his head.
For what felt like hour's she ran her nails through his scalp and it made him feel just so relaxed and safe, Toga found it absolutely adorable how the younger blonde would nuzzle deeper into her chest practically melting into her.
Mustard felt the rise of Himiko's chest, the soft blankets covering their bodies keeping them warm and cozy. Toga continued to give Mustard light head scratches, every time thunder hit or the wind and rain got too intense she would hold him tighter and comfort him. He felt safe in her arms like how other members would hold him, while big he would never want to admit it but he felt safe in their arms, and just around them in general.
He slowly drifted off to sleep with Himiko singing a lullaby being the thing that finally made him get to the sweet sweet land of sleep.
Mustard woke up feeling much more warm and comfortable than usual, like being submerged in an ocean of pillows and blankets. Then he realised what transpired last night, the thunder storm and being held in Toga arms like a small child. Yeah it felt embarrassing being held like a baby, but it felt nice. Speaking of Toga, he wasn't on top of her anymore nor her arms wrapped around him. Yawning he turned over on his side and saw Toga sitting at her desk brushing her hair.
“Morning sleepyhead!” she greeted, her face being lit up by the light through the window, Mustard sat up on the bed rubbing his eyes tiredly, bat plushie still in his arm.
" Morning Uh, yeah um..thanks for helping me..Himiko." he was still feeling a bit bashful from last night, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible.
Toga only giggled again.
"Your welcome Mustard. Y'know if Compress or anyone else is unavailable I'll be soooo happy to take care of you!"
The rest of the day went on as normal, sometimes he would get playful glances from Himiko every now and then. While trying to do homework that Compress had given him because apparently even if you're a villain you still have to do school work. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful to say the least, he was currently sitting at the bar having a drink of soda before going to bed overheard the person on the news saying the entire week will have non stop thunderstorms. He groaned at that, planting his head on the table.
That night Toga heard frantic knocking on her door, it was Mustard holding the same bat plush and having the earmuffs on his head. He had his head down clearly embarrassed to have to be here again.
"Compress and the others are gone for a job, and there's a storm coming again..so can I stay here for a bit?"
Toga smiled.
"Of course Mustard! Here, I got more stuff to make things even more cozy!" She exclaimed more than happy to take care of him.
Mustard spent the night resting his head on Toga's lap, they switched out the ear muffs for some headphones to listen to music and she also managed to steal a weighted blanket for him. Mustard had never been more cozy, after the storm Toga took off the head phones and started to sing him her lullaby again making him doze off, comfy and safe.
"Sweet Dreams little sweetheart."