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Words couldn’t come close to describing how beautiful the day was. The sky was a deep blue, puffy clouds drifting across it like foamy waves in the ocean. A slight breeze that perfectly cut the heat as you walked down the sidewalk of Hosu, smiling at the generally happy faces around you.
Stopping by a grocery store, you grinned at the flyer that advertised a sale on one of the ingredients you’d been searching for. It wasn’t often you tried to cook a fancy meal but you had it all planned out. The apartment would smell like heaven and dinner would be cooked to perfection. But, what you were most excited for was to see was the look on your boyfriend’s face when he got home and tasted the fruits of your labor.
Walking in, you made your way down the aisles and began looking for what you needed. One by one, you grabbed, what you deemed to be, only the finest and best ingredients in the store. Smiling, you looked into your basket and walked over to the register. Pulled money out of your purse to pay as the cashier rang everything up. It was then that you heard a scream suddenly sound from outside.
This, sadly, wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the city you lived in. One would think that having a school for heroes so nearby, along with a multitude of pro-heroes on standby, would keep more villains at bay. But you still saw plenty of crime on a daily basis. And you weren’t one to sit idly when disaster struck.
Setting your purse down and leaving your groceries behind, you ran outside and searched for the cause of the commotion. Feeling your breath catch in your throat, you froze and stared with wide eyes as you took in the scene. The light breeze had turned into a burning gust of smoke and screams that eclipsed any traces of the pretty day you’d left behind. Flames and rubble where buildings and pedestrians had so recently stood. How could so much destruction happen so fast? It was as though a switch had been flipped and all you wanted was to flip it right back.
And then you spotted IT. A giant, hulking, dark mass of a person. It stood alone and a ways away in the smoke. “Hey! Are you alright!?” you shouted as you ran toward it, worried it might be a hurt pedestrian.
But, as it turned towards you, you couldn’t help but feel a pit forming in your stomach. This… this thing didn’t look human. Even with quirk manifestations… there was something wrong. The brain protruding from the top of it’s head. The soulless and yet... manic, beady eyes that bored into your very soul. But you felt the need to push past these fears. It was your job, as a pro hero, and need in life to help anyone and everyone you could.
“Are you alright!?” you asked again, reaching the creature.
But rather than responding with words, it slowly opened its’ mouth and moaned as it swung at you. Quickly putting your arms up, you felt yourself go flying back. Thankful for all of your hand to hand training, you recovered and stared at the creature as realization dawned on you.
“Did… did you do all of this?” you whispered.
Not even blinking, the creature lunged forward with a speed you couldn’t escape from. Landing with a thud, you rolled into a pile of rubble. Not wasting a moment, you jumped up and charged forward. But you quickly found yourself groaning, not even having gotten a chance to lay a solid blow before the creature had grabbed you by the head and thrown you back onto the ground.
“Wh-why?” you managed to get out as you tried to stand, only to be picked up and flung around like a rag doll.
A loud, inhuman screech sounded as you went flying, the creature having let go of you. Grunting, you felt the hard impact of a pile rubble. Struggling to move you made out the blurry, silhouette of another person. “R-run…” you cried weakly, not wanting a civilian to get hurt.
“That wouldn’t be very heroic of me, now would it?” the person said, raising their arms and sending a couple of bullets flying into the eyes of the creature.
“Snipe?” you called out, recognizing the western twang in your boyfriend’s voice.
“The one and only,” he said, jumping back as the creature charged towards him.
Shakily, you managed to stand up and stumble after them as you prepared to throw all you had at the creature. This creature that was destroying your city... hurting your people. You had to stop it. But it’d already proved to be too fast and strong to take head on. Snipe’s appearance might be just the distraction that was necessary to finally get the upper hand. Slow and deliberate, you raised your arms and focused all of your energy into the warmth that was building in your hands.
“Take this!” you shouted as you forced yourself to run forward and send a massive blasts at the hulking mass.
But it was as your blasts hit the creature that you noticed a limp mass hanging from the creatures hands.
“Snipe?” you called out, freezing as the creature dropped what it had and turned back towards you.
The thud of Snipe’s crumpled body landing echoed around you as the creature stepped on the crumpled being.
“SNIPE!?” you yelled.
But there was no response. Nothing but inhuman screeches and moans as you felt your knees buckle. This couldn’t be happening. You were supposed to make dinner. He was supposed to come home and be surprised. You two were supposed to spend the rest of your lives together, happy and alive.
Breath catching in your throat, everything began to slip away as you looked at the creature now charging at you. Slowly, your vision turned dark as a painful scream ripped through your throat and a violent blast exploded from your entire being.
Panic was the only feeling you could make out as you screamed. The last thing you remembered was the Nomu charging at you. And Snipe… the love of your life and best friend. He was gone… wasn’t he? No… he’d been badly injured. But he was still alive.
Feeling a strong pair of arms wrapping around you, you managed to open your eyes to more darkness. Where were you?
“It’s okay,” a gentle voice told you. “Just breath.”
A soft western twang overwhelmed you. Looking up, you spotted the soft features of your boyfriend. Vision blurring, you felt tears begin to fall as you choked out a sob and hugged him tightly. You wouldn’t let go. You couldn’t chance losing him again.
“I-I... y-y-you… I didn’t... I wasn’t-!” you sobbed.
A soft, understanding hum vibrated in his chest as he held you close and began tracing soft, rhythmic patterns on your skin. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “All of that is over.”
Ever since the Nomu attack, you’d been unable to have a night of peaceful rest. But he was always there to talk you through it. To hold you until you calmed down enough to try sleeping again. Despite his busy schedule of being both a pro-hero and teacher, he made sure to keep you a priority. Despite his own struggles since the attack, he never once let you deal with the nightmares and panic attacks alone. Nothing you could do would ever be able to express how much you loved and appreciated him.
After a bit, you managed to calm down enough to get a coherent sentence out. “I’m sorry...” you whispered, pulling away slightly and looking down. “If… if I was only stronger...”
“Hey,” Snipe said as he lifted your chin, forcing you to look him the eyes.
Words weren’t needed to know how he felt about the subject. The look of love and adoration in his eyes told you more than he ever could. He’d told you time and time again that you were strong. But that didn’t stop the feeling of guilt that ate away at you whenever you saw the scars he’d gained from the Nomu. It was true that your loss of control had dealt the blow needed to stop that particular Nomu and that was the only reason either of you were still around in the first place. But you couldn’t help but blame yourself in the first place. If you’d been stronger when you’d first come across the Nomu then Snipe wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place.
“You are so strong,” Snipe said. “One of the strongest people I’ve ever met. It’s part of why I love you much.”
Feeling yourself beginning to crumble again, you wrapped your arms around him. Soon you were both snugly intertwined under the blankets. Maybe you wouldn’t ever feel as powerful or in control as you once had. But the feeling the warmth radiating from Snipe and hearing his steady, rhythmic and, most importantly, present heartbeat you could hear as you two cuddled was a definite comfort that made it all seem a little less scary.