I'm back with an update (in less than a month no less)! I wrote this all in one night and stayed up rather late because I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope that comes across in the work. Also, I wrote out a really detailed outline which helped me really get working as well. According the the outline, there should be around 7 chapters left, so I updated the work to reflect that. Of course that may change, but I will be sure to keep you all updated! This chapter might actually be my favorite I've written so far, and it does move the feelings along a bit, so please enjoy!

You had to admit, a part of you was more than a bit nervous about the prospect of spending the next weeks, or months maybe even (though hopefully not) with your best friend. Though he had always been nothing but kind and patient with you, a clear contrast to his treatment of almost everyone else, perhaps the constant exposure to you would irritate him and he would grow tired of you. Of course, you did have to give him credit. The past Katsuki might not have even let you into his house in the first place. And though he didn’t ever say it out loud, you knew he cared enough about you to at least not say anything if he grew bored or irritated.

Still, while you had originally been thrilled at the prospect of having less work and more time to relax, something you hadn’t had in a while, only one week in and you were growing bored already. It was odd to not be doing anything, even though not doing anything was actually the best thing you could be doing at the moment. Sure, Katsuki had set up a small workbench for you in your room so that you could tinker with things, but without access to the serious machinery you were used to constantly having available, you could only do so much. You were beginning to wonder if Katsuki would let you take apart all of his highly expensive watches so that you could reassemble them into a magnificent, one-of-a-kind watch. Instead, you found yourself in his ridiculously stocked kitchen making herbed focaccia so that you could feel like you were contributing in some way.

And honestly, it was pretty fun. Baking was sort of like making gear in a way, you assembled the parts and if it turned out wrong you were in trouble. Of course, if it turned out right you ended up with something pretty great. Depending on the results of your first real foray into the kitchen during your time in Katsuki’s apartment, you might just end up doing this more often.

Of course, besides the prospect of delicious bread, you had one other thing to enjoy as a result of your baking. The design of the apartment made it so that the kitchen island had a direct view to the workout room if you faced the right direction, and since for some reason Katsuki never bothered to close the door, while baking you had a complete view of him as he worked to stay in top shape. Honestly, it was like he was showing off or something. Not that you knew all that much about his workout routine, especially from a distance, but the amount and size of the weights he was using was truly mind-boggling. You had to give it to him, he was really in shape. You could see why he was consistently ranked among the top most attractive heroes.

Not that you were thinking about him like that, of course. It’s just that as his support technician, you needed to be aware of his body and its capabilities in order to design the best and most effective gear. And honestly, he couldn’t be leaving the door more open than it already was. And you had started making the bread first. Seriously, this was on him. His timing was weird. He was weird. He was… walking over to you?

Katsuki walked into the kitchen before you could really shake your previous unruly thoughts out of your mind and leaned over on the other side of the island. He was away from you but not quite far enough, arms flexing lightly as he grinned at you. He was wearing one of those black tank tops that he used to wear all the time back in high school, and you watched nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down the top of his torso to disappear between his pecs. You were almost scared to look at his face, but you forced yourself to meet his steady gaze. His grin widened wolfishly.

“Trying to take over my kitchen already, princess? You’re out of work for only a week and already you start going all housewife on me,” he says with snark, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Don’t make me move out on you, Katsuki, it’s not my fault I’m this bored. I can always go live in the workshop and tinker with gear to my heart’s content if I’m really bothering you that much,” you spoke back to him with equal teasing bite.

“But think of how lonely I’d get! Always nagging me about how I need to be more social yet threatening to leave me all by myself for who knows how long? I’m liable to go back to yelling at everyone I meet if you do that.” You laugh, and set your dough in the pan.

“At least you can admit to your past faults. Besides, I don’t think I could handle living by myself and being alone all day. No matter how much you bother me, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.” Katsuki’s eyes flashed at your declaration, and he bounded excitedly over to you.

“Is that a challenge, princess? Because you know I always win whenever I set my mind to a goal,” he said grabbing you and throwing you over his shoulder with ease. You wiggled and hit his back, but to no avail.

“Put me down, you lout! I need to put the bread in the oven!” you complained, but he paid you no mind, instead throwing you down on his couch with a laugh.

“There you go, down, just like you asked.” You shook your head, moving to get up, but Katsuki grabbed your leg. “If you’re bored enough to make bread, why don’t we watch a movie or something? I’ll be honest with you since you can’t go and tell anyone else; I’m just as bored as you are. I’d kill to be out on patrol right now. Hell, I’d even file the paperwork after.”

That’s how you know he’s serious. You’ve worked with Katsuki long enough to know (to the eternal irritation of his secretaries) that he never fills out any paperwork unless absolutely necessary. So if he’s bored enough to do paperwork, he must be bored out of his mind. Of course, being in the same boat yourself, you can’t exactly make fun of him. And a movie might be nice.

“I guess we could do something, but I really do want to finish the bread first. You aren’t the only person in the apartment who can use an oven, you know,” you replied.

“I would hope not, since we’ll both be eating that and I’m not about to eat some shitty bread,” said Katsuki. “I pay for this apartment. Don’t waste my ingredients.”

“Like you would let me leave this apartment, no matter how much shitty bread I make. But I’ll admit that you were right, I am baking because I’m bored, just as much as you,” you disclosed reluctantly, not wanting him to think that you were unsatisfied with the apartment or his company when it was really nothing but the opposite.

“I’m always right, princess. You should know that by now at least.” He grinned, restraining you more tightly. The black tank top was really doing nothing to keep you from feeling the contours of his muscles. He was strong, no doubt about it. If he really wanted, he could keep you trapped here against him for as long as he wanted. Not that he ever would. Perhaps the only thing equal to his strength was his kindness, though he would kill you if he ever caught you thinking anything along those lines. You kept getting drawn into all these weird thoughts all of a sudden! His fault, of course, for being so clingy.

“What you are is sweaty, you lout! Go take a shower or something and stop making me all gross and sweaty just like you,” you fired back, to his amusement.

“Alright, alright, fair point. Guess I could use a shower. But seriously, do something with me. I feel like I’m going crazy here!” he whined. You had to sympathize with him. And you could have much worse company.

“Ok, we can do whatever, your pick, as long as you let me make this damn bread first. I’m not about to let you spoil all my hard work!” Katsuki let you go, nodding.

“Fair enough, I can take that shower you were bitching about while you finish up. But if I really get to pick we’re not just going to watch some dumb movie. You and I are going to swim in the pool. If I spent all this damn money on the shitty thing and never use it I’m going to be pissed.” You agreed happily. You had wanted to use the pool for a while, but you had never quite taken up the opportunity. You rushed back to the kitchen to finish your bread and put it in the oven.

Katsuki was done with his shower while there was about ten minutes left on the timer for the bread. He offered to keep an eye on it while you grabbed your swimsuit, which was just fine with you. At the very least, if the bread turned out horrible you could blame him at least a little. You rummaged through your drawers for your swimsuits, trying to think of the last time you had gone swimming. It was a while ago; Takumi had never really liked the water and so you never really went, seeing as all your free time was spent with him. Did you even have a swimsuit anymore? No way, you had to have a swimsuit, right? Right?

By the time the timer went off in the kitchen, you had accepted the fact that you just didn’t own a swimsuit, and would have to disappoint your friend. You moved slowly to the kitchen.

“Damn, well if you don’t look like someone ran over your childhood pet!” You shook your head sadly.

“I don’t have a swimsuit, Katsuki,” you said. He almost seemed to glare at you, bewildered.

“What do you mean you don’t have a swimsuit? Everyone has a swimsuit,” he asked in confusion.

“Not me. I just don’t have one. I’m really sorry, but it looks like I can’t go swimming with you tonight.” You felt awful. He had seemed genuinely excited to finally show you the swimming pool, and you had ruined his plan.

“Dumbass, just borrow mine. You’ll be fine.”

“I can’t just wear swimming trunks, Katsuki, are you insane?” He quickly cut you off.

“Calm down, you can just wear a pair of trunks and an old shirt, you’re overthinking things by a mile. Who’s going to see you? It’s just me.” That’s right. It’s just Katsuki. He doesn’t give a crap what you wear. You nod your assent weakly, and he quickly grabs you what he said he would.

You change in your room, pulling the drawstrings of the trunks tight to secure it. Even though the shirt was fresh, it still smelled a bit like him, all warm and smoky and comforting. You stepped out of the room, only to see him missing. He had likely headed up to the pool and you decided to join him.

Your guess had been correct, he was already submerged in the pool. The sun had sunk while you finished the bread, and faint stars glimmered through the windows while the moon shone down, reflecting off of the faintly rippling waters. Katsuki sat against the wall, and grinned brightly at you.

“See, what did I tell you? You look fine.” You looked more than fine to him. Seeing you wearing his clothes made him feel oddly warm, despite the slight coolness of the pool. As you carefully descended the steps, the hem of the shirt soaked up water quickly, clinging to the curves of your body in a way that was almost more revealing than it would have been if you had simply foregone the shirt. He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t help himself. You just looked too good in the moonlight, wearing his clothes like you had on the very day you arrived. He was feeling that weird pull in his chest again. Either he should never lend you anything ever again, or he should only ever let you wear his clothes again. He could definitely pay the people who did the laundry to “accidentally” burn all of your clothes. Yeah, that was a weird thing to think about. He wouldn’t ever want to force you to do anything. If you wore his clothes, he wanted it to be of your own free will.

The two of you swam mostly in silence under the half moon, but neither of you minded. The presence of the other was all that you needed, and when you finally went to be, you both felt recharged, and deeply grateful for the other’s presence right now.

haha I totally just realized I needed to post this on tumblr! (I’m spidersasuke on ao3 and I usually post there first). Anyway, it’s been a while, long story short this semester was awful and I didn’t have any spare mental energy to work on this but I hope to get a good chunk done before I go back in February! I'm really sorry to keep you all hanging for so long. Anyway, thank you all for your patience and support and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

It took you a while to truly absorb the seriousness of what he was saying. It was hard to imagine the scale he was speaking of, not just your country, but the whole world would be affected. But also, on a smaller scale, your world was being rocked. Of course, it wasn’t like living with Katsuki was hard. Honestly, it was like a breath of fresh air, and your life had been easier these last few weeks than it had felt in a long time. Even though it was just small things, you had forgotten how nice it felt to be cared for; to have someone consider your needs as well as their own. But even so, at the moment you didn’t see Katsuki all that much, considering the time the two of you spent at work. But now, he wouldn’t be working at all. Maybe you wouldn’t be either, considering how you shared your workshop space with a couple of other support techs to avoid taking huge chunks out of your commissions to use the more advanced gear. But also, it wouldn’t really be fair to the heroes you worked for if you just stopped. You only worked for a couple, including Katsuki, but even taking him out of the equation still left you with people who relied on your services. You had to ask.

“What am I going to do about work?” you asked carefully. “Even if you’re not breaking your gear left and right to keep me in business, there are still other heroes who might need me.” Katsuki shook his head.

“Not happening. All of your people have already been talked to.” He took a deep breath, and you prepared for what he was about to say. This was one of his rare, completely serious moments, and you knew he wouldn’t back down from what he said. “I’m sorry, but since you live with me it just can’t happen. The hero commission really does not want to risk me getting sick, hence the quarantine. I’m still not letting anyone else touch my shit, so they’re gonna try and set up a place for you somewhere in the building but that might take a bit. And if I’m not breaking my shit on the street constantly there’s not really any need for you to work. I know how much your job means to you and I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be.”

Katsuki ran his hands through his hair with frustration. He was already so tired, and dealing with so much, and he was still thinking about you. You opened your mouth to thank him, but he cut you off.

“And don’t even think about trying to move out now. You’d have to be the dumbest person alive if you thought I’d let you pull that shit right now,” he barked, starting to return to the Katsuki you knew and loved. You shook your head with a smile.

“I was just going to say thank you, dummy.” He blinked a few times, taken a bit aback.

“Of course you were, dumbass. You’re the dumb one around here. Saying dumb shit. Whatever. I’m fucking tired.” He had been up late last night, you thought to yourself, but you couldn’t resist teasing him a little bit more.

“I thought you wanted to make breakfast, Katsuki! You want me to starve?” you said with a laugh. Fuck. Seeing that smile on your face after such a long night was really all he needed. Maybe he was tired, if he was letting thoughts like that come this easily.

“You deserve to starve after all you put me through, shitty woman. I open my home to you and this is how you repay me?” You gave him a gentle pat on the head.

“You need to get some sleep, Mr. Pro Hero. Let me make breakfast for once, or finish it, seeing as you already did most of the work."

“Damn right,” he interrupted, nodding slowly

“Seriously, just take a nap or something. We can do breakfast later.” When he didn’t respond, you peered at him curiously only to find that he had fallen asleep in the middle of your conversation. He was that tired. You gently pushed him so that he was lying in a somewhat comfortable position, and grabbed a nearby throw blanket to cover him. You’d finish breakfast yourself, and let him sleep as much as he needed.

Katsuki woke up around three hours later, grouching about how you never should have let him sleep that much, and how dumb you were, but you knew he was feeling much better. Of course, you also knew that you would probably have to work out some sort of schedule so that you two could coexist. The more you thought about it, the weirder it seemed. Sure, you had thought that you saw Katsuki a lot, after all, he did make you breakfast, and drive you to work, and you had hung out at night a few times when he wasn’t too busy, but to be honest it wasn’t that much when all was said and done.

The life of a pro-hero was a busy one, and since Katsuki was Number 2 he had to deal with press conferences, fan events, and keep up with appearances. It had taken him a while, and you had heard more than your fair share of complaining from him over the years about overzealous fans, but he had gotten a lot better when it came to the social parts of hero life. Of course, he was still grouchy and barked at people constantly, but that was part of his charm. You were sure he definitely wouldn’t miss all those events. The point remained, you were about to be spending much more time with him than you ever had in your life, and while his apartment was big, you were a bit worried.

“Do you want to maybe set up a schedule or something?” you asked carefully. “And since I’m not really going to have any money coming in from work, how do you want to deal with paying for groceries and utilities and stuff?” That got his attention quick. He sat up from his relaxed position on the couch, and threw off the blanket you had so kindly provided for him.

“Are you seriously dumb enough to think that I was ever going to let you give me any money? Job or no job, I’m not taking shit and that’s final, princess,” he said, arms folded with sincerity. You fought back the urge to roll your eyes. It was the answer you expected, but it was so funny how even when he was being incredibly kind he had to call you dumb.

“Ok, even still, I don’t want to wind up getting in your way if we’re both home all day. I mean, I won’t really have anything to work on, maybe I can get some small tools up here or just work on something fun, but I don’t want to get in the way of anything you might want to be doing.” Unlike you, Katsuki was fully willing to roll his eyes at you.

/p>“What I going to be doing? I’m not working either. If anything, you should stay in my way so I don’t get bored out of my mind. Although I’m probably going to have to get some more machines and shit in here so I can stay in shape. Might have to put stuff in the living room. Not sure,” he mused.

Well, he was right. There really wasn’t much else he would be doing but working out so you wouldn’t really get in his way. Although, did you want to be around Katsuki when he was working out? Sure, you had seen him fight criminals before, and you had to measure his stats every so often when you were fixing his gear but for some reason your mind kept going to weird places whenever you thought about it. Would he wear a shirt when he worked out? Probably not, right? Wait a minute, why did you care if he wore a shirt or not? It didn’t matter, and you had enough close calls what with you two sharing a bathroom. And you were a grown woman! You had seen people with their shirts off before! This really wasn’t a big deal at all!

“What’s going on in that big nerd brain, princess? I see your gears turning,” Bakugou asked, poking your forehead. You felt your cheeks heat up. God, he had really caught you thinking about him- no, you weren’t even going to say it. Quick, what could you say?

“Just thinking about how crazy this all is. I mean, a global pandemic? It barely seems real!” Katsuki nodded understandingly.

“Yeah, it’s fucking weird not being able to do anything about it either. I mean, when was the last time either of us had any actual time off? Had to be maybe a bit after graduation, but I think that was it.” He was right. When was the last time you had genuinely taken a break? It had been nothing but constant work for you, especially once Katsuki started getting in serious fights on a regular basis. And of course, you had other heroes to deal with as well. Taking a break was just never really a thought that crossed your mind.

But now? You genuinely had no work to do. Nothing. For the first time in years, you could relax. Sure, you couldn’t really leave the apartment, but the apartment had a private pool. It could be so much worse. And the more you thought about it, the better you felt. Sure, it would be weird seeing Katsuki so much, but he was your best friend!

And wouldn’t it be better to have someone to talk to anyway? You would go crazy left to your own devices eventually, and you shuddered to think at how antisocial Katsuki might become if he didn’t see anyone for however long this lockdown lasted. Which might be a while. It was a good thing you were here. And with any luck, you could get Katsuki to cook for you more often. Yes, this was definitely a good thing. You flopped backwards onto the couch, spreading your body across the plush cushions.

“Want to put on a movie, since our afternoon appears to be free?” Katsuki nodded.

Interlude from Katsuki’s point of view

The minute he got the message about the meeting, he was nervous. And he was never nervous, but being a hero for this long meant he had developed a pretty good gut sense of when things were about to go south. And his gut was ringing a 5-fire alarm. Still, he put on the suit and wrestled with his hair to get it to some level of presentability. This meeting was rushed, but bound to be some level of televised. At the very least there would be photos, and the more put-together he looked the more at-ease the public felt.

As some doctor he didn’t know started to explain the circumstances, his mind kept going back to you, probably already asleep in his apartment. Maybe he had been too strict about the apartments you had been looking at, but damn if he wasn’t glad you were still there. And there was no way he was going to let you move out now. Catch the virus in some loser apartment, where he probably couldn’t even make you his get-well soup? Not fucking lightly.

“Ground Zero?” He was pulled away from his thoughts as someone called his name, sounding like it wasn’t the first time they had done so. Was this the doctor at the beginning? No, he recognized this lady. Some woman from the hero commission.

“Uh, yes?” Damn it. That wasn’t smooth at all, not befitting the number-2 hero.

“You do understand what this means for you, correct?” What? How was he involved in this? He wasn’t dumb enough to think he could blow up a virus. Maybe if he was 16, but surely not now.

“Of course I do.” Of course, he didn’t.

“So you’re fine with staying in your apartment for as long as we deem necessary? Again I must stress that it is of the upmost importance that we preserve the health of our strongest heroes,” replied the woman. Damn. He really needed to pay more attention in these meetings. He had to respond, quick. Sure, he was fine with that. He’d iron out the details later. And of course, it was still flattering to know that he was powerful enough that he had to go to such extents to avoid getting sick.

“Yeah. We’ll need to work out a training regimen and everything but if it’s gotta happen it’s gotta happen.” The woman nodded, pleased with his compliance, and soon the discussion moved from him and the other top heroes to people with quirks that might help with the virus. Yeah, he could probably stop listening now. And the people at his agency would help iron out the fine details.

Damn, it was getting late. You kept invading his thoughts. There was no way you would be leaving his apartment either, which meant it would be just the two of you alone together for who knows how long. Just how he liked it. The secret part of him he always tried to ignore was telling him that this would be just like a vacation (no, he needed to stay focused and work hard in case something happened), that he could show off his cooking skills to you every day (ok, good idea, secret brain), that no one else would be able to see you for months, least of all that bastard you used to live with, hah, he would get to spend so much time with you (why was he so happy about this?) Clearly he was overtired or something. The rest of the meeting dragged on into the morning, and he made sure to meet with his agency afterwards to take care of a few things, but all he really had on his mind was sleep.

Of course, the minute he walked through the door and saw your shoes on the floor, he stopped. He had to talk to you, explain everything. He started making you breakfast almost on autopilot. Then, maybe he explained things to you? Yes, he did that, but then somehow he was asleep on the couch. You shouldn’t have let him sleep so much. Although, it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go.

Now what? You wanted to talk schedules? He wouldn’t have let you in his house if he didn’t want you there, like hell you were going to leave. And you weren’t paying for shit either. He was going to take care of you like that bastard never cou- no, why was he comparing himself to him? And sure, he had the workout room and all, but maybe he should get some extra weights to put in the living room. That wouldn’t be weird, he still had to work out. Ok, now you were staring. Were you thinking about him? He hoped so. He had to tease you, at least a little.

One morning, you woke up and saw that it had been two weeks since you moved in with Katsuki. You were a little surprised to realize how much time had passed without you noticing, and how easily you had integrated yourself into Katsuki’s life. Or rather, how much he had forced you to adapt to his ways of living. Not that you were complaining. You had been eating fantastically ever since you moved in, though Katsuki would refuse any thanks, and would often outright deny that he had made the food for you. And the apartment complex took care of your laundry for you, and you never really had to clean much either. It was almost like you were on vacation.

A typical morning for you would follow along these lines:

1) You wake up to the sound of Katsuki’s blender and your breakfast is waiting on the counter

2) You enjoy said breakfast and Katsuki says that he “doesn’t know why it’s there, now shut up and eat or you’ll be late for work”

3) You finish eating and get ready for work, which involves darting in and out of Katsuki’s bathroom, which causes you to bump into him with embarrassing frequency. Nothing terrible has happened yet, and you always knock and wait, but there’s always some part of you curious worried to catch him in a state of undress.

4) Katsuki gets fed up with your constant presence in his room and kicks you out so he can get ready (sometimes he will threaten to kick you out of his entire apartment, though you know he never means it)

5) You finish getting ready in your room and wait by the door for Katsuki to drive you to work

6) Katsuki stops by your favorite coffee shop, which now always has your order ready and waiting (who could have made that happen, I wonder)

7) You and Katsuki would have an argument over who would pay for your coffee (spoiler alert: it was never you who paid)

8) Katsuki would drop you off at work and demand you tell him when you need to be picked up, and no matter how much you tried to evade him he always was there once you walked out the door.

It was kind of embarrassing to admit, but the longer you spent living with Katsuki the happier you felt, and the more regret you felt as well for having let yourself become so sad and complacent with Takumi without even noticing. But you also had to pat yourself on the back for growing and moving past him. You rarely even thought about your ex now, and though part of you wondered what his reaction had been when he returned to a much emptier apartment, you didn’t have any time to think about him. You were too busy, between dealing with Bakugou at home and the destruction he wreaked on his gear in the field (as well as a special surprise you were cooking up for him as thanks), and you didn’t want to waste any mental space on such a waste of a man either.

Living with Katsuki was also so much nicer than living with Takumi had been. You two now had regular movie nights, would eat lunch together on the weekends, and sometimes, if he was tired enough from patrols, you could convince Katsuki to go swimming with you at night. The wide windows would let in the soft light from the moon and you could just relax. You felt so relaxed, all the time now. You felt safe. Of course, as soon as you had finally gotten truly settled and were ready to start looking for apartments again, not wanting to bother Katsuki for any longer than you already had, your life was once again upended in a way you could never have expected.

The first few things you heard about the virus came from the very man you roomed with. As a high-level pro hero, it was his job to be aware of threats to the citizens he protected, and while there wasn’t a way for him to blast a virus to bits, he still tried to stay informed. And of course, as a pro hero, he also had access to information from upper levels of government, and so he would always know about big developments before you. Still, initially, he didn’t seem worried. The only way you could tell that something was wrong was how he began to grow skittish at the idea of you moving out. Of course, that could have been for other reasons as well, but you were certain it was because of the virus.

To tell the truth, as days passed, you were also starting to worry about moving out. Getting a new roommate, or even a new apartment, could potentially be risky. You wouldn’t know the area, and you would be stuck with either a smaller, less nice apartment, or roommates, because you weren’t about to spend half of your paychecks on rent. And the situation was devolving quickly. To be honest, you would also miss having a in-house personal chef, even if he did yell at you.

Making matters even worse, the housing market seemed to have dried up completely. All the apartment listings you saw had something wrong with them; if you didn’t see the problem at first Katsuki would, and he wouldn’t hesitate to point it out. Dangerous neighborhoods, records of noise complaints, general ambiance, the minute you saw a halfway decent listing he would search it up and report back to you on why it wouldn’t work. Not to mention that all of the places that managed to pass his scrutiny were way out of your budget range.

He was just looking out for you, or as he put it “making sure he didn’t have to go to the trouble of moving your dumb ass back into his apartment again after your new places backfires”. And he was right every time about the problems. You were thankful he was taking the trouble, because otherwise you might have ended up in a real dump. But the days without a new place slowly grew in number. As did the number of cases. You knew both things were an issue. But you simply didn’t realize how much of an issue they would become until it was too late for you to do anything.

The morning you realized that your life was about to get even more different than it already had was the morning you didn’t wake up to the jarring screech of your best friend/temporary roommate’s deluxe blender, but rather to the smell of French toast. This wouldn’t by itself be light years past normal, but a quick look at your phone informed you that it was 9:37 on a Thursday morning. You slowly pulled yourself out of bed, confused. Katsuki would never let you sleep in like this unless it was some special occasion, and even then he would probably have woken you up eventually, calling you lazy to boot. As your brain began to wake from its fog, you headed towards your bedroom door. Katsuki was in the kitchen, you knew he had to be since you smelled him cooking, but nothing else about him seemed normal. He wasn’t in his sleeping clothes, but rather the kind of outfit he reserved for press conferences and major meetings, but the jacket was tossed on the floor and the clothes were rumpled like he had been doing hard work. His hair had lost it’s trademark spikes, flopping forward into his eyes, and he wasn’t doing anything about it. Worst of all was when you finally saw his face. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept the entire night. Come to think of it, considering how he looked, he probably hadn’t.

“Are you alright?” you said as he met your eyes. As he moved, you could see the exhaustion in his body, and you pulled him over to the couch, forcing him to sit down. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Let me make the damn breakfast, princess,” he grumbled from his seat, yet not moving.

“Breakfast can wait,” you replied as you turned off the burner. There was no way you could eat anything right now, not before you learned what was going on. “So talk.” Katsuki sighed heavily.

“Shit, where do I even start?” He ran his hands through his hair, causing it to lose even more of its shape. “I got a call last night around 8. Said it was an emergency meeting. I put on the fucking serious suit and everything, that’s how bad it sounded. Thought they were maybe gonna tell me that One for All had escaped or something. But this was… something else.” You held your breath as he explained. It was rare for him to be this serious, not exhibiting any emotion except determination. This was his battle face. You just had to wait for him to tell you what he would be fighting.

“I know you’ve heard about the virus that’s been going around, but it’s gotten real bad, princess. Turns out some higher-ups were downplaying it, thought it was maybe some weird quirk that they could shut down or something, but it’s not. We’ve got a real disease on our hands, and nobody can stop it. It’s gonna go global.” You blinked rapidly, trying to grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.

“Ok, but there has to be some quirk or something that can stop it, right? We can fix this?” you asked nervously. Katsuki shook his head.

“Hold on, princess. I’m getting there. We all talked about it. Everyone was there. All the big heroes, all the heads of whatever departments, anyone you can think of whose job it is to take care of the public. And there’s nobody. Healing quirks are rare as is, and with the way the virus has been spreading, no one quirk would be enough.”

“So what do we do then?” Katsuki placed a hand on your knee in an attempt to comfort you.

“Bet you’re wondering why I look like shit.” You nodded slightly. “We were out all night coming up with a strategy. We’re gonna get all our science guys on this, use whatever quirks we have to study this virus, and then do whatever we can to get a vaccine going. But for the time being, we have to shut down. The whole country has to stay home.” You stared at him in shock. Part of you had been wondering what would happen if the virus wasn’t a quirk, or if it couldn’t be stopped, but you hadn’t actually thought it possible. And now the entire nation had to be put on pause.

“Only essential shit can stay open. Grocery stores, hospitals, you get the idea. But everyone else has to stay in their house. There’s gonna be a more detailed plan later. But you won’t be leaving this building unless absolutely necessary.” Katsuki paused, clearly preparing to drop an even bigger bomb than the one he had just dropped. “And neither will I. I’m number 2. We’re hoping for a drop in crime if everyone takes this as seriously as they should, but they want the big heroes to avoid getting sick in case they need us to take out big villains if they try anything. They don’t want us out of commission if they need us. So it’s gonna be you and me in here. And it looks like it’s gonna be a while.”

---------------

Bakugou woke up early, per his usual schedule, but a bit more sleepy than he normally was. Which was odd, seeing as he always took care to keep himself as healthy as possible so that he wouldn’t slack off on patrol or get tired in a fight. He padded over to his kitchen to make some coffee to wake up, and then maybe he would have time to hit the gym before work. But something was bothering him. What was he forgetting?

When he saw that the door to his guest room was closed, he remembered. How could he have forgotten? The events of last night came rushing back to him. Your call, the drive over, dinner, you sleeping in his room. He carefully walked over to “your” room, and pushed the door open gently, just a bit. There you lay, asleep, with a peaceful smile on your face. In his clothes. In his bed. Bakugou felt a weird pull in his chest at the sight of you. Seeing you in his clothes felt weird, not at all like how he had imagined. And he couldn’t lie, he had thought of you asleep in his house more times than he’d like to admit, but this was nowhere close to the scenario he had imagined previously. For starters, the reality was a lot more PG.

Not that he should be thinking about anything like that. If anything, you were even more off limits than you had been before when you were dating Takumi. It would be completely scummy of him to take advantage of you while you were so vulnerable. You had called him in a time of need, and he was going to be there for you, no matter how his heart pulled at his chest at the thought of YOU. In his HOUSE. He hated to admit it, but you made him feel things sometimes. But he wasn’t going to think about it, and he definitely wasn’t going to do anything about it. There were bigger things to worry about.

Bakugou checked the clock. The sunrise was just starting to blossom from a peek over the horizon to a full bloom of light, and he wanted to get the day started as soon as he could. Just the thought of your stuff sitting in that bastard’s apartment had him raging internally. If Bakugou had his way, you would be gone before Takumi even came back. Hopefully the bastard would never know what had happened, and he would leave you alone.

Bakugou tossed his normal morning smoothie ingredients into the blender, not pressing the button yet out of concern for disturbing your sleep. He could blend the smoothie later. You had to sleep, and while you slept, he would make breakfast. French toast, to be exact. With some strawberries and whipped cream, just the way you always ordered it from the diner you two would frequent when your various schedules permitted you to hang out. Maybe he would even be able to locate some powdered sugar in his Very Healthy cupboards to sprinkle on top. It was only after he had produced four perfectly golden-brown French toast slices, artfully decorated and arranged at the kitchen counter with a fresh glass of orange juice sat next to them that he pressed the button to blend his breakfast and wake you up.

The sound of whirring and grinding was successful in pulling you from your slumber. You stretched in bed, feeling more rested and comfortable than you had felt in a long time. Even the harsh sound of the blender wasn’t overtly disturbing, as you blinked slowly and stretched. You checked your watch. It was still early, but late enough that you were going to be late for your normal work start time. Not that it mattered all the much, you were more of a freelance worker than anything, and Katsuki was your main client, only trusting you with his gear. Your other work would wait for a few days while you figured out the new direction your life had taken. You walked out into the spacious apartment to see Bakugou leaning on the counter, drinking a smoothie.

“Eat,” he barked, pointing at the meal he had made for you on the counter. You looked up at him, still dressed in his clothes. He had to work to keep his expression steady

“Wait, you made this for me?”

“Well princess, I don’t see anyone else in here and it sure as fuck isn’t for me, so eat. I want to get out of here by 9.” You nodded, a big grin on your face, and dug in to the delicious meal that sat before you. Katsuki had always been a great cook, as you knew well from the few times he deigned to make something for you and the rest of the gang, but he had truly outdone himself this time. Everything was perfect, and you had to thank him.

“Katsuki, this is fantastic! I haven’t had something this good in months!” you exclaimed. He rolled his eyes in response.

“It’s not that big a deal, this kinda shit is easy. Now sit down and eat. No talking with your mouth full.” You laughed gently at his response

“I’m serious, this is so good, you have to try some.” You cut off a piece and pushed it towards the edge of the plate, urging him to take it. He shook his head.

“It’s not for me.”

“ You made it, Katsuki. Eat the damn bread. One bite isn’t going to dissolve your abs.” You could hear him choke back a laugh as he drained the rest of his smoothie.

“Fine. One bite.” He picked the small piece off your plate and popped it into his mouth. “You were right. It is good.” You smiled.

“Aren’t I always?”

“Just go fucking get ready. Your clothes from last night are outside your room. We need to get going.”

You got ready to head back to your apartment as quickly as you could, and Katsuki drove you over. The closer you got, the more nervous you felt. Your chest tightened up, making it difficult to breathe, and after Katsuki parked his car and stepped out, you tried and failed to do the same. He opened the door and looked down at you.

“What’s going on?” You refused to meet his eyes as you felt his gaze burn down on you.

“I’m nervous. I’m worried that if I go back inside he’ll be in there. I don’t want to see him again,” you confessed. You felt Katsuki’s gaze grow slightly less intense.

“He’s not gonna be there. You and I both know he’s too much of a coward to come back for a week, and you need to put him out of your mind. I don’t want to hear the shitty bastard’s name ever again after today. We’re gonna get your stuff, and then we’re never gonna come back. And if he is here, he won’t be for long, I can promise you that. Now get up. We have to go see Shitty Hair and Tape Face.”

The mention of your friends brightened your mood considerably. Katsuki was right. It was best if you just put “that bastard” out of your mind completely. Today would be a big step towards that. Your eye was drawn to bright red hair and frantically waving arms in front of the door to your building. Kirishima and Sero! The two men walked over to you.

“Fionnuala! It’s so good to see you!” exclaimed Kirishima.

“Yeah, even if it’s not under the best circumstances it’s really great to see you,” added Sero. You smiled sheepishly.

“It’s good to see you guys, too!” you said happily, nerves disappearing at the sight of your friends. Kirishima pulled you into one of his trademark hugs, and you let yourself sink into his embrace.

“I think I’m ready to go inside,” you mumbled into Kirishima’s chest, and he released you from his grip. The four of finally stepped inside the building, and you stayed close to Katsuki as you made your way to your former home.

The door unlocked with ease, and Katsuki stood with you as Sero and Kirishima checked the rooms for any sign of that bastard’s presence. As hoped, he wasn’t there. Now all that you had to do was grab your things and go. Kirishima and Sero had kindly brought over some boxes for you to put your stuff in, and since you weren’t planning on taking most of the furniture, Sero’s truck would likely be able to fit all of your stuff in one go. After a quick scan, you easily located the few pieces of furniture you had brought with you to the apartment, and Katsuki and Kirishima began taking them down to the truck. You made your way into the bedroom, where the majority of your belongings were, and started to pack them and label them with Sero.

Bakugou’s mind was still spinning as he carried your desk out of the building with Kirishima. Just being inside the apartment again was pissing him off. He would never tell you this, but part of him was disappointed that that bastard wasn’t there. Bakugou had a punch with his name written on it. It definitely wouldn’t look good in the press if they found out the number 2 hero had sucker-punched a defenseless guy, but he was sure it would be worth it. Kirishima’s voice brought him out of his violent thoughts.

“So, she’s moving in with you?” Bakugou opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them, and exhaled.

“Yeah,” he said curtly. Kirishima stared at him.

“And you’ve been in love with her for how long?” Bakugou activated his quirk, slamming his arm down at Kirishima, who quickly hardened his skin out of reflexes developed from years of being friends with Bakugou. “You have to stop doing that, man! What if my quirk didn’t work?” Bakugou refused to meet his eyes.

“I’m not in love with her. She’s my friend, and she needs a place to stay. I’d let you stay at my place if you needed to too. So don’t give me that bullshit.”

“Ok, the second part might be true but the first part definitely isn’t. And you know it. You’re different with her.” Bakugou looked off in the distance thoughtfully.

“It’s none of your business, shitty hair. Shut up about it already,” barked Bakugou. Kirishima sighed. Bakugou had changed a lot since high school, but in many ways he was still the same emotionally constipated jerk he had always been. And Kirishima knew he was right, Bakugou was different with you, even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself. He just hoped that you rooming with Bakugou, even if it was as temporary as Bakugou had been insisting that it was, would finally get you two together. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that you two had always been it for each other, no matter how much the two of you refused to admit it, or even realize it. But Kirishima knew.

“Well you’re right, it’s your business man, but if you ever finally admit to yourself that you’re in love with her and want to talk about it, you can give me a call.” Bakugou frowned.

“Can’t admit something that’s not true, shitty hair. Now for real, shut up about it. We need to get the rest of the stuff down so we can say fuck off to this place forever.” Kirishima sighed and acquiesced, knowing that talking about feelings with Bakugou was a harder battle than defeating some of the strongest villains.

The packing went quickly, taking less than 6 hours, and as thought, everything fit in Sero’s truck. Once finished, the four of you stood looking in on the emptier apartment, taking it in for the last time. You were happy to leave this chapter of your life behind you, not wanting to leave any note or explanation behind for that bastard. He didn’t deserve to know what you were doing or where you had gone.

“Alright princess, let’s get out of here,” said Bakugou to you, throwing an arm over your shoulder and turning you towards the door. You slipped out from underneath him.

“Wait. Actually, there’s a few more things I think I should take,” you said with a giggle. “Wait right here.” You dashed off into the apartment, grabbing things that the boys couldn’t seem to identify.

“PRINCESS?” mouthed Kirishima, and he felt Bakugou’s red hot stare beam down on him.

“Wait, seriously dude?” chimed in Sero. The only thing that saved Kirishima and Sero from Bakugou’s wrath was your reappearance. The three men peered down at you, finally seeing what was in your hands.

“And if you guys want to hold this for me I can go grab all the toilet paper and utensils too,” you said happily, and they held out their arms to accept the remotes and lightbulbs you had stolen from throughout the house. They all smiled as they realized your devious plan. Bit by bit, it was starting to seem to you like everything was going to be ok.

Author note

TW: violence, murder

Also, as I'm sure many of you have heard, a black man named George Floyd was recently murdered by police in Minnesota. As of my writing this the four officers have been fired but they have yet to be charged. The phone number for district attorney Mike Freeman is 617-348-5550. Please call and demand an investigation. There are also many petitions going around that you can sign,

Also, share any and all info that you can and take whatever other actions you can. Direct action is necessary.