Kou was getting spoiled.

She'd only been living in the dorms for a little over 2 months, and yet she'd already grown accustomed to her life in 'luxury'. She was used to her nice bathroom with hot water and clean floors, and her 3 nutritious meals a day provided by the school, and being around people she didn't have to constantly be on guard around. In other words, Kou was going soft.

Every time she went back home for the weekends it was like a bucket of ice water being poured over her head, waking her up from the dream that was U.A. She was back where she'd been her entire life: with her cold showers, the shitty takeout or home cooked meals she had to make herself (with what limited ingredients she had), and a stepdad she prayed she wouldn't have to see.

Not to mention the sleeping situation; Kou probably missed Bakugou's mattress the most during the weekends- and maybe the boy that came with it too but the mattress was really the star of the show here.

"Fuck," Kou groaned as Machi kicked her in her sleep. Hiro wasn't too far behind, with his foot practically up her ass as he tossed and turned in his sleep. She loved those kids to death, but she could not believe how much they moved around at night.

Bakugou was a goddamn log in comparison: the guy didn't move at all- maybe to pull her closer or adjust the covers but other than that Kou's nights spent beside him were peaceful and she found herself missing hi- his bed. His bed.

She rubs her forehead in frustration. Thinking about her blond friend had been making her head hurt lately, and she tried her best to keep him out of her mind but it never worked for long. Between her sibling's kicking and the headache Katsuki gave her she'd never fucking fall asleep at this rate.

Deciding she'd get a glass of water to calm her down, Kou slowly pushed her sister off her and stood up as quietly as possible, shutting the door behind her carefully.

"Kou-chan!" she heard drunken giggling as soon as she left her room, and Kou sighed tiredly.

Great, her mom was awake.

Katsuro was gone again for the third weekend in a row, leaving Kou to take care of a third child, otherwise known as Watanabe Rei.

"What do you want now?" she grumbled, making her way to the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle. She leaned against the counter and observed the woman in front of her: clearly drunk, but if the mascara stains running down her face indicated anything Kou figured she was also depressed and it would be her job to cheer her up.

Rei wipes the black from under her eyes, only smudging it more. She sniffles before continuing, "Why are you being so mean to me? I j-just wanted to, to talk!"

It was 3 AM. Kou had work in 9 hours. She knew that her mom would only make a scene if she refused, so she reluctantly sat across from her at the dining table. Rei smiles in triumph, taking another sip of wine from her glass.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asks blankly, not having the energy to even pretend to be interested.

Her mom hiccups slightly, burping a bit and making Kou cringe. "W-where's your little boyfriend?"

Oh god, she was not having this conversation right now- and with her mom of all people. "What boyfriend?"

Rei giggles, closing her eyes and almost falling asleep but snapping them open at the last second. "Y-you know what I'm talking about, silly! That blond...hunk! The one who stormed in here a couple weeks ago and whisked you away!"

"He's not my boyfriend." She grounds out, fists clenching. "Look, did Katsuro put you up to this or someth-"

"Then-" she hiccups again, "Then, whose shirt are you wearing? I know a guy's shirt when I see one!"

Fuck. She'd worn Katsuki's infamous black skull t-shirt to bed without really thinking. Her mom had to be one of the least observant people she knew, and she caught onto that?

"No one's. Why are you asking so many fucking questions all of a sudden? Mind your business."

She knew she was being pretty rude right now, but she also knew Rei probably wasn't even going to remember this conversation in the morning.

"I'm not up to anything!" Rei puts her hands up in defense, "I p-promise! I'm just curious, is all..."

"Why?" Kou raised an eyebrow- her mom had never given a shit about her life before, why now?

"Because your little friend is cute!" she giggled, and Kou grimaces.

"He's 16, mom."

"I-I know that! I mean for you!"

She runs a hand through her hair tiredly. What the hell was the point of talking about this?

"L-listen, Kou-chan..." she puts a hand on her shoulder and Kou has to resist the urge to brush her off, "I only saw him for a lil,..for a little bit, but I could tell he was a decent guy. He cares about you! There's not a lot of good men in this world...when you find one, you cling onto him! You cling onto him and you never let go, you hear me?"

Her mom is slurring her words to the point that Kou has a hard time understanding her, but she manages to get her point across. "I don't need a guy to survive."

"I know!" Rei insists, face planting into the table and laughing, "You've always been so strong, Kou-chan. You're so much stronger than I am. You- you were always so tough."

Kou didn't have the heart to tell her it was because she didn't have a choice. Not that it would even matter if she did tell her- the woman was blackout drunk.

"B-but," she slurs, "Just look at me! I could've been so much more...if your father hadn't...and Katsuro...I n-never got to-"

She's full on crying now, and Kou shifts uncomfortably in her seat. What the hell were you supposed to say to that? She'd basically told her that having kids had ruined her life. Was she supposed to apologize for being born? She didn't exactly like her life either, no thanks to her mom.

"Why are you talking about all this right now?" Kou asks blankly, staring at the wall and trying not to get angry.

"Your dad and brother came back," Rei mumbled, "I got a c-call a couple days ago from Gou. He said they talked to you? Why didn't you tell me, Kou-chan?"

"It wasn't fucking important," Kou griped, "They were just spouting a bunch of bullshit and then they stole my wallet."

Rei laughs at that, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"I just started thinking, you know? About the past...all the decisions I made." Rei continues sadly, "About what would've happened if I-I hadn't...met your dad."

Kou hums, not paying attention. She wished she'd just stayed in her room.

"This isn't a good life...I know that. I know that. I- Katsuro, he's so cruel sometimes. And your dad was gone. A-and all my kids h-hate me!" she cries, and Kou wants nothing more than to leave.

She knew her mom was probably the saddest of all of them. She didn't graduate highschool, she was stuck in a marriage with a guy she could never leave, and with 4 kids she was too young to have ever taken care of properly. Kou knew her mom's life hadn't been fair to her, but there was a limit to how much self pity you could have. How long had her mom been complaining, without doing anything?

Kou had known her mom long enough to understand that she'd never get an apology from the woman; not for her shitty parenting, or for her making Kou take care of the household, or for marrying a piece of shit that hit her kids, or for letting that happen in the first place.

The two of them sit in silence for a couple minutes, the only sound coming from Rei's quiet sniffling and crying. She eventually lifts her head up again, smiling sadly. "But you can be better! You can go with that cute boyfriend of yours and have a great life! Just don't forget about your mother when you get rich, hm?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Kou repeats.

"But you like him?"

Kou pauses at that. Her mom notices her hesitation and smiles knowingly.

"I know I'm not the best mother-" now that was an understatement, "But if there's one thing I'm good at it's boys! That boy is a keeper! He c-clearly cares about you, and he looked well-off, so go for it!"

"You're drunk, mom." Kou chastises, refusing to listen to the woman's intoxicated ramblings.

"That doesn't mean anything! J-just listen to your mom, okay? Don't end up like me." she grabs onto Kou's hand in perhaps the first display of affection she'd ever given her in her life.

"I won't." She promises. She'd vowed never to end up like either one of her parents a long time ago.

"What's the boy's name?" she asks curiously, and Kou decides to humor her.

"Katsuki."

"N-nice name. Strong." she smiles drunkenly. Kou can't help but agree.

"Yeah."

The two sit at the table for a couple minutes, Rei holding onto Kou's hand tightly. This was probably one of the only proper talks they'd ever had, and it was about Bakugou Katsuki of all people. She chuckled bitterly at the thought.

"Do you hate me, Kou-chan?" her mom stares up at her. It takes her a couple of seconds before she answers.

"No."

Her mom was a shitty person, and Kou would never see her as a parent or someone she even wanted to be around, but she couldn't hate her. She was suffering too.

Rei smiles, giggling and trying to stand up shakily. Before Kou can ask her what she's doing she practically tackles Kou, giving her a hug and scaring the crap out of her daughter.

"W-what are you doing?!" Kou panics, her whole body freezing in shock. Her arms are planted at her sides, not hugging her mom back.

"Oh, Kou-chan," she coos, "My precious little dau-"

Her sentence was interrupted by her violent heaving, and Kou pushes her off immediately. She can feel the vomit trickling down her back and on the chair and floor behind her, and she sighs.

Looks like she'd have to clean up her mother's mess, again.

__

Kou ended up going to sleep at almost 6 am; having to clean up her mom's vomit from the kitchen table and floor. She also had to shower both herself and the drunken woman, which was made 10 times harder because Rei had kept falling asleep in the midst of it.

She ended up making it to work on time either way, so she couldn't really complain. The 6 hour shift passed by quickly, and before she knew it she was back home. She'd be going back to the dorms in about an hour, so she was only going to get her stuff and leave.

"Shinobu, make something for me to eat. I'm hungry." That's how she'd been greeted the second she entered her apartment, Katsuro sitting on the couch with his feet propped up and on the table.

"'Kay," she sighed, dropping her backpack at the door and making her way to the kitchen, "Is ramen fine?"

"I don't give a shit, just hurry up!" Kou follows his orders and get's a pot ready, filling it with water and putting it on the stove to boil. She places the noodles inside and goes to her room, grabbing her stuff to bring back to the dorms. Hiro and Machi are taking a nap so she doesn't bother lingering.

Making her way back to the kitchen, she leans on the counter and waits for the noodles to cook. When they're finally soft enough to eat she places the flavouring packet inside and stirs till they turn red. Putting the meal in a bowl, she brings the ramen to Katsuro.

"No egg?" he asked pointedly, and Kou shrugs.

"We ran out."

"Don't you usually go grocery shopping?"

"I forgot to get them."

"What the hell are they teaching you kids in school?" he grumbled, digging into his meal, "Can't even remember simple shit like that?"

She wants to tell him she shouldn't even have to grocery shop in the first place, but she bites her tongue. "Do you need anything else? Because I'm leaving in 30 minutes."

"Yeah, I do." he pauses his eating, "Where's that blond boy from last time? I wanna talk to him."

He cracks his knuckles, and Kou tries to look as indifferent as possible. "I don't know. He just made me sign a couple papers and left."

"Why the hell did he come into my home and leave with you, then?" he asks suspiciously.

Kou recites the lie she'd practiced in preparation for this conversation, "He's from a hero school. Assholes don't know how to mind their own business. They brought me back to my dorms."

"You fucking him or something? Why'd he care so much?"

"No, I'm not." she grounds out, fists clenching.

"You lying to me?" he gets up from the couch and approaches the girl, staring her down.

"Why the fuck would I lie-" Katsuro uses his quirk on her, and Kou grabs onto the edge of the table to not fall down. "Fuck!"

"Are you lying to me?" Katsuro asks again, and Kou shakes her head frantically.

"N-no!"

"You sure?" he presses on, and Kou fights the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes from falling.

He's interrupted by the sound of the door opening, revealing her mom. Katsuro looks away for a second and Kou exhales loudly.

"What's going on here?" Rei asks innocently, looking at the scene before her.

"Just asking the brat about that little shit that came by last week. Wanted to make sure she wasn't hanging around people like that." He grabs onto her hair roughly and Kou winces.

"Oh," Rei smiles, "Kou-chan already told me all about that!"

Fuck. Her mom was going to expose her and she was going to fucking die. "What are you talking abou-"

"He's nobody, Katsu. Don't worry about him, he's not coming around anymore. Right, Kou-chan?" her mother gives her a look and Kou nods desperately.

Katsuro looks at his stepdaughter with narrowed eyes, and Kou flinches at the thought of him using his quirk again. Thankfully he lets go of her and takes a seat at the couch again, eating his ramen without another word. Kou looks at her mom, who just smiles tightly before going to her room.

Had she actually...helped her out? Had her mom actually defended her against Katsuro for once? She must've been dreaming.

"Hey, brat." Katsuro calls out to her again, and Kou turns around, "I better not see those kids around here again. I don't need you hanging around trust fund kids and embarrassing me like that."

"Okay."

"I'm being serious. Next time I see them around here I'm not gonna be so nice." He threatens, "People like that piss me off. Just stick to your own kind, Shinobu."

"No."

Katsuro looks at her like she's crazy- was she actually refusing him? "The fuck did you just say?"

Kou took a lot of shit from him, but she couldn't just stand by and listen to him shitting on her friends for no reason.

"I said no, I'm not 'sticking to my own kind'." she says with determination, "Those people...I want to be like them one day. There's nothing wrong with them."

Katsuro laughs in disbelief, finding her words to be too funny to get mad at. "Are you serious? You wanna be like them? You think you'll ever get anywhere close to that? Aren't they fucking heroes or something?"

"Yeah, they are." Katsuro laughs harder at that, tearing up at the thought of his stepdaughter becoming a hero.

"Man, I didn't know you were a comedian!" he chuckles, "Good fucking luck with that!"

Kou nods, grabbing her bag and making her way to the door, "Yeah. I'm going to the dorms now."

Katsuro makes her grab a beer from the fridge for him before leaving, already moving on from their conversation to watch a basketball game on TV. Kou smiled to herself as she left her apartment, proud that she'd stood up to Katsuro for the first time in years- and for her friends of all people.

__

"Took you long enough." Katsuki greets her when she turns the corner of her street to see him leaning against the wall. He was in casual attire: a black hoodie and sweats- something she'd told him to come in whenever he picked her up from now on. She didn't want a repeat of their uniform disaster from last time.

"My step dad wanted food." she shrugged, bumping shoulders with him and starting to walk beside the blond.

"You should've just left him to starve." he grumbled, and Kou chuckles. He grabs her wrist abruptly, pulling her sleeves up and checking to see if she's hurt in any way.

Kou stops walking for a second, pulling up her other sleeve and sarcastically spinning around. "I'm not hurt, you idiot. See?"

"Whatever!" he huffs, "I'm just making fucking sure!"

She rolls her eyes at his paranoid behaviour. Kou looks at him from the corner of her eyes, observing the way the sun made his crimson eyes stand out and skin glow. Even though he's dressed in a way that hides most of his body and face, she can't help but think he looked handsome.

She doesn't even notice how long she'd been staring until Bakugou calls her out on it. "Take a fucking picture, maybe it would last longer, you pervert." he teases, and Kou snaps out of her daze.

"T-the fuck are you talking about?" she stutters out, and Bakugou laughs.

"You've been checking me out for the past five minutes, it's creeping me out." He smiles, and Kou blushes furiously.

"I wasn't!" she vehemently denies. Bakugou stops walking for a second, moving closer towards her.

"Really?" She steps back, trying to get away from him but ends up hitting a wall behind her.

He corners her, slamming a hand beside her head and leaning in. Kou tries to control her frantic heartbeat, looking away from her friend who's smirking mischievously.

"Liar." he whispers in her ear, and Kou feels her knees buckle. She can feel his breath on her neck, the heat coming off his body; it's suffocating and she doesn't know how to even form a sentence to retaliate when he's so close.

Bakugou seems to be enjoying the effect he has on her, using his free hand to grab onto her waist and pull her closer to him. She yelps in surprise, pushing a hand against his chest in an attempt to get him off her. "S-stop it! People can see us!"

No one was around, but Kou was still embarrassed at his rather public display of affection. He doesn't listen to her, pulling her closer into his chest for a hug. Her nose is dug into his chest at this point, and his head rests on top of her own. "So what? Just let them."

She ends up activating her nen and using the extra strength to shove him away. He looks angry for a second before seeing her bright red face and cackling. "You're such an idiot!"

Kou glares at her friend for laughing at her torture, stomping away in anger. "Whatever! I'm going back to the dorms alone, asshole!"

She doesn't get far before he catches up, grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with her own. Kou grumbles an insult under her breath, not bothering to look at him since she knows he's probably wearing a shit-eating grin on his face right now.

The two walk in silence to the subway station, heading to their platform to wait for the train. Kou still avoids all eye contact with the blond, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of paying him any attention. He deserved the silent treatment for a bit.

"Kou." he calls out, and she immediately caves in.

"What?" she grumbles.

"Look at me."

She hesitates for a second before reluctantly turning to face him. He's smiling and there's a glint in his eyes that spells trouble. "What now?"

The train is pulling up now, the wind from its speed blowing in their faces. Bakugou suddenly grabs her face in his hands, cupping her cheeks and bringing her forehead to his lips for a chaste kiss. Kou's eyes widened at his sudden action, the