Symbiote (MHA x F!READER)

7 | Time

Bakugou froze, his face flushing deeper. But before he could bark a response, she lowered the bra with an exaggerated sigh. "But I guess it's a little too classy for you, huh?" Her words were a thin veil over her growing impatience.

He stormed out of the store, curses flaring behind him like smoke. She didn't care. She didn't want to.

"Let's just go," (Y/N) muttered, shoving past the others, her steps deliberate, heavy.

They followed her, but the air felt thick, suffocating. Something was off, and the quiet weight of her presence left an uncomfortable space between them. She wasn't okay. Pretending to be was something she had stopped doing a long time ago.

· · ─────── · · ─────── · ·

"Oh, (Y/N)! Try this on!" Denki called out enthusiastically, holding out a black leather jacket to her.

Her eyes flicked over the jacket—her face an unreadable mask. Denki's energy grated on her nerves. She didn't smile. Didn't laugh. She just took the jacket from him, her fingers curling around the fabric without a word. The air around her pressed in, too tight, and she pulled it closer, as if the silence could drown everything else.

'They're annoying.'

The jacket's collar scratched at her neck, but it didn't matter. 'I'm just here. Not part of this.'

Her thoughts were a dull hum that didn't match the group's playful banter. She wasn't like them. She didn't belong with them.

· · ─────── · · ─────── · ·

When they walked out, the night air cut through the tension. The group scattered, each going their separate way. She felt it—the distance, the cold—the same bitter sensation that clung to her wherever she went.

"Goodbye, (Y/N)!" Mina's voice reached her, bright and cheerful.

"It was fun!" Denki chimed in, his grin infectious despite the barrier she'd put up. "We should do it again sometime!"

Y/N muttered something that resembled a response—"Of course"—but the words rang hollow, flat.

Just as she turned away, a soft thud of footsteps echoed behind her. Mina, rushing back, caught her off guard. Before Y/N could pull away, she found herself enveloped in a hug.

The warmth was a shock to her system, a jolt that left her stiff. She stood frozen, unsure of how to react. This wasn't her. She didn't let people close. Not like this.

"I had fun today! You're super cool and a good friend!" Mina said, pulling back slightly, her cheeks tinged pink with a shy smile. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but... after earlier in class, I thought you could use a hug."

Y/N blinked slowly, the words catching in her throat. She couldn't speak. Couldn't find the right response.

Mina didn't notice the tension that lingered like a cloud between them. She hugged Y/N again, tighter this time, before pulling away with a wide smile. "Consider me your friend from now on, 'kay?"

Y/N didn't smile. Didn't even nod at first. But after a long, suffocating pause, she gave a stiff, hesitant nod. "Yeah... okay."

Mina seemed content with that, flashing a bright grin before rejoining the others. Y/N stood there for a moment, unmoving, processing the sudden invasion of warmth. It was too much. Too fast. She didn't know how to handle it.

Without thinking, she pulled out her phone, added herself to Mina's contact list, and winked before walking off into the night. She wasn't alone now—she was never truly alone—but for the first time that day, she felt it.