Bakugo's hand gently caressed her head; his fingers feeling the ends of her cut hair. "You actually cut it," he observed. He tilted his head slightly to get a better view of her face, his side cushioning into the dark brown cushion of the couch.
She smiled at him and gently reached up to hold his wrist. "Yeah," she said, looking at him. "I want a fresh start."
He nodded. "So what's going to happen?" he asked carefully. "Are you going to live here now?"
She shrugged, dropping her hand to her lap. "I don't know if those kids have serious lasting injuries ..." She looked down at her lap, and Bakugo's hand fell to her shoulder. "I almost killed them." Her voice wavered again as the air in the room thickened. "I really am my mother's daughter."
An overwhelming anger flourished in Bakugo's chest. "I don't wanna hear that crap from you," he said, looking at her with weak, furrowed brows. "Don't make stupid excuses, either." He inhaled while looking at her. "Your actions have consequences." He looked down his nose at her. "Don't shame your mother ... or yourself." He crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his tongue. "Tch."
Tsuki's face went a shade of pink; she fawned at him.
Bakugo blinked slowly, as if he were fighting an eternal battle just being near her. "What made you snap?" he asked after a long silence. "Did they provoke you?"
"They laughed," she reminded him. "They— they started to come near me and I ..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at her hands.
"You never fully explained what happened between you and those kids," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I wanna know—what started it?"
She looked at him, annoyed; Bakugo always knew how to ask questions at the most insensitive times. "What do you want to know?"
"You got bullied by some stupid brats," he said with an eye roll, "but what really happened?"
"Someone like you, who was raised being praised and with a gold spoon in your mouth, wouldn't get it," she spat, eyeing him. "We get it. You're great."
Bakugo glared at her. "The hell?" He threw up his hands, which slapped against his thighs. "I was being serious—"
Tsuki sighed, annoyed. "Yeah, they bullied me," she said, shaking her head slightly. "You already knew that."
"JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his fingers on his bicep. "STOP BEATING AROUND THE DAMN BUSH LIKE YOU DIDN'T JUST TELL ME TO ASK YOU!"
Tsuki furrowed her brows. "Stop yelling at me," she said, flicking his arm. "You brash, spiky-haired idiot."
"What did you call me—"
"Anyways," she said with a shrug, her stomach nodding at the negative tension that slowly began to form. "They just made fun of my mom a lot." She said slowly. "And they used to follow me home and at school and stuff."
Bakugo's face faltered. "They followed you home?" he repeated.
Tsuki nodded. "They'd throw my notes away," she added. "They'd curse me a lot too."
Bakugo laughed at her. "That's it?" he scoffed, grabbing a small decorative pillow from behind him and tossing it into the air and catching it. "They said a few bad words and threw away a couple of measly papers—"
"Katsuki," Tsuki muttered, her bloodlust slipping through.
"He actually laughed at me ..." she thought, feeling a swirling in her jaw. "Was he serious ..."
Bakugo's shoulders compressed inward; a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. His hand grabbed at his chest for a moment, as though he were feeling that sensation of falling from a great height. He swallowed hard and looked over at Tsuki, who scowled at him so intently it made him sick to his stomach.
"I haven't even said anything yet," he thought, looking at her and trying to control his breathing. He coughed hard. "Tsuki— your bloodlust—" Tsuki released it, and Bakugo sucked in a deep breath of air, gasping. He rolled his neck between his shoulders. "It's been a while since she let it out full throttle like that." He exhaled slowly. "What the hell?" He looked at her, confused. He flicked her forehead and glared back at her. "Don't make that face at me." He rolled his eyes. "So, what? I laughed. Whatever."
Tsuki exhaled. "I didn't like that." She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "I need him to leave," she said, looking at him as her eyebrows knotted together. "That's why I'm always so vague. I hate telling you crap like that."
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "I'm listening."
"No," Tsuki said angrily, glaring at him. "That wasn't funny."
Bakugo sunk into the cushion, placing his feet on the coffee table in front of him. "You're acting like they hit you or something," he said, jerking his neck with sass. "They're just stupid kids." He looked over at her, angling his head up because of the way he was slouched.
Tsuki didn't meet his gaze; her jaw clenched. She began to get up from the couch and dusted her hands off.
Bakugo's hands twitched. "Did they actually hit you?" he asked, watching her tug on the bottom of her shirt. "Those guys put their hands on you ... they ... hit you?" His heart skipped a beat; the heat from his body flushed his face. He got up quickly and stumbled over the coffee table. His socks thumped against the floor. Tsuki was walking toward a room with a cracked door open. Bakugo grabbed at her wrist. Tsuki flexed her arm—her bicep momentarily piercing her shirt—and flung her arm out of his grasp.
"Tsuki ..." His voice was gentle, as if he had forgotten to breathe. He grabbed at her waist, stopping her as her hand grabbed the door handle of her room.
She spun around, looking at him, then stepped back as the door pushed open. Her feet carried her into her bedroom, her socks sinking into the carpet.
"Wh-what?" she asked, looking away behind her as a candle lit the room with an amber glow. "I can't right now—" She put her hand up between them. "Did you think I was crazy?" Her heartbeat was nauseating. "You really ... upset me ... you laughed at me ..." She placed her hand on her neck. "You ..." Her breath went shaky. "You laughed at me."
Bakugo felt his knee quiver, his fists tightening involuntarily. The room seemed to shrink around him, the weight of his anger and underlying concern pressing down on them both. He took a step back, breathing heavily, trying to regain control.
"D-don't cry," he said quickly, lifting up his hands. "I—"
Tsuki looked at him, red tears rolling down her cheeks. "I—" she began, then looked at him darkly. "I need you to leave, Katsuki."
Panicked, he threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't tell me what to do," he growled, picking her up off the floor.
...
Authors note: I actually hate this chapter so much I want to die.
