Palm Trees ✓ (☁⛔)

11; バタフライナイフ

Tomura decided that the easiest way to mingle Bakugou into the league was to slowly introduce him into some of the more eccentric members, ie: Toga.

"When Bakugou is up for it, you two should go to the mall. He should get a few things at least since he's agreed to stay" He told the easily excited girl. She grinned and skipped away, humming something about making a  outfit list. Dabi, who was passing through, scoffed.

"She's so weird"

"You're just as weird, pretty boy"

"You need glasses" Dabi laughed, walking away. Tomura rolled his eyes. He went about and sat next to Compress at the bar. Kurogiri stood in front of them, leaning on the counter.

"Need something?" The warp-quirked man asked Tomura nodded, giving a glance to Compress.

"Bakugou is going to stay. He'll be helping you in the bar so you can have free time and help is out more" he told Kurogiri.

"So he doesn't want to be a villain? How trustworthy is he?" Compress asked, tossing  a marble with his hat in it from hand to hand.

"He's had bad experiences with the heroes and most adults in his life. He doesn't want to be a hero or a villain but he wants to help us. So either way all we have to do is earn his trust"

"How do we go about that?" The magician continued.

"We treat him the same as we would a member. Technically he is one anyways. So is that fine? Because honesty the kid needs some sort of support and he hasn't gotten it from anywhere else"

Kurogiri laughed, "You already love the kid, huh?"

Tomura sputtered making Compress laugh along with Kurogiri. "I do not!"

"It's sweet. No it isn't" he heard Twice say from one of the booths behind him. Tomura covered his face. Bakugou just needed a support. It wasn't his fault that he could only provide a brotherly bond for the blonde kid.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Bakugou ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

When Katsuki woke, he was met with an empty room and a light body. Since he had been able to regress more here his stress levels were practically zero. Except when he thought about the sludge villain. At the thought, Katsuki brought a hand to his throat. He took a few deep breaths. He was fine. It was safe here. He was safe here.

He left Shigaraki's room and sat outside of the door. He gripped his shirt. He needed to take a shower and change his clothes, he realized.

"What the fuck am I doing?" He asked himself. He then laughed, "I can beat Deku now. I don't need All Might. I'm okay now. I've got Shiggy an' everyone here. An' I'll have dad soon. I don't– I don't need to be a hero..." He sniffled, surprising himself. "I don't need right be a hero" he never did. All the expectations, the stress, the late night studying only to break down and cry. He could've just been with the League.

"I could've... I should've–" he cut himself off with a strangled sob. "I didn't need to be a hero. I could've just–!" He had spent all that time happy. He was so happy here. He didn't have expectations, he didn't have anyone yelling at him, not one telling him to be better.

Katsuki hunched over, holding his shirt with both hands now as he cried. This whole time he could have been in this free, relaxing place where there was no unhappiness. The footsteps sounded and he quickly wiped his tears.  Dabi stepped towards, bright eyes scanning him.

"You alright?" The man asked. Katsuki's breath hitched as he nodded "Y'know, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to" Katsuki stopped the man by shaking his head quickly.

"I wan' t'ere–" He stumbled over his words and huffed.

"Try again, kid" Dabi smiled. Katsuki nodded. He took a breath before starting again.

"I want to be here" he told the scarred man.  "If... If I can... I want to stay here"

"As long as Shigaraki is fine with it, then I'm fine with it. You deserve some freedom, kid"

"Being a hero was hard" Katsuki sighed heavily. Dabi sat next to him. "I had to be so perfect. I couldn't... it was" –his breath hitched violently– "was too much" Dabi nodded in his peripheral vision.

"I was supposed to be a hero. It's hard, huh?"

"'S too much" Katsuki replied, leaning into the man which provided a soothing feeling. The man noticed, yet said nothing. "My mom too... She's always mad at me. I didn't... I kept my grades up... Why did she...?" Katsuki would've laughed a few months ago if someone told him that he'd be spilling his guts to a villain. But here he was. "Dabi? Do you ever... Do you ever just want to hug someone?"

"Of course"

"But... I wanna just hold on forever. Is 'at normal? Am I weird? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Kid, you've had a tough time. You're whole life I can bet. It's normal to search out some sort of support. And if you want to hold someone, that's okay. If you want to be a kid and make up for your lost time, that's perfectly normal and okay.

"Kid, you can do anything you want to here. No one judges. Except maybe Twice. But he's got two personalities. Just take whatever he says first to be real. It's safe here, I can promise you that"

Katsuki's lip wobbled significantly, his eyes stinging. He sniffed, rubbing his eyes harshly to keep from crying. Dabi shifted, moving an arm to settle on Katsuki's shoulders, pulling him into a side hug.

Katsuki whined as the tears slipped down his cheeks and dropped into his shirt, which he moved to cover his face.  He apologized as he cried.

"It's okay, it's safe here" Dabi consoled.

Word Count: 990