How Do You Like Me Now? // Pro Hero Deku x Reader

Make It Hurt

[6 Days Later]

The night air is a sweet relief from the day's humidity. It'd been a struggle to readjust to the swelling heat of a Japanese summer ever since you'd returned and the past several nights you'd snuck out during the night to enjoy the cool breezes that came after sundown.

You sit out on the balcony on a foldout chair, knees pulled up under your chin as your eyes sweep along the bed of lights that spread out below you.

Musutafu was a beautiful city at night, especially for those who had a good view of its skyline –which Bakugou's penthouse apartment most certainly did. You'd been staying here since the Anniversary dinner, after which you'd sent your PA and the rest of your team back home with the promise of returning in time for the Annual Ranking Ceremony which was now only hours away. But you hadn't packed a single thing.

This morning before Midoriya left for patrol, he'd stopped in the doorway and turned to look at you.

"Doll, about tomorrow—" he started. But you cut him off with a kiss, told him to be safe and come back to you in one piece.

You'd known what he was going to ask.

Will you go to the Ceremony?

You couldn't answer him. Frankly, even thinking about attending it sent your stomach churning. And now, with just hours remaining you still hadn't conjured the courage to arrange your flight. Your inner critic had been both ruthless and relentless in its retorts all day.

Some No.1 you are, you can't even face him. For a Pro Hero, you're a real fucking coward. You'd be lucky if he hasn't told all your mutual Pro friends back at home what a cheating whore you are.

You had spoken to Adrian only once since that night. He'd called yesterday afternoon to check in on you and the gesture alone sent you into a spiral of self-hatred. He'd sounded distant and cold but regardless you'd spoken to each other for two hours, answering all of his questions about unresolved admin issues for the Ceremony.

You were expected to give a speech which he had graciously offered to do for you in the event that you didn't feel up to it.

Even now, you'd thought, as heartbroken as he is, he still somehow manages to be so civil, so kind.

You'd struggled to keep yourself from sobbing into the phone and hung up in a hurry. You couldn't have hated yourself more than in that moment after the line went dead.

Midoriya had come home to find you crying on the bedroom floor that evening and held you against him without a word. You'd been in a pensive mood ever since and Midoriya sensed it. It must be why he'd rushed home early from work today to be with you.

You appreciated the gesture but you'd found it hard to be around him since that phone call –almost as if you'd been punishing yourself for everything.

You'd left the No.1 asleep in his room an hour ago to come out to your cherished spot on the balcony now. It was difficult to sleep with all that way going on in your head.

Bakugou probably wouldn't be home until tomorrow afternoon as he was away on a mission in a neighbouring city. So you would be free to sit out in the cold as long as you pleased tonight without worrying about him coming to haul your ass back to bed if he caught you.

As you sit in the dark, your mind swims with thoughts. You're so lost in the midst of it all that you don't notice when the sliding door squeaks open behind you.

You startle as you feel two large warm hands come to rest on your shoulders but are immediately at ease at the sound of his voice.

"Can't sleep again?"