Detonate ((BAKUGOU KATSUKI X OC))

Chapter 9

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

Bakugou observed Courtney on their way off of campus as she trudged along beside him. She swayed as she walked, and her eyes were only open enough to see where she was going. Luckily for her, there weren't too many people walking the streets in the current weather.

"Mm... hmm," she nodded off, knocking her head against his shoulder before shooting back up again. "The nightmares exert my strength, so..."

Bakugou took her by the elbow like he had earlier that day, and guided her down the sidewalk into a nearby coffee shop. The scent of espresso filled the air, and the warmth of the indoors made Courtney sigh in content. Bakugou slid her into a booth by the window.

"Wait here." He instructed before walking off. Courtney rested her cheek in her hand with one eye open, and watched as Bakugou spoke with the cashier at the counter.

He returned with two coffees and a pastry bag, and set them down in front of her while he took a seat on the other side of the booth. He split the pastry and gave half to her, and gestured she eat it as he turned his attention toward the window. Courtney blinked slowly as she watched him, and tentatively brought the cup he brought her to her lips. He seemed gentler, then, and it made her gaze linger on him as the silence continued.

Her leg shook from under the table as flashes of her nightmare appeared in her head. She winced, and remembered how Bakugou's voice sounded when he called to her in her dream. He sounded distant and urgent, like he feared something bad may happen. But when she looked at him now, he was uncharacteristically calm.

"Are you sure you're up for training?" Bakugou asked, looking at her reflection in the window and noticing her stare. "You seem dazed still."

"I'm fine," she cleared her throat and looked at the table. "I can still whoop you, even like this, so you have nothing to worry about."

Bakugou looked at her from the corner of his eye now. "Do you remember any of your dream?"

Courtney quickly looked up at him at his question, brow furrowed defensively. She seemed to be a lot more alert, and sat up a little straighter in her seat.

"Why do you care about that?" She asked him a question instead.

"It directly has to do with your Quirk," Bakugou shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "Maybe starting to remember them will help stop them altogether."

"You really think that'd work?" Courtney had a hopeful twinge to her voice that piqued Bakugou's interest.

"If it's really that much of a problem," Bakugou acted like he didn't care one way or the other. "It couldn't hurt."

Courtney looked down as she pondered his advice.

"So?" He pressed, shifting fully to face her with his elbows on the table. She met his gaze. "Do you remember anything?"

Courtney remained silent as she hesitantly searched her brain for any remnant of her previous nightmare. She closed her eyes as she concentrated, and felt the familiar panic forming in her chest as her heart began to beat faster. She remembered heat and searing pain, a scream, and the sound of Bakugou's voice. She remembered the flames and the way the snow crunched under her bare feet.

"It was really hot," she recited as she went over the thoughts in her head. Bakugou watched her calmly, and had a subtle glare on his face as he concentrated on her. "There was no escaping the flames..."

"Aren't you heat resistant?" Bakugou sounded perplexed.

"I am..." she nodded slowly. "But in my dream, I don't think I was, not yet, at least."