obstinate / todobaku

rise

"Shitty hair?" He growls under his breath, the words merely but a low rumble in his throat, "what the fuck are you doing here?"

Kirishima smiles his large, bright, annoyingly cheerful grin. "Sorry it took so long to find you. We had...business?"

"Whatever. And we?"

"Did you seriously not expect us to be here?" Ashido sticks her head out from behind the red haired wizard, her hands morphing into her signature move — a peace sign.

"I wish you weren't," he transforms into a cat and jumps out of shackles in a few seconds, and shapeshifts into a gorilla to break down the flimsy wall.

"You coming or not?" He calls. Kaminari gapes at him, electricity shooting out of his hands on accident, and Bakugou quickly shoots up into a bird to avoid it.

"You're telling me...you could have fucking left in two seconds, and we came down here for nothing? Dude..." false tears make its way to the edge of the dark blonde's eye. "How could the world be so cruel?!"

Sero appears, and slaps Kaminari upside the head. "He's a pro. Duh. I told you, coming here was a giant waste of time."

Kirishima grins, and Katsuki holds back a groan, "it doesn't matter," the redhead throws a wink over in Bakugou's direction, "because Bakubro will be stuck with us until we go back home!"

Thoughts enter his mind in broken fragments. Home...home is a small, cozy cabin in the middle of the forest, tucked away and protected in the safe haven of evergreen trees. Home is the warmth of throw blankets and a tiny fire, and...Shouto.

Shouto is his home.

His old home is a dark basement, hidden under dripping pipes and flickering street lights. His old house, that's the better word for it, is cold and musty, only seen by a harsh, neon yellow glow from passing cars.

The gang is his...old house.

"Are you coming or what?!" The pink haired witch yells, a good distance ahead of him. "I thought you said we were the slow ones here?!"

"Whatever, Witch Bitch," he retorts lazily, "I'll catch up in 1 sec, so don't go running your ass off about it."

~

"I bet you're looking forward to returning back home." Sero nudges him in the side, his tape elbows digging into his fur.

"Fuck off," he rolls his eyes, and morphs into his human form, in order to properly fuck the black haired dude off with his very useful middle fingers.

Then he's back into deep thought again. Is he really looking forward to returning to a place he never stayed in?
The house that's constantly filled with terror, panic, and screaming?

His brain can't help but compare it to the warm and quiet atmosphere of Shouto's cabin, filled with laughter and warmth radiating from the wizard's eyes.

"Hello? Earth to Bakubro?" Kirishima waves his hand in front of Bakugou's face.

Katsuki bares his teeth and snaps at the former. Kirishima jumps back just in time.

"You ok?" Kaminari asks, his brow furrowing in concern.

The shapeshifter waves it off. "Yeah, whatever, I'm fine."

~

And he's back. "Kacchan!" Jirou and Momo call from one of the smaller subsections of the large basement, "you're back!"

"Don't fucking call me that," he swats their hands away, ignoring the amused laughs. "Where's the food?"

"Where it's always been," Jirou answers, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Mhm. Oh, I'm going out tonight."

Several gasps echo around the room. "What?" Momo narrows her eyes, "don't you remember the last time you went out? We didn't see you for another two weeks!"

"And you just got back, too!" Mina complains, but acid bubbles threateningly in her cauldron. Her pink skin glows slightly.

"I'll be fine!" He exclaims.

"Dude, what's gotten into you?" The redhead's smile falters, "are you sure you're okay? Are you...tired of us?"

Katsuki doesn't answer, and leaves.

~

"Strongest alcohol you have," He grumbles, falling back into a dingy plastic chair, and takes the offered shot and downs it. His face twists into an expression of discomfort. "Fuck," he exhales, shakily, "more."

The bartender faces him with a worried expression, and Bakugou shrugs it off. " 's fine.   It's not like it'll matter much in the end, anyway."

"Alright...if you're sure," the other man's voice is tender, slow and worried, and something snaps inside of him.

"Fucking—ugh!" He slams a couple of wrinkled bills onto the worn wooden table, and gets up in a fit of fury. His feet carry him outside, the fresh, cool air cooling his nerves. His teeth are biting his tongue, preventing him from shouting anything crazy.

He stumbles around for a while. "Trash can!" He giggles insanely, "gray blob...du du dum! Gray blob, swimming in the city, du du du dum!"

"You know, you're a really crazy kind of drunk." A hazy figure comments, lifting him up. "I expected you to be more...angry."

"Blobs!" Bakugou cheers.

"You're a very cute human, too..." the blur muses thoughtfully. "Kinda attractive."

He can faintly register his face hitting soft fabric as he hugs the blob's chest, breathing in a comforting scent.

"Shouto?"