Linger || Bakugo x Reader

"I don't know how to be like this. But I'm tryin'. For you."

Y/N grew up learning how to disappear.

She stayed quiet when it hurt. Took up less space. Learned how to smile when she wanted to scream.
She knows how to read people - their moods, their shifts, their silence - but she's still learning how to listen to herself.
Now she's twenty-one.
A pro hero with steady hands and a soft voice.
She tells herself she's fine. She always does.

Twenty-two, Pro Hero.
He's the same rough edged, explosive, quiet and aggressive guy.
But around her, it's different.

She's quiet, steady - and something in him wants to protect that.
So he keeps his distance. Not because he doesn't care,
but because he does. More than he ever had.

He's scared she'll get hurt.
Scared he will, too.
But no matter how far he pulls back...

she lingers.
In his head. In his chest. In all the places he thought were locked..