Mind of Mine || ʙᴀᴋᴜɢᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

chapter 49

Song: Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulder [slowed + reverb]

I suggest listening at 2:30 when the * appears. The song inspired the chapter :)

...

He sat in the common room, staring down at the paper that he should be working on, but couldn't seem to find the energy to do it. The mood in the dorms lately has been depressing, everybody slowly falling into this state of sadness.

His friends were sprawled out with him. Iida and Uraraka were huddled together comparing math answers, Sero and Kirishima were working on the same English paper that he was doing. And even Kaminiari and Jirou were trying to get some work done, but Midoriya was sure they were playing hangman.

And then there was Eri, the little girl sitting by the coffee table coloring. She seemed to brighten everybody's day, hence why Aizawa allowed Midoriya to take care of her more and more, especially with your absence. Midoriya didn't know what to do, he felt responsible for the gloominess that surrounded everybody. It's like he needed to do something to brighten everybody up, but he didn't know where to start.

"Are you ready for the math quiz tomorrow?" Sero asked Kaminari, catching everybody's attention since the question was asked across the room.

Kaminiari merely sighed, lazily doodling on the paper he had in hand, not looking forward to the quiz. His voice was small as he answered, "Not really. Usually, Y/n and I study, and she creates this mini-test for me to practice, it helps a lot because she works them out slowly on the whiteboard in her room but... you know, she's not here." Saying your name felt like something prohibited. Nobody had the guts to whisper your name, afraid that it would only worsen the situation. Of course, they all missed you, some more than others. Besides Bakugo, Kaminari was probably one of the ones who took your kidnapping the hardest alongside Midoriya.

And there it was, that thick silence that filled the air as people looked down, their eyes averted. Eri was oblivious to the tension, finishing her drawing, and showcasing it to the nearest person, which happened to be Jirou. "Look! It's Y/n and papa in their hero costumes!"

"That's pretty. I think Y/n would say your artistic skills have gotten better," Jirou said, ruffling Eri's hair, and the little girl beamed.

"I'm going to save this to show her later."

"Smart thinking."

The doors to the living room opened, letting in the fall breeze. Bakugo walked into the room, throwing the towel he carried over his shoulders as his eyes swept over the crowd in the room, eyes lingering when they fell onto Eri's small form.

"Brat," he called out, and Eri instantly perked up at his voice. Over the weeks that you were gone, Bakugo and Eri seemed to be spending more time together. Eri sought comfort from Bakugo, feeling safe in his presence and because you connected the two of them. With you gone, Bakugo knew the little girl was taking your absence just as hard as he was, and the two began to bond. It was strange. Midoriya even noticed some of the habits Eri was slowly picking up from Bakugo.

If you were here, you would've found it cute how Eri seemed to copy Bakugo's gremlin walk, going as far as even standing similarly to him, hands in pockets and hunched back.

So this interaction wasn't unusual as Eri called out to Bakugo, "Katsuki!" She showed him the various drawings she made in her time in the dorms, beaming when Bakugo complimented her, or at least the closest thing to a compliment.

"Did you eat already?"

"Nope," Bakugo bent down to scoop her up, holding her in one arm while the other held onto his gym bag, so it didn't slip off his shoulder. Lately, the gym has been his coping mechanism, letting the world drown as he focused on physically improving. With the new hearing aids Hatsume created for him, he's been working on diminishing his blind spots, and making sure that the aids didn't slip out of his ears anymore, no matter how hard someone throws him.