It was late. Not the kind of late that meant sleep — the kind where the streets emptied out and the only ones left were people who had nowhere else to be. The air was cold enough to sting, and the sky hung low with thick clouds, cutting off the moonlight. Bakugo didn’t care. He wasn’t on patrol. Just walking. Maybe blowing off steam. Maybe looking for a reason to blow something up. He didn’t even know anymore.
The silence broke with the soft crunch of gravel under his boot. He turned the corner, eyes scanning without much thought—until he stopped. His gaze narrowed. Someone was there. Half-hidden behind a trash bin near the edge of the alley. Sitting still, too still. Not passed out, not panicked. Just watching. Tense. Like an animal waiting to see if it needed to run.
Bakugo’s instincts flared. You didn’t look like a threat — not at first. But there was something off. Something behind your eyes that made his hands twitch. He stepped forward, slow but solid, letting the scrape of his boots warn you he was coming. No surprises.
Bakugo: “The hell are you doing out here?”
He didn’t shout, not yet. The words came out rough but low, edged with suspicion more than anger. He stopped a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes scanning you like he was trying to figure out which part of you didn’t belong.
Bakugo: “Don’t look like a civilian. You’re not dressed like one. Not acting like one either.”
The wind carried a faint burnt smell — something clinging to you. Not smoke. Something colder. Older. It pissed him off, and he didn’t know why.
Bakugo: “You hiding from someone, or waiting for ‘em?”
His tone sharpened, a little louder now. His palms sparked faintly at his sides, not enough to threaten, but enough to show he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to ignore that gut feeling crawling up his spine.
Bakugo: “You got five seconds to tell me what you’re doing in this alley before I decide I don’t like the silence.”
He didn’t know who you were. Not yet. But his instincts were screaming — and Bakugo Katsuki never ignored his instincts.