User blog:LastPaladin2021/Chapter 6: A Couple. Darkness in the Family.

I woke up with my arms around Renaru, and I ended up blushing. He looked so adorable, he was curled up against my chest, blissfully smiling. How could the twin brother of such a jerk like Bakugou be so attractive? He was kind, gentle, and patient. He was scared of confrontation, of course. But... he was just so adorable! Wait, no, calm down the thirst, Momo.

He's just another roadblock Mother decided to throw in my way... an extremely positive, adorable roadblock, but one nonetheless! He stirred against my chest, his arms were so strong... No, keep those thoughts about him in check! You're going to be a-

"Hahhhh... Morning, Sweetie!" He chirped, sitting up and getting his glasses and bands. He was shirtless.

'Oh no! He's... he's HOT! What kind of regiment was he doing?! Was he drinking protein powder?! OH MY GOD!' I thought, my cheeks flushed.

"You okay, Momo? You're lookin' a bit..." He sighed, leaning up to kiss my forehead. My blush worsened when I looked down at his pecs. 'He's... he's... his pecs are in my face!' I thought. He separated, still concerned.

"Mm... you're not hot... so... wait! I got it, you stay in bed! Be back in ten!" he cheered, getting up and putting on a shirt. I didn't want him to. He was built like a brick wall, but... a warm, fluffy, and shaky one. I heard the turning on of a stove and a warm humming. What was he doing? Was he...? No, he couldn't be, I thought he didn't like me.

I heard the sizzling of a pan and Renaru's cheery humming of 'Flight of the Valkyries.' Then I realized he was singing.

"Cookin' for Momo, cooking for Momo, cookin' for my wife today! Cookin' for Momo, for Momo hooray!" he sang.

'Hehe... that's cute...' I thought. Still thinking about how cheery he was.

"Now where did I put the bed tray? Hm... Ah! Okay, here it is! Thanks, Soul!" he giggled, I heard his footsteps step carefully towards our room. I saw the door open and there he was, with a huge tray of western-style breakfast food. I looked at him in shock.

"What? Surprised? I'm not expectin' you to be a housewife, so... I'll be a househusband! I mean, if hero work doesn't work out... A-anyway! Uhm... Coffee or tea?" he asked. He was so cute when he would ramble.

"Tea, thank you," I answered bluntly.

"Okay! I'll get started on that! Then I'll plan out what we've got today!" he said, leaving again. He was committed to this.. wasn't he? He came back with two mugs, one had tea, the other had coffee. His smile was wide.

"Hey! I'm back, Momo! Here! One mug 'a tea for you, coffee for me!" he cried, handing it to me.

I took it and set it on the tray.

"Why are you so committed? Did you not want this?" I asked. He looked downcast. Almost pitiful.

"Well... I... I wanted to know what it felt like... what it felt like to be a husband... Y'know..." he muttered.

"You're beautiful, a rare genius, and a stunning hero candidate... and... I'm just a guy who won the quirk lottery, I almost killed you, and I don't wanna make that mistake again," he sighed. That gave me a new window to see inside of Renaru Bakugou. The only reason why he was so committed was that he wanted to know what it felt like.

"Do you like the food? I know that your quirk takes a lot of biomass... so..." he muttered.

I took a bite of the pancakes, drenched in syrup, with a tiny bit of butter. I felt like I was sent to heaven. I groaned a bit, and he grinned.

"You like it? I knew it! Haha!" he cheered, I didn't just like it, I loved it! I knew that he was giving it his all, being the concerned hubby looking after his oddly acting wife.

"I was scared that I wasn't a good cook! Seems like Katsu's lessons came in handy!" he sighed in relief.

"I'm just... I'm sure you don't love me... I just don't want it to be loveless, you know? When I first saw you... it was like a bolt of lightning hit my heart, harder than Ibara and Mei, and stayed there, Momo... you don't have to love me to be happy with me," he admitted.

"What? No, that's not-" I gasped. He looked up at me expectantly, it has been a week since the arrangement, and I had a lot of time battling my emotions.

"It's okay, enjoy the breakfast, Momo," he said warmly. Taking his coffee and a biscuit and leaving me be. Dammit. I was helplessly in love with him, and he's convinced I don't love him? Renaru...

Dammit! Way to screw it up! I made breakfast for her and her just... she just... FUCK! I stared down at the biscuit Soul was eating. Taking a sip of my now cold coffee. She didn't have to ask that, of course, I was! What husband ISN'T committed?! I know that it was sudden, but dammit, Momo Yaororozu was cute! She let me sleep in her arms last night!

The first week we fell asleep with a huge pillow wall between us, now we're CUDDLING?! What kind of world is this? I told her what I felt, and she... she... wanted to say something. I heard the door open.

"Renaru?" she asked, and I looked away. She was so pretty with her hair down, and her pajamas so bedraggled. She looked just like anybody else, but... she... looked so much different, too. She was beautiful, and I was just dorky...

"What?" I snarled, gaining an edge to my voice.

"I wanted to say... I wanted to say sorry for the terse way I asked those questions, I know you... you love me, and I... I..." she stammered, her cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree with only red lights.

I stood up and walked over to her, taking off my bands, letting them drop to the floor. I grabbed her dainty, strong hands in mine, my rough, unpracticed hands that shook slightly, and leaned over her.

"I..." I started, feeling her lips on mine. She was smiling, and I could tell. It was only a week since we met, but...

I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I wasn't always the smartest guy, but... I could tell when someone liked me. The number of times she checked me out outnumbered in the teens. She always cared in little ways, like when I was studying for a math test and fell asleep towards the end, I woke up with a blanket wrapped around me and a fresh cup of coffee waiting for me in a Soul mug.

She separated, "Thank you for breakfast, Renny-pie," she teased.

"Wha? Hey! Don't call me that! Only my Mom gets to call me that!" I objected.

"Alright... alright... I want to ask you something," she said.

"Yeah, what?" I wondered.

"Do you want to go see the new Endeavor movie? I have tickets for the press screening," she said.

"Oh... my... God... MOMO, SHUT UP AND TAKE ME ALREADY! I wanna go! Man, Mr. Endeavor's gonna flip out when he sees me again!" I squealed, hurrying to get dressed. I was so excited! A press screening meant he might be there! He WILL be there! I modeled my exercise regiment, fighting style, and general persona on his! With my little quirks of course. He's gonna see me and flip out! Man, what a time to be alive!

I came out of our closet wearing some casual clothes, with my hands in my coat pockets, seeing as it was still a little chilly outside. Momo went in and I sent her a smile. I was waiting for her when my phone buzzed. It was Katsu.

Hey bro, whaddya gonna do today?

Eh, I'm just gonna go to the new Endeavor movie with Momo later, 'til then I guess we'll just wander around...

I'm glad you two like each other.

We kissed.

It took a couple of minutes for the reply, but it was funny.

What. The. Fuck?

I giggled and grinned, my brother can be a comedian sometimes.

"Renaru, what do you think?" Momo's voice asked. I looked up and my heart stopped. She was wearing a cute jacket, it was long and thin, her shirt was a pleasing shade of carmine, and her pants were just jeans, but she looked stunning.

"Uh... ... Stunning!" I sputtered. She smiled and we handled the breakfast dishes before we left our little house on campus. I linked arms with her, my eyes closed. This was my first date with her! We walked into the train station to go to the swanky districts Momo usually haunted. The disconnect for me took longer to get used to. There were stores for everything!

Momo giggled as I pointed at everything.

"What's that?"

"A clothing store?" she asked.

"OH MY GOD...! I've never... I've never... you have MULTIPLE STORES for everything?! And it's so clean! Wow... wait a minute..." I calmed down to see that her hair was still down, as much as I liked it, it was oddly bothering me.

I pulled a hair tie out, "Hold still, Momo," I said, getting behind her and tying her hair back into her signature ponytail. There, now she's awake. She looked up at me and borrowed the mirror that I used to check for stuff in my teeth. The sparkle in her eyes told me that I did a good job. I grinned.

'Hehe! And the award for 'Most Attentive Husband' goes to Renaru Bakugou!' I thought gleefully, she grabbed my arm and yanked me into a store. I looked around, and there were rows and rows of clothes, normally Mom would just get Katsu and I's clothes from some chain store, only splurging on our coats and other essential seasonal wear.

I wasn't prepared for how long it took, or how much money we were spending, I have just been whisked away on a spending spree of mammoth proportions.

"Wait! Hang on, Momo!" I gasped, trying to match pace with her. I was watching for the bobbing ponytail, and I found her talking animatedly with another girl. I caught up to her with gusto, using a jump jet to land. I skidded in, my smile wide as I drew myself up to my full height.

"Show off," Momo scoffed.

"That's one-way t' put it, babe, I'd say that it was warranted. Gotta practice for when I'm a hero, yeah?" I asked.

"Well... in a store?" Momo sighed. I blushed, looking behind me to see nothing being disturbed. Just some smaller items jostled and some fading ash.

"Was it loud?" I asked, my wife, giggled, then started to laugh at my dumbfounded and rubbery expression. I steeled myself, looking to the other girl.

"Momo? This is your husband? He's quite the... firecracker," the other girl commented. She was more chubby, eating something, probably chips, but the bag was too fancy, everything was fancy here. Fancy cars, fancy foods, fancy men and women, and even my WIFE was fancy!

"Well... he is a little flighty..." she admitted. I plunked down, knowing that I needed to stretch. I removed my bands and got out the stretchy strap, my arms and hands were fine, but my legs needed to be loosened because of the jump jet and skid I did. I stretched.

"So what's his problem?" Mochi said, munching on her chips. I felt a pang of anger in my chest.

"Problem? He has no problems. You're crazy, Mochi..." I sighed, seeing my husband doing his stretches, he had a smile on his face, albeit a confused one. He switched legs and stayed laying back and stretching. Soon he slid his bands back on and kicked on his shoes.

"Well... your mom has good taste..." she marveled, motioning to his chiseled arms underneath the armbands. I was shorter than him by a tiny margin, but he looked bigger. He was never intimidating, he was a rough and tumble kind of man. I hooked my arms around his arm and stuck out my tongue at her.

"Huh? What's up? She botherin' you?" he asked.

"No, Mochi is just an old friend, are you done?" I asked.

"Yeah, M' done..." he drawled with a smirk on his handsome face. He grabbed our bags and we left the store. Most of our purchases were for parties and other more formal functions. He was uncomfortable with the whole enterprise of being here. I knew that the whole 'early screening' was just a way to get him out of the house.

He had to be with me at my parent's company's gala, he'd have to chase off my other suitors. Not just that, but I knew he'd get a kick out of being at a fancy party. He looked around and became withdrawn and nervous again.

"We ain't goin' to the movies, are we?" he asked.

"What?! How did you know?" I gasped.

"I keep an account of what we got, an' y' got me a suit. They're only worn at premieres, and the premiere of the new Endeavor movie was last week, y' didn't have to lie about that," he sighed, not looking hurt, just disappointed. He wasn't glum though.

"Yer gonna take me to somewhere your parents are gonna be pompous an' you want me to bring some... 'Commoner Sass?' Am I right?" he wondered.

I nodded, and his smile was enough to send me into a smile myself.

"Well, there's good news for you, I got a can of Sass and a can of Whoop-ass, an' I don't have a can opener!" he said. I cocked my head in his direction.

"Oh! It means I got sarcasm, and I'm able to kick anyone's ass that'cha need me to kick," He explained.

Later on, after all the shopping was done, and we went out for a bit to eat, I was busy gettin' ready for this... 'party' as if, none of these people know how to, I'd bet my bands on that. I'd bet my life on it, but I value it too much to let it go. I cracked my knuckles, wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt and a white tie. I put on my glasses.

Looking in the mirror, I didn't see Renaru Bakugou, I saw Renaru, but he wasn't a Bakugou, he was someone else. I wanted to take off my tie and suit jacket SO BAD. Ties felt like mini nooses, and the jacket wasn't practical, but we needed to cover my bands. I was shaky, not infirm! Momo came up behind me. She was wearing a short white dress and her hair was in a fancier ponytail. I grinned, taking her hands into mine.

"Let's go then," I said. This wasn't a charity ball, it was a family thing, where I had to play some dumbass role to the other guests. That role was the goddamn dancing, 'Oh mommy, look at the commoner!', monkey! I kept my rage down, this was only for a few hours, you can handle it. Momo squeezed my hand and I squeezed back, she was leading me right into the jaws of death.

A fancy party where I was outta my element, the band was a goddamn orchestra, the food was barely even FOOD, and every second glance at me and Momo pissed me off. I was seething and we barely were here for five minutes. Momo seemed to sense this and pulled me aside.

"Renaru, baby, look at me," she soothed, I looked into her eyes.

"Just focus on me, okay?" she asked.

"I'm tryin'... I'm tryin' Momo... but every little thing 's botherin' me..." I growled. She grabbed my face and brought it closer, one more inch and we'd lock lips.

"I know it bothers you," she sighed.

"Then can we go? I don' wanna be here..." I groaned.

"Renaru, it's going to be alright," Momo assured, her silver eyes shining. I made myself look small and shadowed her closely. I couldn't stay away from her, this was the only way I could be comfortable. Her mother and father were here, and he sent me a smile. I returned it.

"So, Mr. Bakugou, how do you like the party?" her mother asked.

"Well... uhm... to be honest, I don' see the appeal," I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. I was a downtown boy married to an uptown girl. Their house was practically a palace. I practically married a damn princess. I didn't like the look on her mother's face, and I immediately became wary.

"I see, it seems that your husband isn't used to our ways," she said. Momo looked downcast and nodded.

"Of fuckin' course, I'm not... It takes time, Mrs. Yaoyorozu. I feel so outta place here..." I sighed.

"I know the feeling, buddy..." Mr. Yaoyorozu assured, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and patting me on the shoulder. I just edged towards Momo and stayed by her side.

"He's unpracticed, must we be related to such a... roughneck?" Mrs. Yaoyorozu asked.

"Well, look at our girl, if she's happy, then there are no problems," Mr. Yaoyorozu reasoned, smiling at us. At this point we were awkwardly swaying to the music, we were smiling shakily at each other, still trying to cut through the red tape surrounding our relationship.

There wasn't much to tonight, but I noticed Momo's smile was kind of... plastered. Like she was faking the whole time. I decided to do something for her, out of my hand came tiny embers of explosions, flittering into the chandelier at the top of the ballroom, blotting out the light.

I smiled, and looked down at her, she was looking up at the chandelier, seeing the embers waiting patiently.

"What's your plan, Renaru?" she asked.

"I'mma show ya that my quirk ain't just destructive, wait for it... wait for it..." I cautioned, spreading my hand out, then, in a shower of small pops, came softly falling embers of sparks. I smiled, they whistled out before they could do damage. My ember shell was my first shell aside from Atom.

Atom was my first dangerous shell that I developed completely by accident. I glanced over to my wife, who was in awe at how beautiful it was. I smirked. 'Mission accomplished, Major Bakugou, Momo's happy.' I thought, my smirk going into a full-on grin.

"Hmph, pompous," her mother snapped, I didn't react. I just danced with Momo, finally feeling like I could get used to all this. So what if everything's fancy? I have a gorgeous wife who can handle my bullshit. So what if I'm a 'commoner'? Momo has my back. We both didn't want it at first, but now? I can't imagine anyone else by my side through all of this shit.

Renaru's whole demeanor changed after the ember chandelier trick. He was more confident. I wish I could say the same, Mother's eyes boreholes in the back of my skull, judging me as heroes do to the wicked. Renaru guided me away from her and my father so that we could talk.

"Momo, I know that your mom is a hardass. I know that yer tryin' to make the best of our situation, but..." he segued, grabbing my hands.

"You don't have to worry about if you're good enough around me or not, you ain't outclassed by me, you're equal, always. How 'bout we blow this popsicle stand an' go home?" he asked. I leaned against him, my smile small. I loved the smell of him, like burnt sugar mixed with his deodorant. He wrapped his arm around me.

"Hey, Mr. Yaoyorozu, Momo an' I are headin' out!" he called to my father, my father smiled and waved goodbye.

We arrived back at our home with tiredness seeping in, Renaru was carrying me despite my insistence that I could walk perfectly fine. He denied it.

"You've been wearin' six-inch heels tonight, your feet must be murdered right now. 'Sides, I like carrying you," he supplied. I laid against his chest, hearing his heartbeat drum softly in my ears. I wondered how he got this way, this strong to just effortlessly carry me like this.

"Renaru? What was your motivation to get strong?" I asked.

"I wanna show the world that guys like me can be heroes, and take care of those I care about one day... Without limits, without safeguards, I wanna show that through hard work an' determination guys with Quirk Palsy can beat the odds and win! If I become the strongest, that's enough proof, yeah?" He asked.

"I guess..." I mumbled, and he looked at me with a serious expression.

"Momo, you can get so much stronger, too! Anyone can! Now get some sleep, got it?" he grunted.

I did a mock salute, "Yes sir, Major Bakugou!" I chirped.

He smirked, taking off his suit jacket and tie, leaning against the bedpost.

"Whew! I'm bushed... Do shindigs like that take that much outta ya? This is for future whatever-the-fuck-it-is," he huffed, getting into bed alongside me in his pajama pants.

"Future reference, darling, it's a future reference," I corrected, he got defensive.

"I know what the hell I said, I jus' don' like complications! That's why I shorten my speech a lot, bein' a walkin' thesaurus isn't all that great when nobody understands what yer sayin'," he sighed, taking off his glasses.

"Why do you wear those?" I wondered.

"'M farsighted, can't see shit far away, but up close is free real estate..." he explained. He leaned towards me, pecking me on the forehead. His burnt sugar smell mellowed out but was still there. I wound my arms around him and curled up against him.

He chuckled, "Don't get too comfy..." he teased.

"Shh..." I hushed, lazily placing a finger on his lips. My eyes were closed, but I could just feel his nervous blush. He was a small space heater of a guy, warm like a fire, Soul never came out now, only residing as a black tattoo on Renaru's right arm. I felt his free hand undo my ponytail, running his fingers through my hair.

"Goodnight, Momo..." he sighed, losing the rough edge to his voice and leaving a gentle sigh. It was rather cute how he could lose the roughness that his brother had. Yes, his temper was just as, if not more, than his brother's, but in those moments it was mostly justified.

I surrendered to the sliver seas of sleep, with not so much as a complaint.

(*Boom*)

I petted Momo's hair, hearing her soft sighing breath. She was honestly a mix of pretentious and adorable. I couldn't stay mad at her at all. I wasn't mad, I was just frustrated. Why did her mom hate me so much? I didn't do a damn thing to her. Why did she stare daggers at me the whole time? It frustrated me because I didn't know what I did wrong.

Did I do something wrong just by being intimate with Momo? Or was it because of my condition? I couldn't control it, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. Or my balance being off-kilter. Was it the fact that I was an 'outsider?' Hell if I know, I'm just her daughter's husband.

I slowly felt the haze of sleep come over me, wrapped in the arms of my wife. This Saturday was a long day, but a day I never wanted to forget. It was my first real date, and I was extremely proud of myself. I never let anyone else corrupt it. I buried my face into her hair, my eyes closed finally.

I loved the warmth, seeing as the night was here, I had no dreams as usual. I woke up early, my eyes bleary and full of gunk, seeing Momo still curled up against me. I decided to get up and start breakfast. But... she held me down. Her face was buried into my chest, her shoulders shaking with sadness.

I held her tighter. My hands shaking, but I still held fast. She was in tears, even if I didn't know why I had to stay. I had to hold her tight. It was my duty.

"Shh... Shh... let it out, Momo... let it all out," I comforted, I'd never done it before, so I didn't know what exactly to do. Of course, I heard her voice grunt and coo, rubbing her face on my chest. So was that good?

Honestly, finding what she liked and disliked was a crapshoot. Even watching her wasn't a good indicator. I stroked her now a messy cascade of hair, she let out a wet and rattling breath, heavy with sadness. My chest was wet with her tears. I needed to know why she was crying.

Momo finally looked up at me, her cheeks had tear tracks on them, her eyes red from the tears. I took a corner of the sheets and dried her tears with it. I kissed her.

"What's the matter, Momo-bug?" I asked I gave her that pet name as a counter to Renny-pie. She didn't answer.

"Momo-bug, c'mon baby..." I whispered.

"I..." She warbled out.

"I... I... wanted to know..." she sniffed. I was still coaxing it out, being gentle and speakin' without the edge of roughness to my voice.

"You wanted to know if I knew that yer mom was trying to get a rise outta me, right?" I guessed, getting a tentatively cute nod in response.

"Nah, she'd hafta hurt you or Katsuki, then I'd wipe her off the face of the Earth," I said, meaning every word. She knew I was stronger than I looked. I nearly leveled the training ground. I'd still get stronger, there was something with my quirk and general potential. I was truly limitless.

I still found more and more plateaus to reach. More and more powers to attain. Mom always got a lot more distant every time she heard I blew something up with a shell that I just developed. There was something off about my family. Not only did Mom never speak about her upbringing, but she also never talked about where or who we get the fancy silver envelopes full of money from.

That's why I wanted to find the truth, I wanted to find out who our mysterious benefactor was. I had an odd feeling that it was someone she wanted to scrub from the history books. Someone that was still around. Someone... someone that I remembered.

"Renaru, you're spacing out..." Momo advised.

"Oop! Sorry! I was... thinkin'," I mumbled gently, my eyes clouded in thought. I shook the clouds away once I realized that my darling was okay.

"How about I cook today, hm?" she asked.

"Is it gonna be good? Y'got some sorta experience right?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, I do, you worry too much, now stay in bed," she commanded.

"O-okay!" I gulped, taking the tray and setting it up. I was panicked a bit. What if Momo was just lying? No, trust is an important part of any relationship! Besides, maybe she learned from someone, she is a fancy type, after all. I sat there, sending Soul out to keep her company. I still had to think.

Who was that guy? Who was that guy who sends us all those envelopes? Why does Mom hide the letters that go with 'em? There are too many elements to this to pin anything down as fact. Katsuki and I tried to investigate a lot, but we only got as far as Dad's blast-proof safe.

I dismissed those thoughts, thinking about what kind of names I'd give Momo and I's future kids, I wonder what she thought about them, too.

I'm only fifteen, and I've got the rest of my life to figure this shit out. My training's been going well, and weekends were always breaking days. I looked in the mirror near our bed, looking at the same arm that I used to punch Refractor Man all those years back. It turns out that in the blast I cut up my arm and hand pretty well, leaving jagged scars.

I always admired Endeavor, but he never got scars, he never knew what it was like to have your back up against the wall. He wasn't fake, but... I had an odd feeling about him. Like something was wrong. I get these odd gut feelings about people, it's not like a normal instinctual thing, it's heightened due to my condition and Mom's overprotectiveness.

Mine was going off around both him, and the blast-proof safe Dad had. There's no correlation between them, I jus' wanted to show an example. Momo came back in with... something. On a plate. She set it down on the tray and my gut feeling started up. I poked at it gently.


 * PUHHH!* a huge cloud of steam rushed out of the odd... Ripley's Believe it or Not specimen. I gave a shaky smile.

"L-looks great, Momo! Hehehe... hahaha haha... ha..." I faltered off, and I must've gotten an odd look on my face. I raised my hand...

Momo flinched.

Why the hell would she be scared of me? I'm not my brother! Then it hit me, the fidgetiness, the confidence issues, that sadistic drive to impress people... She was abused. My Momo, my wife, the smartest, most beautiful, most kind girl... was abused.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she yelled, bunching up and shaking. It shattered my heart, I couldn't do anything about it. But I did. I put the tray aside, gently pulling her to my chest. She continued to shake. Tears rolled gently down her cheeks. Maybe that's why she was crying last night.

"Shhh... hey, I didn't mean to. You know me, Momo... I'd never dream in a million years that I'd hurt you... who did it? Who hurt you?" I asked she didn't answer, burying her face into my shirt and breathing in my sweet scent. I buried my face into her glossy black hair.

"I-it... was back when I was five..." she admitted. We were gettin' somewhere, thank god.

I was just a child back then, and I knew I was the only one of my family with such a powerful quirk.


 * CRASH!*

My mother always... always found some fault with me...

"YOU ASININE GIRL! A REAL HERO NEVER SHOWS SUCH CLUMSINESS!"

My mother would hit me, and I thought it was because I was a bad girl...

"Mommy! Mommy, no! I'll be good this time! I-I promise! Put the belt down, please!"

I became more confined to my room, I was safe there, warm and happy.

I saw Renaru's face turn from one of rage to one of understanding, I had to continue.

Then this arrangement came... and you... you helped me understand that it's alright to make mistakes.

I looked up at him, kissing him, "You saved me from all of that... thank you, Renaru..." I sighed blissfully, feeling his warm hands dry my tears.

"As long as you're here, it's okay to make culinary abominations, it's okay to sleep against my chest, because that's you, Momo. You're bein' the real you. Not some hackneyed attempt at dreams gone by... I care about you because I don't see a failure... I see a beautiful girl that's perfect just being who she is... I see Momo Bakugou, the woman I married," He sighed, picking up my attempt at breakfast.

"I'mma go call the SCP, I think you made one..." he joked dryly. I laughed gently.

I found someone that loves me for me, and it took an arrangement I didn't even agree to. I fell in love with someone I never thought I could love...

My own personal hero, my other half, my darling husband... Renaru Bakugou. The man who fervently and vehemently believed that he could be a hero, with passion and drive the size of Everest. He was training hard, every day he did, even today.

"HAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed, blowing a training bot back with an intense explosion, I was watching him train so brutally and so stubbornly, ignoring the shake in his steps and hands.

"I gotta... I gotta break my limits! I gotta surpass them! I gotta make Mom proud! I gotta make Katsu proud...! BUT MOST OF ALL!" he snapped his finger up in the air, smiling with that unabashed confidence.

"I gotta make my Momo proud of me! So I can fight on with the knowledge that everyone has my back! No hero is alone!" he yelled, charging up a blast I've never seen before.

"NEO MISSILE SHELL!" he yelled, and a bolt of energy flew out and blew up the robot. He fell to his knees, his smile wide.

"S-rank... S-rank..." he mumbled proudly once we left the training center, he was smiling widely.

"I got an S-rank... I did... Oh... oh my..." he still mumbled. He was so cute when he did that. I wrapped my arm around him, and he smiled.