Now I had a class to teach in three days, but nothing to do till then.

I looked around at my apartment, trying to think of something to do. It wasn't really made to be lived in, I was rarely here anyway. I eventually decided to take a walk, something I needed desperately.

My muscles hadn't been worked in about a week thanks to Tomura and his abandonment issues. I was weak.

I ventured out into the bright outside, sun gleaming down at my face, the smell of warm food stalls drifting through the breeze. I pondered taking Nessie for a spin.

Think of your muscles (Y/N)!

Man, fuck my muscles.

I'll walk later, I have the time now anyway. I got my bike, slipping my helmet on.

"Oh yeah," I wrapped my hands around her handles, "It is good to back baby."

(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)/(/)

I rode and rode and rode some more, looping around fountains, waving at passersby. I was riding calmly down a street when a shadow loomed over me. I looked up and was met with a crotch. A leg followed, and eventually a boot.

"Hey Mt. Lady!" I yelled up at her, waving.

"Hey sugar!" She yelled back. I rode on, leaving her to her hero work.

I rode down the Main Street, looking around at everything I missed. I was tempted to go by the agency, but I knew Chiharu and Daichi would have a fit.

I finally stopped at a coffee shop near the agency, hoping to see one of my co-workers pass by. I entered, taking off my helmet.

After getting my coffee, I sat down in the bay window which was not stolen from me by a purple-haired insomniac.

I closed my eyes, sighing and laying my head back. It was peaceful. The calming hum of voices and machinery in the coffee shop could have lulled me to sleep. Until I felt eyes on me. I switched on my x-ray setting, allowing me to see through my own eye lids.

I saw Shinsou standing a few feet away from the window, staring at me in awe. I switched off my setting.

"Are you gonna stand there or are you going to ask me how I am?" I said, eyes still closed.

Silence.

I opened my eyes, looking over at Shinsou.

"Hey."

"Hi." He must have realized he was staring because he shook his head, looking away. "You're back."

"I'm back." We smiled at each other as I pulled my legs to my chest, putting my helmet on the floor. "Sit." He sat, and we both sipped our coffee in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So are you ok?" He asks finally.

"Physically? Yeah? Mentally? Eh. It'll be hard for me to do certain things now, but it might pass." I swirled my cup absently, looking out the window. I mean, I hope it does. Technically, I don't even know if I can or can't do it. I just know that when I think about doing it, letting someone hold me like that, it makes my skin crawl as if it's trying to leave my body.

"What do you mean?"

"Tomura didn't kidnap me for something sinister. Let's put it that way. He didn't touch me, not it that way, but he did hold me. A lot. It'll be hard to let people hold me for a while. When I think about someone having their arms around me like that, whispering in my ear and smelling my hair, all I think about is him. I can't stand it." I stared down into my cup through the little hole in the lid.

"You mean he loved you?" Shinsou asked. I looked up and our eyes met.

What did he do to you?

I'm not exactly sure, I thought to myself, but I'm not the same.

"I didn't believe it either." I sighed, closing my eyes. "But enough about me. How are you doing? How's hero-ing?"

"I'm alright," Shinsou said, deciding against asking details, "my roommate is a crackhead as usual, and it doesn't help my insomnia. He tries to help, but he just can't. It's actually quite endearing."

I laugh and Shinsou gains some color on his usually pale face. "At least he tries."

"That's true." He chuckles.

We talked for a while, until our drinks were gone. Even after, we stayed in the small bay window, feeling like philosophers and discovering the secret of life. We were really telling each other weird stories about our lives, but that may has well been the secret to life, the universe and everything. We were swept away by the beautiful simplicity of talking over coffee, that we didn't notice the sky dim and the street lamps turn on. We only noticed when a nervous looking teenager in an apron came to tell us they were closing.

"Well, I better get home." Shinsou says once we've departed the coffee shop.

"I should too I guess. I have all this time with my mandatory leave and no idea how to spend it, so tomorrow is just another day of riding around the city I guess." I sigh, adjusting my helmet under my arm.

"That blows. Maybe we could make plans." He suggests. He shuffles his feet, nervous.

"Yeah, maybe." I say, smiling at him. "I would like that.

His face gains color again and he nods. "I'll text you."

We took a few steps in silence towards where my bike was parked. "You do have a ride home right?" I asked.

"My apartment's just a few blocks that way and to the right." He said, pointing in front of us.

"I can drive you there if you like. It's no problem." I say.

"You really don't mind?" He asked.

"Not at all."

We arrive at my bike and then it dawns on me. Fuck. I drive a motorcycle.

"I clearly didn't think this through but that's ok. I'll be fine. Right?" I asked myself silently, getting on.

"You're sure you'll be ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, just don't squeeze to tight when you hold on." I say. I contemplated putting Shinsou in front of me and holding the handles around him, but he's taller than me even without his added hair-height. He'll just have to sit behind and hold on. I'll be fine. It's Shinsou, not Tomura, Shinsou not Tomura. Ok. I'll be ok. Right?

He got on behind me and I handed him my helmet.

"What about you?"

"Safety of the passenger comes first. My other helmet is at home, but I'll be fine." I take sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on so my eyes wouldn't dry out.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Are you?" Shinsou's arms hover around my waist. I gulp, exhaling and revving the engine.

"Not to tight." I exclaim before taking off.

Shinsou's grip was gentle, but whenever I would stop for a stoplight or turn his grip would tighten ever so slightly out of reflex, making my breath hitch in my throat until he loosened it again.

At one point in the short ride, my eyes started to water, whether it was from the wind whipping around my head or Shinsou's arms, I don't know. I blinked them away and kept going.

Finally, Shinsou told me to stop at a building.

"This is it," he said, stepping off. "Thanks for the ride. Are you ok?" I took off the glasses and wiped my eyes. His face contorted with concern.

"It's from the wind drying out my eyes don't worry. But I guess I should thank you. You helped I think. I'm trying to get over a fear slowly, and that helped me move past my irrational fear of being held. Thank you." He smiled, still looking at me with sadness.

"Anytime."

"Do I need to walk you in?" I asked, laughing. "Explain to your roommate why you're out past curfew?"

Shinsou laughed in return. "Yeah, I'd like that."

We arrived at his door, which was painted with geometrical shapes to fit the modern aesthetic. Shinsou fumbled with his keys, finally slipping one into the lock. He turned it and pushed open the door.

"Hey stupid, there's a guest," he yelled into his seemingly uninhabited apartment. He turned to me and whispered, "I'm so sorry about him."

Before I could respond, I heard my name.

"(L/N)?"

Yo yo yo I'm back.

My heart 🥺💞💞 You guys are the best, I'm so lucky to have such amazing fans. I'm also at 91 followers, so that's mind blowing as well! Thank you thank you thank you.

Two questions for you guys: would you guys like for me to drop little fun facts about The Analyst book at the end of each chapter? Things that I think you should know, or things that most definitely happened to the characters in this story but didn't make it into a chapter? Things like: one day when
(Y/N) and Bakugo were hanging out, they got hit with a song quirk and had a Teen Beach movie moment and did a song and dance routine in public. Let me know.

Secondly, I would love to talk to you guys and get to know you! With that said, what if I dropped my Discord?

Over and out.