Warm Beverages

~~~UA Present Time~~~

Katsuki Bakugo woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air like a man starved for it. He supposed he had been, judging by how his lungs hurt when they were refilled with oxygen. He sat up in his bed, letting the tangled sheets fall from his chest. The air felt colder as it hit his skin, reminding him that he was drenched in sweat. At least he hadn't set off his quirk in his sleep. Maybe he should've taken a page out of blushing Red's book and installed some panels of his own.

He ran his overly callused hand through his messy hair, unsure of if it was the nitroglycerin from his hands, or the sweat that made it damp. It had been so long since he had that nightmare. Feeling like he couldn't breathe. Like he was drowning in an ocean of slime, unable to tell up from down. Unsure if he was blasting himself deeper, or closer to the surface. Powerless.

Taking another deep breath, he glanced over to his cat on the bed next to him. It's green eyes were wide, looking at him as it blinded sleepily. The cat may be deaf, but it could still feel Katsuki's sleeping movements in the large bed.

Sighing, he leaned over to his bed stand and opened the drawer, taking out one of the immaculately stacked towels inside. Wiping the sweat off his hands, he reached his palm out towards the little guy. Lord Explosion blinked owlishly, before rubbing against his outstretched hand, purring. Katsuki let the vibrations of the purs run through his arm until he no longer felt starved for air. The slime attack had been too damn long ago to be feeling like this still.

A 'mew' filled the empty air, breaking the chains of silence that had settled on him. He snapped out of his thoughts, tired red eyes locking with tired small green ones. His cat looked at him expectantly, and Katsuki let a half smile form on his lips as he grunted.

"You're trying to con milk out of me for being woken up, aren't you?"

Lord Explosion kept eye contact, before letting out a louder meow.

Katsuki scrowled, but gave the cat a scratch behind the ear anyway. "Manipulative bastard. You've been spending too much time with Red, seeing as you both keep trying to con me out of food. I should start saying no to her visiting you. Fuck knows why I say yes in the first place."

Small green eyes stared at him incomprehensibly, unable to hear the sounds falling from his lips. Probably for the best, with how hoarse his voice sounded.

He pointed a finger at the cat sternly, narrowing his eyes. "I'm only going because I want some water, got that? Me getting you milk is just a coincidence."

As the cat rubbed against his hand again, purring, Katsuki knew he had lost. Whatever, it's just a damn cat. It can win this one time.

Katsuki walked over to his closet, wiping his forehead with the black sweatband on his wrist. Grabbing the shirt from it's designated spot, he pulled it over his head, scowling as it felt tight around his arms. He would never admit it to himself, but the shirt made him feel better. It was black with a band logo on the front in red ink. The logo belonged to the band he listened to as he trained, ever since he first felt the crackling across his palms. It really showed how far he has come since highschool, since it barely fit over his biceps and broad chest.

He remembered how distracted Red had been by the sight on their first day of the dorms, and smirked to himself. He didn't know a lot about his next door neighbor, unlike his other neighbor, who was his best friend. There were a few things he did know, though. Like how she didn't use a last name. He had thought it was a fluke when Aizawa didn't provide one on the housing chart, but it was confirmed over and over again as she introduced herself to everyone as Olivia. Just Olivia. Not that it mattered. When school started the teachers would use her last name, just like everyone else.

Splashing water on his face, Katsuki continued using this train of thought as a distraction from what he had woken up from. He knew she was friends with the Monkey and some purple haired guy that visited often, making his jealousy rise for reasons he was trying to talk himself out of. Afterall, the woman seemed more irresponsible and impulsive than anyone he had met. This was only confirmed by Kirishima when Katsuki had asked him about his neighbor's room. The chick had a fucking mini bar in her closet, of all places.

Lazily kicking his feet into slippers, he made sure Lord Explosion was on his bed before opening the door. He started walking down the stairs, hands in his sweat pockets.

He also knew she blushed pretty easily, making it a fun game to see just how deep of a red he can get her. He was satisfied that no one else seemed to get this reaction out of her. Even at her drunkest, she didn't have that tell-tale alcohol flush, making it his victory and his victory alone. But everytime he would lean in to get a closer look and make her blush deeper, the alcohol on her breath would bring him back to reality, reminding him exactly why he was keeping his distance-

Katsuki came to a stop when he saw her. He cursed himself for forgetting their little encounters at night over the past week. Humming to herself as she glided around the kitchen was the very person he was using to distract himself minutes earlier.

Her hair was messy and her pjs were rumpled, as if she had been tossing and turning as well. She had two mugs in her hands, and his emotions flared despite his war against them. Is that why she had the sound panels up? Does she sneak a guy into her room that often? Is he up there now, waiting for his drink? It's not like he cared, Katsuki argued with himself. He only cared because he didn't want to be hearing them in the middle of the damn night-

"If you're done staring and assuming, I made you a drink too."

Red's snarky voice carried from the lit up kitchen towards the emptiness of the dark living room he was standing in.

He let out a scoff, annoyed at being caught this time. "You sure it's for me, and not that purple extra that keeps visiting?" He strode over, hands in his pockets as he ignored her gaze, opening a cupboard.

"He has a name, you know." Red huffed at him. He could hear the exhaustion lining her voice though, something he had gotten used to over the past few nights. It seemed whenever he woke up or couldn't fall asleep, he would go down to the common area, and she'd be there. He was starting to wonder if she even slept at all, actually. And how her body could handle being drunk 24/7 with no sleep. There was no way she'd be able to keep this shit up once classes started tomorrow.

Red continued, handing him the mug. "And no. It's for you, you jerk. I heard you coming."

He scowled as he took it, making sure that she didn't think he was going to say a sappy 'thank you' or anything. "Yeah right, Red. Everytime someone as much as taps you on the shoulder in the living room, you jump out of your damn skin. Even when it's quiet."

It had started as a joke, seeing how often he could surprise the woman and get that surprised noise out of her. It pissed him off though when the other extras started surprising her as well, causing him to watch with a scowl as the invisible chick got the best reactions out of her. He brought his mug to his lips, secretly enjoying how the warm liquid brought back color to his skin.

Red looked at him for a moment while fiddling with her hair, like she was debating on if she should tell him something. Finally she took a sip of her own mug, simply saying, "It wasn't quiet then for me. It's quiet now."

There was the reminder again, the whole reason the woman frustrated him to no end. "Tch, that makes no damn sense. It was dead quiet that time since Ponytail and Icyhot were studying. What'd you slip in your drink tonight, brandy?"

Red glared at him, turning away to wash her mug in the sink. "I'm sober right now, not that it's any of your business."

"Yeah, whatever." He scoffed. Katsuki put down his mug, feeling weird insulting her while drinking something she made for him. It's not like he asked her to make it anyway, so he shouldn't feel bad, he told himself. But he didn't pick the mug back up.

She strode out of the room, before sighing and turning around. "Goodnight, Katsuki. I hope you don't have any more nightmares." Then, she left. Leaving him with his mouth open like an idiot.

If Kirishima told the woman one more goddamn thing while the two played video games, he was going to demolish his Red Riot poster.

Damn traitor.

For how little Katsuki knew about her, Red seemed to know everything about him. He decided then and there, he was going to make it his mission to uncover everything she's hiding. Even if it fucking kills him.