F O R E W O R D

an introduction and warnings

at a standstill is a katsuki bakugou fanfiction under the category angst and fluff. i'm actually doing a combination of angst and fluff, wow. and yes of course, angst never leaves my stories.

THINGS TO CONSIDER ;

[001] regular updates

[002] yuuei/ua probably won't be featured too much.

[003] concerning 002, it is because i am focusing on a non-action packed story where everything is purely fluffy and romance.

[004] these are the possible yuuei students may appear: todoroki shouto and yaoyorozu momo. (no, i do not ship them. it's a sin for a fujoshi, mygod;;)

[005] bakugou may be just a little out of character, no one can really capture his attitude. tbh it's vv hard to write how he will respond or react.

[006] there are absolutely no op ocs. as i stated on 003, this is not an action-packed fanfic. no sports tournament, no quirk assessment, it will just focus on bakugou and kaya, and their lives.

[007] if you're wondering if little miss oc has a quirk, it's a secret.

[008] the story has mild yaoi/bl involved, but kaya isn't a boy, definitely. the other characters will just be a part of the concept to make the story more fun to write, it won't be too disturbing for homophobics.

[009] there are certain triggering parts for those who has addictions towards cigars, alcohol and pills.

a / n ;

that's about everything! it'll be your choice to read it or not. it's not good to receive complaints when they don't like the theme. hey sweetheart, here's a foreword. one complaint to the theme from a complete skank would just be hilarious. thank you for being interested, if ever!

off you go to chapter one!

———

S P I C E S

A N D

S M O K E S

The city was devoured by night, conquered by stars and loomed over by the moon.

The neon lights from the nearby buildings and small stands were brightly lit up and the street vendors had the smoke coming from their grills mix in. The chatters of the civilians were amongst everything, and so were the light stepping sound of their footsteps.

Apart from those lit up signs was a small convenience store just by the alleyway. If you're sharp enough, you'll probably catch the sight of it. Not many people notices and comes by, so the customers were pretty much regular — those who live deeper into the compound. Not too much but not too few. Just the way most would like it.

Oh, and it might've escaped your notice, but a fifteen year-old girl owns the aforementioned store. While that would be surprising and a little illogical, it's actually possible — and it's pretty much real.

Kaya Tsumei was an out-of-school youth, but had money. Yeah, people questioned it from time-to-time, but after learning that a certain business was passed down to her by her deceased parents, they immediately understood. But if she had so much money on her hands, why was she an out-of-school youth? Nobody knew why. Weird kid. Not to mention she also had bad habits.

A chime rang out in the luminously lit and airconditioned room as a customer happened to enter. The person at the cashier, Kaya herself, smiled warmly at the customer, hastily tossing the crushed cigarette to the small portion of the counter underneath while the fire gradually dies down. Only then has she noticed that the customer was a regular; Katou-san.

She watched silently as he picked out a few carbonated drinks and some loaf from the top shelf on the fourth row. An amused hum thoughtlessly escaped from her mouth as she mused over his choice. Katou-san always ordered something like this, carbonated and bread. What a good son, probably. Doesn't even drink alcohol or smoke and he was twenty-five. Tough life.

"That'd be.." She looked at the wall clock for a short while, ".. on the house, I guess."

"On the house? Why?"

Kaya chuckled and wrapped his orders.

"It's Sunday. I close the store early at Sundays, remember?" Katou only blinked and let out a small smile, scratching the surface of his cheeks slightly.

"Right, right. Guess I was lucky to be the last then, thanks as always," He quickly accepted the paper bag with the store's logo on the front, carefully gripping the folded portion with a lone hand.

Right when he was about to leave, he followed a small reminder: "Stop smoking already, Kaya-chan. You're fifteen."

The girl cursed, she was definitely sure she hid that cigarette quick enough to not be noticed. The regulars were bugging her this month a lot about her long-lived addiction, semaphoring about possible lung problems. And so she tried to ease the regulars and 'tried', of course, to act like she isn't smoking as much anymore. She could only laugh at her failure.

"I'd do that when you stop buying those carbonated drinks and pieces of bread!"

And a faint, faded laugh was heard right before the chime rang once again.

She quickly tidied herself up and removed the store's signature cap. Serving the customers was lovely while being able to chat like you've known each other since birth. She never had too many friends back when she was still a child, since the ownership for the Yoake was passed down to her at the early age of eight. And from then on she have never seen the lights of school or friends around her age reiteratively. Although people helped her manage the store when she was young, so it wasn't a problem. It wasn't an issue as well. This lifestyle was better.

After that, she secured the money with a double lock and swiftly slid the keys in her pockets. She pulled the generator switch and left a note on the counter for the employees to see after she finished locking up. Yes, she had employees. They didn't exceed ten, though. She barely scraped by with a mere four.

Just when she was about to pull the metal covers that made a very unpleasant sound, mind you, she heard a rather grumpy voice behind her, which she didn't recognize. It wasn't a regular customer, definitely.

"Why the fuck are you locking up?"

When she turned around, someone who looked.. relatively grumpy as his voice greeted her with a scowl. He had ash blonde hair and red eyes that could be easily seen in the night as they flickered like scorching fire.

"I can't lock up?"

"Well yeah, because guess what, I'm going to buy!"

Kaya stifled a laugh as she found his attitude passably funny. He looked like a kid that got his candy stolen from the look on his face.

"What were you going to buy? I'll go grab some." Of course as the generous owner she was, it'll be free as well. What he will buy couldn't possibly be so expensive that she couldn't let it pass just once.

When he looked at her in disbelief, she almost rolled her eyes.

"How can I be so sure that you aren't some shoplifter of thief?"

She chuckled, "I'm the owner, sweet cheeks. Just tell me what you were gonna buy or I'm completely locking up."

"You're the owner?" Even more incredulity slipped from his mouth and Kaya just deadpanned, typical reaction from someone who've never heard of her predicament. It was something that can't be helped.

"That's it, I'm locking up, get out of here." When she was about to pull the metal covers again, a hand gripped her torso.

"Fuck, okay, wait stop! I need an instant ramen. The extra spicy one!"

Sighing for the second time, she pulled the covers and hastily unlocked the store. She had pretty good eyesight, so it was fairly easy to spot the instant ramen on big cups from the corner. Quickly picking out the one with an 'Extra Hot' sign, she headed to the generator to open up the heater. As she waits for the water to boil, she observed the grumpy boy who ordered it. He was muscular and had the looks, but the scowl and glare on his face seemed to be permanent. She was put out of her thoughts as the water poured down the cup.

When it soon filled up, she walked out of the store in a haste and finally, locked up. Luckily there were tables outside so she can serve the ordered food while being certain that the customer was comfortable at best.

"It's on the house, go ahead." She put down the cup and she saw the furrowing of his brows lighten up a bit. A bit. He still had that unfriendly demeanor.

Though she quickly realized that she gave two customers free stuffs and quite regretted it. But it can't be helped, she couldn't have foreseen that the last customer would come so late.

Giving no more thought into it, she pulled out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it up, smoke quickly being within view. She saw the strange look the boy gave to her and she chuckled.

"You smoke? You fucking look like my age."

"Ah, sorry, is it bothering you? I kinda got used to it. I'll turn around if you want, yeah?"

He just dismissed her with one hand and continued to slurp the noodles.

"Oh, and by my age, do you mean you're fifteen?"

"Mm."

An idea slipped into her mind.

"So what's your name?"

He stopped slurping the noodles and gave a reaction she didn't really expect. He buffed his chest and proudly stated:

"The name's Katsuki Bakugou and I'm going to be the number one hero! Don't forget it!"

And this time, she couldn't contain her laughter anymore. He was silly. Though she wasn't much of a fan on these.. heroes, or so they called them. She had quite the background on Allmight, and she knew that surpassing the aforementioned individual wasn't as easy as it seems to be.

"The fuck are you laughing about, bitch?" He growled and banged the table, and little bits of hot water carelessly flew out.

"It... It's nothing," She replied, trying to contain her laughter, "So where do you live around here? I live down the bunker, not a tough place to be honest."

"Why the hell am I being questioned?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about the probability of you being a regular customer here. Think about it, my store is perfect! Plus you can get a bonus friend which is...!"

He scoffed, "Let me guess, you?"

"Well aren't ya some sharp little shit, yeah, it's me! So what do you say?"

"No way in hell, bitch."

"Language."

"Smoke."

"That's very offensive."

"Whatever."

"Oh yeah, yeah, it's getting late kid. Go home alright?" Katsuki gave him his infamous growl while taking his cup of ramen and stomping away from her.

"I'm fifteen as well you bitch!" The shout rang out as an echo in the middle of the almost empty alleyway.

"Well who owns a business here?" She chuckled and waved, "I didn't hear a thank you yet for my generous lending of ramen! Be a good boy, Katsuki-chan!"

"Goddammit woman!"

She only cackled more at his reaction.

Wiping the table clean with her own bare hands, she slated for home. Even though she was alone and it didn't meet the requirements to be called as such, she still did so. It's good for your mental health. Thinking you were all alone and doesn't have a home to return to for warmth may not be so comforting, right?

Where she lived was pretty near. In fact, pretty near was actually an understatement. Because she lived just beside the Yoake Convenience Store. Stairs would be there, welcoming you to a vicinity as empty as you can ever imagine. Dark as if no one wanted to see the light; silent as if everybody was tired of living in noise.

Life was.. mediocre, in some sense, to Kaya. For almost seven years and a half, she has been used to living on her own. Company was welcomed, but it just wouldn't be the same. It seemed like her best childhood memories consists of sketching figures on the walls alone in an empty room, cooking her first meal only to eat it in a dining table where only she sat and entering a house full of the scars of her memoirs.

Kaya was independent. Maybe a little too much.

She unlocked the door and turned on the dim yellow light. Dirty disheveled clothes were scrambled on the floor and barren bags of chips continued to take refuge on the wooden table. She didn't have the energy to clean this all up — that was tiring. And as a matter of fact, she was very, very tired.

Tired in both ways possible.

Kaya puffed one last smoke and threw the creased cigarette out the open window. She took out another pack from her pocket and lit one up, the smell of domestic smoke greeting her with a light hum.

As she looked out the window, she failed to notice the tears run down her cheeks, battling with the fire igniting the cigarette.

- - -

Yoake: the convenience store Kaya owns

ONLY IN THIS STORY, THESE TERMS MEAN:

Blond : light hair color

while Blonde : light color

blond and blonde are commonly regarded as for male and for female terms respectively, but this term change was something i just changed. thank you.

ALSO, a quick missive for the story themes:

{ at a standstill } contains triggering material. there are mentions of smoking, alcohol and mulling over self-harm.

smoking is not okay. it's not cool. it's not a requirement to be 'in' today. it is NOT a trend of sorts to follow.

understand that some smoke because of fun, but there are people who smoke because they don't have a choice. they can't put down the habit no matter how hard they try for their family or for themselves because once you get addicted in something, especially drugs and other harmful habits, it is not easy to let go. if you're smoking for fun, stop it before your lungs give up on you, before you realize what you're doing isn't right but it's too late. if you can't do it for others, do it for yourself.

i did not make kaya, my oc, one who is /addicted/ to smoking just for the hell of it.

it's to give you all an insight on how hard it is to fight off pleasures, especially long-lasting ones. i want kaya flawed, i don't want her to be someone you look up to because she's apparently 'cool' with all the smoking. she's not. i want the readers to look up to her because she was able to do something good, a change for the better. because she chose herself.

any themes about hinting self-harm, please do not attempt. it's awfully tempting, an escape you're so drawn to. i have been. i'm too much of a coward to try it, so i'm encouraging you all to be a goddamn coward too and fear for your fucking life. try and survive. busy yourself with things: writing, designing, knitting, drawing, singing, dancing, studying, anything! distract your mind from that particular section.

i know what's wrong seems right, but let's all try and be rational.

don't smoke, don't drink too much alcohol and don't self-harm. as for drugs, try vitamins instead of them. keep your health up and stay strong!