The hospital was kind of a blur. I was in and out of consciousness most the time and had no idea what was real or a nightmare. I woke a few days after the incident surprised to find myself laying on one of the big comfy couches in the living room back at home. I was completely surrounded by plushies, there was a mountain of new ones overflowing on a recliner and spilling to the floor around it. I vaguely remembered all of Class 1A, and Class 1B visiting me in the hospital, with the exception of Bakugo, everyone who visited had brought me a plushie, even Monoma, though I had a hunch Kendo might have forced him.

The coffee table was littered with vases filled with bright flowers. There were dozens of brightly colored and glitter bedecked get well cards in a neat little letter box sitting on the floor next to the mountain of plushies. I noticed two familiar plushies tucked under my arms, the orange hedgehog that Bakugo had gotten me before, and the blue cat that Todoroki had gotten me. There was another new plushie, it was a super soft fluffy unicorn. I was struggling to remember where it had come from. When did I get home?

A horrifying thought crossed my mind, was it all a dream? I heard the shrieking of grating metal in the back of my mind and almost fell off the couch. Panic gripped me, "Dad!"

I heard a clatter from his bedroom and some hurried rustling before his bedroom door swung open. He too was covered in bandages, his clothes were somewhat askew and his hair was damp, he'd just been in the shower. "Princess, what's wrong?"

I felt ridiculous and bowed my head apologetically, "s-sorry. I scared myself."

My mind started to clear as the panic settled and I unconsciously hugged the unicorn plush closer to me as I remembered who had given it to me. In one of my few moment of consciousness in the hospital, I'd woken to Shinso holding my hand. Present Mic and Grampa Torino were with me while Dad and Mr. Aizawa went to talk to the parents of all my classmates. I'd been simultaneously startled and relieved to see Shinso and burst into tears. He panicked and shoved the fluffy unicorn at me in an attempt to get me to stop crying.

Dad noticed me hugging the plush and smiled, "don't apologize, it's alright for you to be scared." He straightened his shirt stiffly due to his bandaged arms and joined me in the living room.

I smiled as he gently lifted the pillow I was resting on, propping me up so he could sit down. I felt safer with him beside me. He gently smoothed his hands through my hair and all the scary noises that had been echoing in my mind faded away to nothing. I felt myself start to relax.

There was a thundering knock at the door, startling us both. I squeezed the plushies tightly against me and tried to keep from letting out a whimper as I envisioned the scary white Nomu on the other side of the door. Dad gently shifted me so he could get up and answer the door.

"Dad." I panicked as he moved away.

"It's okay." He reassured me and went to see who was at the door.

I struggled to sit up, clinging tightly to my plushies as I waited in a state of perpetual terror. Dad reached the door and paused as he spotted whoever was on the other side. He opened the door and smiled at whoever was there.

"Young Bakugo, is everything alright?"

Bakugo? I felt my heart skip a beat. Dad stepped aside so he could come inside. My heart raced as he stepped through the door. His crimson eyes fell on me cowering on the sofa clinging to my plushies for comfort and I saw him clench his fists tightly as he was consumed with rage.

"I'll blow those bastards to bits, till there's nothing left." He growled and it looked like he was about to turn around and do exactly that.

Dad blanched and placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from whatever foolish vigilante mission he was about to set out on, "ah, I understand the sentiment but, let's put a pin in that for now." He steered Bakugo inside. "Could you sit with Amy for a moment, I'll make us all some tea."

Bakugo slowly trudged past the mountain of plushies, "scoot over, crybaby." He grumbled but it lacked his usual gruffness.

Dad looked like he was about to reprimand him until he realized I'd smiled at Bakugo's words. He quietly retreated to the kitchen as I made some room. Bakugo dropped onto the couch beside me. It was the first time we'd seen each other since we'd been captured.

"Thanks for trying to save me, Katsuki." I offered him a small smile as I remembered how he'd comforted me when we'd been captured and how he'd tried to stop Shigaraki from hurting me.

Dad made some kind of alarmed choking sound in the kitchen and dropped the kettle in the sink as he'd been filling it with water. "Katsuki?" He said quietly to himself, "they're on a first name basis too? When did this happen?" I was starting to worry about the conversations Dad was having with himself. "Calm down, they went through a traumatic experience together, it makes sense...oh god, I'm not ready for boys."

Bakugo's cheeks reddened and he seemed completely oblivious to Dad's mini meltdown in the kitchen. "Shut up, I did a terrible job and you ended up saving me again in the end, I knew you were there somewhere." He grumbled. His usually fiery crimson orbs, lacked their usual flare. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and his hair was even more mussed than usual. It looked like he was losing sleep.

"Are you having nightmares too?" I blurted before I could stop myself. Even if he were, he'd never tell me.

He looked over at me and I saw his eyes cloud with guilt and realized it wasn't nightmares, he looked awful because he felt guilty. I opened my mouth to try to reassure him but my words fell away as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug.

A soft panicked squeal escaped me, "Ah...Katsuki...what are yo-?"

"Shut up, you're the one that said they were magical, idiot." He growled as he hugged me tightly against him.

I prayed Dad wasn't facing our direction and wasn't about to turn around and spot us. The next moment I heard him make another strange choking sound and cringed as the kettle fell in the sink a second time. Amazingly, he managed to keep his cool and resume the task of making tea.

Tears welled in my eyes and I slowly allowed myself to relax into Bakugo's strong hug. I hugged him back, "they are pretty magical, I feel better already." I smiled. "How about you?"

I saw the faintest hint of a smile but he hid it behind a cocky sideways smirk, "yeah, yeah, whatever." He huffed as he released me from his hold. His smile fell as his gaze flicked to the thick bandages around my neck. Guilt darkened his crimson gaze.

I offered him a smile, "thanks, Katsuki."

His cheeks reddened once more, "I don't know what the hell you think I did to deserve thanks." He grumbled.

"You tried to protect me from all the scary things...and comforted me when we were captured...and even now you made me feel better." I managed a bright smile.

Bakugo's face flushed and he looked away from me. "...whatever...you don't need to thank me..."

Dad returned with tea. He took a moment to find a surface to set the small tea tray down on. Every nearby surface was covered with flowers. I felt warm and relaxed with Dad and Bakugo at my side. My eyelids began to feel like they were made of lead. I felt myself start to slip; my body was tired of keeping me in an upright position. My head dropped onto Bakugo's shoulder and my eyes fluttered closed.

I woke with a start as someone flicked me on the forehead. "You're dead if you drool on me." Bakugo growled.

My eyes rapidly blinked as I came to consciousness. My face was glued to Bakugo's shoulder and I was still hugging my plushies tightly in my arms. Dad appeared to be dozing off on the opposite end of the sofa. I didn't think he'd been getting much sleep lately either as he was worrying over me constantly despite being seriously injured himself. A chill ran down my spine as I realized it was now dark outside. Dad had filled the living room with battery operated candles that filled the entire room with a warm welcoming glow.

The various wounds lining my body ached in protest as I shakily pulled away from Bakugo feeling embarrassed. "S-sorry."

"It's fine." He grumbled looking a little red in the face.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked warily.

Bakugo shrugged, "an hour or so."

A knock at the door made my heart leap into my throat and I nearly fell off the couch. Bakugo reached over to steady me as Dad suddenly jerked awake. He looked mildly embarrassed that he'd allowed himself to fall asleep and glanced at his phone. He chanced a glance over at Bakugo then at his phone again with a grimace. It seemed like he was hesitant yet also like he expected whoever was at the door. Dad was tense as he opened the door, he threw a wary look in Bakugo's direction before greeting whoever was at the door.

"Young Shinso." Dad greeted him with a smile.

I blanched as I thought of Shinso and Bakugo together in the same room. It sounded like a recipe for disaster. Bakugo looked over at the door curiously as Dad stepped aside to let Shinso in. They both tensed as they spotted each other. Shinso's indigo eyes narrowed slightly.

"You!" Bakugo roared angrily.

"Oh great, Anger Management is here, I don't see how that could be stressful or hinder Princess Scaredy Cat's recovery in the slightest." Shinso shot sarcastically.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bakugo snapped.

Shinso held up a Blu-ray case for what appeared to be the newly released Fantastic Floof and Friends movie I'd seen in theaters with the rest of my class. "I'm here to watch disgustingly cute, vomit-worthy movies with the Princess, what're you doing here? Here to bully her or feeling guilty?" Shinso asked coolly.

I looked between them shooting glares at one another and clung to the plushies in my arms as I started to feel panicked. If they started fighting, I wasn't sure I could take it. "...please don't fight..." I squeaked as I heard the terrifying Nomu's gut wrenching wail in the back of my mind.

Bakugo and Shinso stopped glaring at one another long enough to look in my direction and I saw both of their faces cloud with guilt. Shinso sighed and dropped onto the sofa on the other side of me. I chanced a glance in Dad's direction. He looked a bit panicked but seemed to be more worried about my well-being. I offered him a small smile in hopes of reassuring him that I was okay. He relaxed a little and mumbled something about ordering some takeout. I was surprised he wasn't freaking out as there were now two boys in the house.

I nervously looked between Bakugo and Shinso, they were both sitting rigidly on either side of me clearly not happy the other was here but appeared to be trying to behave for my benefit. After a tense moment I settled back onto the sofa. My body started to relax.

Shinso went to put the childish movie in the Blu-Ray player. He returned and I finally hit a pleasant state of relaxation and was able to block out all my fears and the phantom sounds and images manifesting in the back of my mind. Just as I finally got comfortable, someone knocked on the door setting my already frayed nerves on edge. I nearly tumbled off the couch and a squeak of terror escaped me.

"Now what?!" Bakugo growled in frustration.

Dad looked confused and went to the door. He paused and appeared to recognize whoever was standing on the other side of the door. It sounded like he was mumbling something to himself in a panic but I couldn't quite make out what he said. It almost sounded like he said 'oh god, another one.'

"Dad?" I asked shakily. "Who is it?"

Dad looked as if he were muttering some kind of silent prayer, I thought I saw him mouth mom's name before he opened the door with a smile, "Young Todoroki, what brings you here?"

Todoroki?!

That was three boys...three too many boys for Dad to handle. I worried he'd break at any moment. Shinso and Bakugo both tensed on either side of me as Dad stepped aside to let Todoroki in. He was wearing a pleasant inviting smile on his face but I knew he was freaking out internally.

"I wanted to see how Amy was doing." Came Todoroki's polite matter of fact reply as he stepped inside.

Dad poked his head out the door as if he were scanning the sidewalk for any more boys lingering about. Todoroki paused as he spotted Shinso and Bakugo on either side of me. His gaze fell on the blue plush cat tucked under my arm next to the hedgehog and unicorn and I thought I saw his lips tug slightly upward revealing a small ghost of a smile. His gaze flicked to the TV where it rested on the title menu for Fantastic Floof and Friends. His smile grew slightly and he joined us in the living room.

Rather than take a seat next to Bakugo, Shinso or on the empty sofa, he sat on the floor in front of me causing Bakugo to quietly bristle with rage. Shinso rolled his eyes and for a moment I thought he'd make a comment that would surely irritate the others. He cast a glance in my direction and thought better of it.

Dad stopped scanning the street for lurking boys and came back inside. He spotted the boys surrounding me in the living room and appeared to be struggling keep from reflexively yelling 'no boys'. He looked like he was in pain. He cleared his throat and looked to the door once more. "Alright I'm going to order takeout assuming there are no more surprise visitors." He paused as if he were expecting someone to knock on the door.

"He's taking this well, I see." Shinso snickered beside me.

No one knocked on the door. Dad appeared to breathe a sigh of relief and went to order takeout.

"...um...we don't have to watch this..."I piped up softly.

"I was mocked mercilessly while purchasing it, we're watching it." Shinso teased me.

Dad finished ordering takeout and joined us in the living room. He looked as if he were going to tell the boys to move to a different couch but seemed to think better of it as if he were too exhausted to deal with any potential arguments that resulted. He sat on the empty couch and rubbed his temples.

"Perhaps I'll have to buy a copy for the dorm." Todoroki commented to himself referring to the movie.

"Dorm?" I asked curiously.

Bakugo and Todoroki looked to me then to Dad suspiciously.

I turned to Dad, "what about dorms?"

Dad looked a little uncomfortable, "I wanted to wait till you felt a little better before we talked about it."

"What's there to talk about?" Bakugo frowned.

Dad sighed, "whether or not Amy wanted to take some time off."

Bakugo tensed and threw me a worried look. Todoroki mirrored his worried look with one of his own. Shinso offered me a smile and I was reminded of the promise I'd made him. I managed to smile at Dad and shake my head. "I don't need to take any time off. I'm okay and I won't give up."

Dad returned my smile with a strained one of his own before starting the movie.

I nearly had a heart attack when the takeout arrived. My three valiant knights offered me support and didn't complain about the childish movie or the vegan takeout Dad had ordered. Though the night was a bit strange and a little tense at times, it was quite pleasant. I felt safe with all of them watching over me.