Chapter Text
5 years old
“Mommy! The other kids won’t stop picking on me,” you cried as you run into your mother’s arms. She kneels so that she is eye level with you, wiping her hands on her apron.
“What happened this time sweetheart?”
“They knocked down my sandcastle. And I worked really hard on it!” You puffed as you crossed both of your stubby arms across your heaving chest. Tears threatened to spill as you recall the accident that just happened. Sniffing the morning air, you could tell it was going to be a nice day outside. The rain has just passed which allowed the air to be crisp in your nose and the warm air passing by the window made you itch to go outside. You couldn’t ignore your instincts, so you immediately run out the front door, ignoring your mother’s call to eat breakfast. She smiles at your energy and shakes her head lovingly while preparing breakfast for your older brother. Thank god the park wasn’t far from your house because that’s exactly where you were going.
You wiped your hair out of your face before sinking your hands and feet into the sand box. Something about how warm the sand was the deeper you went felt so comforting. You didn’t hesitate to dig up a hole to stick your feet in, far enough so that your legs are buried in the sand while sat down comfortably on top. After finding a comfortable spot, you buried the hole your legs were in so that you couldn’t move. As silly as it was, this never failed to make you laugh because you found it entertaining how you couldn’t escape and your upper body was the only thing that could move. On top of where your legs should be, you started building your own sandcastle. You looked up and modeled your sandcastle after the clan leader’s big house in the distance. Oh, how you dreamed you could even step inside at least once in your lifetime. Your lips fitted into a pout upon the realization that this was only a dream. Looking back down at your now crumbling castle, you erased what you had to focus on a new one.
“Look, it’s (y/n). She’s playing by herself again,” some neighboring boys said from a distance, snickering at the sight of you. You continued to look down to only focus on what you were trying to make
Mommy says to ignore them because they’re jealous.
“Do you see her legs?”
“Did she do that herself?”
“If she did, she must be a real idiot.”
“Yeah, looks like the beauty is an idiot after all.”
They’re just jealous.
“Looks like the idiot beauty must need saving. Let’s go.” The three boys, much bigger boys, slowly approached you. Fear started to ignite in your body. Your chest started feeling tight and your breathing became heavy. Your eyes darted around, not knowing what to do first. Should you fight back? But how can you fight back when your feet are stuck in the sand? Your hands shot to the sand floor, trying to push yourself up but the sand on your legs kept you in place. The boys were getting closer and you were stuck. Shaking, you closed your eyes and braced yourself for the worst. The three boys laughed and knocked down your sandcastle with their feet, causing the sand to hit you in the face. Sand reached your mouth and eyes, causing you to cough and lose your vision.
“HEY!” you hear a boy yell and the shuffling of feet.
“Let’s get out of here,” panic filled one of the boy’s voice. The three boys could be heard running away but two more approached. One touched your hand while the other was chasing after the boys. All that could be heard in the distance was yelling and small sparks.
“Are you okay?” the voice asked, “That wasn’t very manly, what those boys did. A princess should never be treated this way.” Soft hands rubbed the sand away from your eyes. You looked up and squinted. Deep, red eyes stared into your own, a worried look written all over his face. He dug your legs out of the man-made hole and helped you to your feet.
“Are you okay?” he asked again, dusting more sand off your legs. You could only nod in response, you head hung low. “Have no fear! For I, Kirishima Eijirou, have come to the rescue! Those fiends shall hurt you no more!!” Kirishima smiled, showing off his sharp yet kind smile. A smile that was so wide that it reached his eyes. His red hair lay flat on his head, bangs almost covered his eyes.
“Those guys are lucky I’ve been running all day or else I would have beat them into next week!” A blonde boy came into sight, huffing and puffing, hands balled into fists.
“Bakugou! We have to make sure the princess is okay!” Kirishima called out to Bakugou. Bakugou caught sight of you and immediately, his eyes widened. Forgetting about his rant, he ran up to you and knelt next to Kirishima.
“Princess, are you hurt?” Bakugou asked. All you could do was look at both of them wide eyed. Where did they even come from? Why were they helping you? Was this a trick?
“I’m not a princess…” you mumbled, still looking down at your shoes.
“Of course you are! A pretty girl like you has to be a princess.” Bakugou answered.
“And a princess needs guards to protect her! We will be your guards!” Kirishima said determined, looking around in a protective stance, ready to pounce at anybody who dares to hurt you.
“But…” you try to retaliate but Bakugou quickly interrupts you.
“Sir Kirishima! The princess seems to be hurt. We need to clean her up. Hurry!” Bakugou swiftly picks you up in princess style and carries you to a nearby creek with Kirishima following closely behind. Kirishima rips part of his shirt to dip into the water and wipes your face off. Bakugou sits there and watches intently.
“Princess, what is thy name?” Bakugou speaks up. You turn to him. He has the same eyes are Kirishima’s: worried but more intense. You fiddled with your fingers.
“(y/n)…” you say in the softest voice.
“Well, Princess (y/n), we won’t let anything like that happen to you anymore. Because you have us to protect you!” he said with a thumbs up.
“But… you don’t know me…”
“Yes we do! You’re (y/n). And I’m Kirishima, he’s Bakugou. See! We know each other now so let’s be friends, yeah?” Kirishima pointed out and gave you another wide smile. Wow, friends? You never really had friends besides your brother. They didn’t want to pick on you like the other kids? You were too excited by the fact that they wanted to be friends with you. Looking up with determined eyes, you gave a small smile and nodded your head. Kirishima cheered aloud while Bakugou gave a small smile.
“Well Princess (y/n), since you are a princess now, a princess needs a prince! Since I am the most qualified, I will be your prince!” Bakugou stands and puts one hand on his hips, the other pointing to himself.
Kirishima agrees. “And I shall be your bodyguard that keeps you both safe! I can harden my skin, you know.” And he shows off his hardening quirk by hardening his forearms. Your eyes shine in awe but Bakugou scoffs in return.
“Oh yeah? Well princess, my powers are better than his. Watch this,” and Bakugou lays his hands out in front of him and they start to spark. “With this super cool power, I will forever protect you.” He said determined.
“Bakugou I can protect her too.” Kirishima starts to pout.
“But I’m married to the princess so I have to protect her. You have to protect both of us. That’s pretty manly,” Kirishima didn’t need to hear anymore. Manly? Nothing was more manly than protecting people. He told protect you, sure. But TWO people?! Now that’s what he’s talking about! Kirishima then went on a rant, bragging how he was better because he was protecting two people instead of one. You and Bakugou giggled and paid no mind to him. Instead, Bakugou continues to clean you up and makes sure that you didn’t have any scratches.
“(y/n)?!” a young, male voice calls out. Your head spins and immediately calls back.
“Ah, Sero!” You get up and run towards your older brother. He catches sight of you and runs to meet you in the middle.
“(y/n), where did you go? You know better than to be out of sight from the house. Mom was worried,” Sero looked down on you, worry plastered all over his face. Your lips went into a pout and apologized.
“Sorry Sero. But my friends came to help me because I got hurt,” you explained. Sero looked behind you and saw Bakugou and Kirishima standing there looking all high and mighty.
“Ah, thank you for helping my little sister. But we have to go now. Mom made food and you skipped breakfast,” he bowed to thank the two boys, grabbed your wrist and took you back to the house. You looked back to see them still staring at you, waving their goodbyes.
“See you later princess!!” they said in unison. You smiled and waved back, giving them a toothy smile.
12 years old
You sat outside, sitting on your favorite, most comfortable stool that you wove yourself. In front of you was a table full of gems, rocks and string. You were concentrated on improving your jewelry making skills. Next to the table was a basket full of failed jewelry. It’s not like you couldn’t make anything, but it was the design that bothered you. You just can’t seem to make something pretty or aesthetically pleasing in your eyes. As the string passed through the final stone, you sighed in relief and raised the piece of jewelry in front of you to admire your work.
It’s perfect. I wonder if he’ll like it…
“Ew, that’s what you came up with?” You looked up to see a group of girls staring at your work in disgust. You let out a breath and put down the necklace you had been working so hard on.
Their words mean nothing.
“Honestly, shouldn’t you be better at this by now? I mean, I can make something better than that in less than a minute. And blindfolded!” the snarky comment came from the girl in the middle, who seemed like the leader of the group. The rest of the girls laughed along, but it wasn’t even funny.
I’m still practicing. It doesn’t have to look perfect.
“Who are you trying to give that to? Bakugou? He would never wear something so ugly.”
He wouldn’t would he…
“What’s ugly?” Bakugou appeared behind you, his face a little too close to you. He took the necklace in his fingers and examined it. Without a second thought, he wore it around his neck and turned to you. “How do I look?” he asked. All you could do was admire how well it fit him. You didn’t say anything but he already knew your answer. Switching from the soft eyes he gave you, he looked down on the group of girls, snarling, showing off his canines. “Scram.” That was all it took for the girls to get lost in the blink of an eye. As soon as they left, you turned to Bakugou and gave him a disapproving look.
“I could have handled that myself,” you crossed your arms across your chest, looking up at him.
“Yeah, I can tell.” He says sarcastically and takes a seat next to you, examining everything on the table. You turn to him and give the necklace another glance.
“It is kind of ugly isn’t it?” you were mostly talking to yourself but Bakugou could clearly hear it.
“This thing? I look good, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He checks himself out in the nearby mirror. You shake your head and try to pry it off his neck.
“They weren’t wrong though. Let me make a new one for you. I promise it’ll look better,” as soon as you touched his neck, his hands grabbed your wrists, stopping you from advancing any further. You jump at the action and your eyes traveled to his red eyes. Man, were they intense as ever.
“I said I like it, okay? Have more confidence. Your skills have definitely improved.” You remove your hands from his and continue to work on the other jewelry pieces.
“I know but they just aren’t up to my standards, you know that.”
“Ah, you beat me again!” Kirishima runs up to you two out of breath. He is leaning so that both of his hands are resting on his knees. He looks up and glares at Bakugou.
“Bro, I’m supposed to be the knight in shining armor. Why do you always beat me to it?!” he groaned and kicked the ground.
“It’s because you aren’t her husband. I always know when (y/n) is in trouble. Plus you’re just slow,” he mutters that last statement under his breath but it cracks you up. You let out a small giggle and Kirishima stares at you in disbelief.
“(y/n) how can you laugh at that?! You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Sorry Eiji, it was kind of funny,” you replied, trying to stifle another giggle but you failed. You continued to laugh while Bakugou smirked right beside you.
“Yeah yeah. Bakugou, your dad is looking for you. We have to go back now.” Kirishima informed Bakugou, straightening up once he caught his breath. Bakugou groaned in response.
“I barely got a chance to go outside this week and now he wants me back already?”
“Clan leader’s orders.” Was all he could say. Bakugou cursed under his breath and stood up. It didn’t take you long after you became friends with them to find out that Bakugou was the son of the clan leader and Kirishima was his personal guard… in training. They would sneak out once in a while to escape the responsibilities and the strict rules that he had to follow. They would sneak out even more just to see you and make sure that no one was bothering you. After all, Bakugou was your prince and Kirishima was your knight in shining armor. Groaning once more, Bakugou stands up and stretches a little. He then turns to you, ruffling your hair which causes a blush to creep up your face.
“See you later, yeah?” he questions. He raises a brow when you don’t answer. “Oi,”
“Huh? Oh… yeah, see you later,” you sheepishly reply and look away before he could see the ever-growing blush on your cheeks. Bakugou didn’t catch it but a certain pair of sad, red eyes did, glancing back and forth between the two people in front of him. His chest tightened slightly at the sight. As the two boys turned their backs, you began to continue your jewelry making. Only when you took a glance up did you see a certain blonde boy looking your direction.
16 years old
Bakugou and Kirishima started transforming into their wolf form more often. You would watch from the side while they play fight. “Training” as they would call it. These fights were never serious, even when they were fighting with the other boys. Today was no different. A huge crowd formed a circle with only two opponents in the middle. You sat on top of a rock, watching the spectacle from above. Kirishima was in the middle this time facing an opponent that had a similar quirk to his. When Kirishima is in his wolf form, he can harden his fur, allowing him to be impenetrable. Seeing that his opponent had a similar hardening ability, the fight wasn’t getting anywhere. By the end of the fight, both were fighting for their breaths and almost passed out. Kirishima looked frustrated from above which was funny to watch. He never got like that unless he was losing.
Next was Bakugou. You straightened up and payed closer to the wolf in the middle. His golden fur was fully spiked up, just like his silly hair. His mouth turned into the nastiest snarl, baring his sharp teeth. Intimidating, but not to you. Dangling from his neck, the necklace you made for him 4 years ago. He’s still wearing it to this day. You couldn’t help but smile at the fact. Even when he’s fighting, he still chooses to wear it. Bakugou’s quirk transformed from his hands to his mouth when he is in his wolf form.
When the fight starts, it starts off as any other fight Bakugou has. He lets his opponent think he has the upper hand but when they are caught off guard, Bakugou finishes them off in one blow. As Bakugou jumps in the air to land on top of his opponent, they react fast and bites his neck in response. With one snatch, the necklace that was once on Bakugou’s neck was shattered into pieces on the floor. Both wolves stopped moving, as if like they were put on pause. No one was cheering. No one was even breathing. Bakugou, mouth agape, stared at the broken necklace on the floor. And as if someone brought him back to life, he snapped his head towards his opponent with a glare that could suffocate anyone who looked straight at him. Red, fiery eyes burned a hole straight into his soul but not before Bakugou was ripping his fur to shreds.
Quick to stop the fight, Kirishima jumped in to hold Bakugou back. But Bakugou wasn’t stopping without a fight. He broke the necklace you gave him. The necklace you worked so hard on. Just for him. The necklace that proved to everyone that you weren’t someone to be messed with. The necklace that symbolized your growth. And he broke it. Realizing what was happening, you swiftly moved towards the fight and towards Bakugou.
“Bakugou, calm down!” Kirishima yelled, in hopes that Bakugou could hear him through his tunnel vision. He was already having a hard time pulling him back, but he needed to find a way to get out of the situation.
“Bakugou!” you reached the circle and ran straight to him. You reached up and cupped his muzzle, forcing him to look at you. “It’s okay. Let’s just get out of here okay?” you pleaded. You desperately searched his eyes, trying to bring Bakugou back since he was so blinded by rage. It took a while for him to calm down, but he eventually did, chest heaving up and down. Without a word, he stalks off into the night, disappearing from the crowd. Kirishima takes one step to follow after him, but you stop him. With a light nod, Kirishima allows you to chase after him but eyes linger in your direction for a little too long.
You spot Bakugou, back in his human form, sitting on a boulder near the creek. Slowly approaching, you sat right next to him. It was silent. You both stared at the flowing water, just listening to the sounds of nature, until you break the silence.
“You okay?” you asked, looking up in his direction. His lips formed in a frown, eyes furrowed, and eyes staring daggers into the water.
“Yeah..” he mumbled. You sighed and stood up to face him better. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face. Nothing too big but enough to make your heart ache. Like you’ve done a million times before, you ripped part of the dress you were wearing, dipped it into the water and proceeded to clean his wounds. Again, it was silent. But you didn’t mind it. You were too deep in concentration to notice Bakugou staring right at you.
“Why did you get so angry?” you questioned.
“That fucker broke my necklace,”
“It’s just a necklace,” you tried to laugh it off, to lift the mood. But you probably read the room wrong because he wasn’t laughing.
“That you made.” And as soon as he said that, you couldn’t help the smile creeping on your face and the hotness on your cheeks. You pursed your lips together to stop yourself from smiling.
“Well I can always make you a new one. I can’t believe you kept that same one from 4 years ago. My skills have improved you know.” You puffed your chest out and put both hands on your hips, looking offended. He chuckled in response.
“Then make me a new one.” The way he stared at you made it look like a challenge. Well challenge accepted.
“I will! Come on,” You grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him back to you family home. You sat him down and started to create a new necklace while he watched. Instead of making a completely new design, you decided to make the same one but just tweak it just a little so that it looks better. Bakugou wasn’t watching your hands make it. No. He was watching your face. How you were so concentrated on putting the string through the gem. How your nose would scrunch up when you messed up. How your tongue stuck out a little because you were so concentrated. How the moonlight hit your face so perfectly, making you shine more beautifully than ever before. Yeah, you were the beauty of the clan but to Bakugou, beauty doesn’t even come close to describing how you look. Your looks were so out of this world, he can’t believe you actually exist. And here of all places. He doesn’t even realize that the longer he stares, the more he is leaning in.
You smile and hold up the new necklace, proud because it looks so much better than the original.
“Done! Do you like i-” but before you could finish, a soft pair of lips land on yours. You stare for a second because you have no idea what is happening. Looking down, you see Bakugou’s lips on yours. But why? How is this happening?! You are sure that you are dreaming. Bakugou pulls back to look you dead in the eye.
“Are you just going to stare?” he barely says in a whisper. His deep, raspy voice loud enough for only you to hear. You blink and continue to tell yourself that this is a dream. But you know it’s not when you feel a tingling sensation on your lips from when Bakugou kissed you. Making you crave more of him.
“I just – I don’t… what just happened?” You could barely fix a sentence. Bakugou chuckles and leans more into you, placing a hand on either side of you.
“What? Can’t kiss my wife?” he teased. Warm blood rushes to your cheeks and you push his chest away. He was too close for comfort yet you didn’t want him to go.
“S-Stop joking around. How can you joke around in a situation like this?” You could barely look him in the face.
“Am I lying?”
“Yes! I’m not your wife!” you exclaim, pointing out the obvious. You expected him to joke around some more and tell you how you’ve been his wife since age 5. But what you didn’t expect was what he said next.
“We can change that,” gosh, why was he always making you blush. Adrenaline was rushing, your heart was pumping, you head was spinning. You felt like you could pass out any time but a burst of confidence surged through your body.
“How can I be your wife if I’m not your girlfriend first,” Where did this confidence even come from? Bakugou cracked a smile. He looked at your lips and then back to your eyes.
“Then be my girlfriend.”
18 years old
“Do you really have to go?” you pouted, tears threatening to spill. You looked up at your older brother, Sero, and a bigger frown appeared on your face when he just gives you a soft look. Ruffling your hair, he connects your foreheads together.
“It’s only a couple of years. I’ll come back stronger than ever.” He gave you a soft smile. When he pulled away, you immediately went in for a bear hug because even though he hasn’t left yet, it already felt like he was going to be gone forever. A small chuckle could be heard as you lay your head on his chest, the vibrations of his laugh made you feel at home.
“I love you.” You say in his chest. “Please stay safe and make it back in one piece.”
“Don’t worry, I will. Love you,” he kisses the top of your head, picks up his duffle bag and jogs towards the group of other 18-year-olds who are ready to go. When boys reach the age of 18, they are required to go away to a special training camp for 2 years. This camp helps them grow stronger, build their skill and train to become alpha of the pack. By the end of the camp, only one male will come out victorious as the successor. As you watch Sero greet his friends, strong arms envelop around your waist while a head rests on your shoulder.
“How come I don’t get any love?” Bakugou teases in your ear and you can just see the smirk on his face. You slap his hands away, turning around and wrapping your arms around his neck.
“I was just going to come see you,” you smile but then turned into a frown. Bakugou was going too. He had just finished saying his goodbyes to his parents and sniffed you out immediately.
“You’ll wait for me till I get back?” Bakugou asked, almost scared and unsure. 2 years was a long time and anything could happen in between that time. You could find another mate. Or worse, have pups with another man. Or you could be seriously injured or sick. A neighboring clan could invade and no one would be alive to tell its tale. Seeing the worried look in his eyes and the way he was spacing out, you stood on your tippy toes and to peck him on the lips to bring him back to life. His vermillion eyes reached yours, waiting your answer.
“Of course I will,” you reassured him. A soft smile reached his lips.
“And when I get back as the new clan leader, I’ll take you as my wife, so we can rule this pack together.” He sounded more confident this time. It was a statement, not a question. You bit your bottom lip to stop the smile coming but you failed miserably. Before you could respond, Kirishima jumps on Bakugou’s back, ruining the precious moment between you two.
“Baku, let’s go! Group is waiting on us!” Kirishima informs, never failing to leave a smile on his lips. Oblivious to Bakugou’s glare and ranting on ruining the mood, Kirishima faces you and gives you a crushing hug. “See ya later (y/n)! We are going to come back ripped and manly as hell!” he flexed his muscles in all directions, making you laugh in response.
“If you don’t, I’d be questioning what you did all that time,” you and Kirishima continued to have small talk while Bakugou is just watching from the side. Annoyed, yes. But this was the last time he could see you smile for a couple years. So as much as he wanted to blow up on Kirishima, he didn’t want to ruin the little time he had with you.
“Alright shitty hair. Leave us alone for second. I’ll meet you over there,” Bakugou shooed Kirishima away. He pulled you close, your bodies flushed together, his hands securely wrapped around your waist. Kirishima’s smile faltered a little, but not enough for anyone to see. Saying your final goodbye to Kirishima, he jogged towards group with a red duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Bakugou let out a groan, finally thankful that his friend was gone. Pulling you into a hug, he inhaled your scent, trying to ingrain it into his memory. He then put your noses together, giving you eskimo kisses.
“I love you,” he breathed. Your heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words. It wasn’t your first time saying it together each other, but every time he said it, it was like he was saying it for the first time.
“I love you, too,” you replied. The warm feeling inside you was now fading. It was being replaced with heavy breaths and a tight chest. Tears began to form again. You really didn’t want him to leave, but you couldn’t do anything about it. He quickly pecked your lips for the last time and picked up his own duffel bag.
“Wait, Katsuki!” As he was about to turn around to get to the group, you tugged his arm causing him to look at you. “Promise?” you looked at him with pleading eyes, referring to the statement he made earlier. Bringing you back in for one more passionate kiss, he left you breathless.
“Promise.”