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You never imagined your final year at U.A. would be met with heartbreak, or that the person who’d caused it would be Izuku.
“What?” you said, hoping you’d heard wrong.
“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t even look you in the eyes.
Villain attacks, you were used to. Had to be with the number of times villains had attacked your class. But heartbreak was something new, and there was too much of it right now for you to feel any different.
Izuku had feelings for Ochako.
Within days of your breakup, everyone in Class A had heard about what’d happened. Within two, so had students from other courses.
You could tell by their quick glances that the teachers knew something was up. You and Izuku had never been too open about your relationship, but a breakup as sudden as yours had been was impossible to keep secret.
Aizawa had to tactfully remind everyone they were in school to be heroes, not adding anything else, and you were just grateful for his silence. It was embarrassing enough that everyone knew, but what else could you do besides try not to notice as you walked around campus?
In class, that was much harder to do.
Rumors had started to spread that Ochako was why you and Izuku had broken up. It made your friendship with her awkward, even though you’d told her your breakup with Izuku wasn’t her fault. At least… not exactly.
You could tell she hadn’t believed you. You weren’t sure if you believed yourself either.
It was hard not to be angry. Hard to stay friends.
You never asked Ochako how she felt about Izuku. You didn’t think you ever would, if what she’d say was what you thought.
“Now, for this word, you’re gonna wanna remember…” Present Mic’s voice was as energetic as ever in the classroom, but you couldn’t concentrate on the lesson.
You took your attention off the chalkboard, catching the moment when Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other, sharing a smile that made you bite your lip.
You picked up a pen, forcing yourself to write.
You avoided Izuku as much as you could, ignored all the apologetic looks he’d sent you and attempts to try to talk. As far as you were concerned, there wasn’t anything for you to talk about at all.
More than once, more than you would’ve liked, you thought about skipping graduation. Not just because of Izuku, but also because the sooner you graduated, the sooner you could move out of Musutafu.
Attendance was optional. The school year was already over. Instead of being at a ceremony for hours, you could be somewhere else for even less time than that and still be able to celebrate.
But when you thought of your parents, their excitement every time graduation was brought up, you didn’t think you could skip out on something all three of you had waited years for.
All your hard work, days toiling away at your dorm room’s desk. Scars on your skin from fights and training. More knowledge than you knew what to do with about the hero world.
Your parents had always supported your dream of being a hero. They didn’t deserve to see their daughter miss out on her own graduation just because of some boy.
But Izuku was the boy who’d broken your heart, and you were still trying to heal, still wishing you didn’t have to heal anything.
One thing you were oddly glad about was Katsuki’s lack of reaction to everything.
Even as days turned into weeks, he’d said nothing about your breakup, and the one time he had was only because of Denki whispering to him.
Katsuki stood up, chair sliding out so fast it almost fell. Denki startled from the sound.
“I don’t fucking care!” He glared at Izuku, then gave you a scathing look before heading out of the classroom.
Like Katsuki had said, he didn’t care. But it was only on your walk from home one weekend that you thought he might’ve.
“Hey.”
You stopped, surprised to hear Katsuki’s voice. You two had parents living in the same area, so it wasn’t strange to see him going in the same direction, but unless it was about school, you didn’t know why he’d want to talk.
“Katsuki,” you said, throat feeling dry. “Did you need something?”
Annoyed with your question, Katsuki briefly closed his eyes, like he was biting back a comment.
“No.” He gritted his teeth. After a pause, he said, “You and Deku broke up.”
“Yeah, we did…” You looked away from him awkwardly. You had no idea why Katsuki was bringing this up now.
“What’d he do?”
You looked up then, wondering why he’d want to know, but you thought it was safe to tell him. You couldn’t change what’d already happened, anyway.
“He said he had feelings for Ochako.”
“Round Face?” Katsuki said, almost in disbelief as he used her nickname.
You thought there’d be more, but once Katsuki had gathered himself together, he started walking again, passing you by without so much as a glance. He was grumbling to himself, which you could hear as you remained standing.
“Fucking idiot,” Katsuki muttered, and for some reason, you just knew he wasn’t talking about you.
Not wanting to let him leave just yet, you called out to him. “Wait! Katsuki?”
He turned around, his brows raised. “What?”
“Say hi to your parents for me, okay?”
Stunned, Katsuki had no immediate reply. He just stared at you, like he hadn’t expected you to say that at all, and neither could you. But you remembered liking Katsuki’s parents, and if nothing else, you’d only said it out of politeness.
You watched as Katsuki spent several seconds deciding whether you were serious or not. It seemed to take all he had to finally, reluctantly ask, with a sigh, “…Do you want to come over for dinner?”
Now it was your turn to be surprised, but you smiled, catching up to him. “Yeah, I’d love to!”
It took only minutes for you and Katsuki to get to his house, and you felt nervous walking up to the front door.
You hadn’t been here in such a long time, not since you and Katsuki were little kids, and thought dinner with other parents was just something that adults did. After you and Katsuki had gotten older, though, dinners with your parents was the last thing either of you wanted when you already went to the same school.
You hoped his parents hadn’t forgotten who you were.
Unlocking his door, Katsuki couldn’t take a single step before his mother’s voice—Mitsuki’s—snapped from inside.
“Katsuki! Why didn’t—” Her voice cut off when she saw you standing behind Katsuki, and she beamed. “(Name), long time no see!”
“Hi, Mrs. Bakugou.”
“What did I tell you before about calling me Mrs. Bakugou? Mitsuki’s just fine,” she reminded you lightly.
Already tired of this, Katsuki said, “(Name)’s joining us for dinner.”
He tried walking past Mitsuki, but she caught him by the arm with a strained smile on her face. If you weren’t used to how they were with each other, you would’ve been worried for Katsuki.
“Katsuki… why’s it been so long since (Name) was last here?”
“Get off!” Katsuki slapped her hand away. “You want dinner or what? I’ve gotta start cooking.”
As he went into the kitchen, Mitsuki relaxed in front of you. “Masaru’s out for work tonight, so it’ll be just the three of us for dinner.”
“Please tell him I said hi.” You paused before adding, “I hope I’m not imposing on you. Katsuki and I just ran into each other in the neighborhood.”
“Who says you’re imposing?” Mitsuki asked, turning back to yell at Katsuki. “Was that you?”
“I fucking invited her!” he yelled back, pulling out a knife from a drawer, then closing it with a little too much force.
Katsuki and Mitsuki glared at each other for a moment, then she turned back to you, looking thoughtful. “So he invited you, huh?” she said quietly, and her eyes softened. “Dinner shouldn’t take too long.” She glanced back at Katsuki. “He bought groceries before you came.”
“Oh, I can help out if—”
“Just sit down,” Katsuki said, his voice carrying over from the kitchen.
“He’ll be fine,” Mitsuki said, leading you to the table, which was already set for two. “Give me a sec, and I’ll grab you a plate.”
Walking over to the counter, Mitsuki opened a cabinet but leaned toward Katsuki, whispering something to him that made his ears turn red.
He began chopping much harder on the cutting board. “Fuck off!”
You didn’t know what that was about, but Mitsuki came back with an ear-to-ear grin. You thanked her for the plate and, while waiting for dinner, talked with her about your family, including your dad’s new job and mom’s growing interest in adopting a cat.
All the while, you had a clear view from the table of Katsuki at the stove. It was slightly embarrassing thinking about how he must’ve known you were watching him in between talking to Mitsuki, but he was so mesmerizing, you couldn’t look away.
Your eyes flew back to Mitsuki’s when she suddenly said, “So I hear you’ve been dating Izuku? Feels like ages ago when you two and Katsuki were just little kids playing in school.”
You and Katsuki tensed, even as he continued to cook. You couldn’t say you hadn’t seen this coming. Either Mitsuki had heard from Katsuki, though you couldn’t imagine how, or from someone else.
“We broke up.” You tried not to think about how Katsuki had to be listening, but it was old news to him now.
“Ah, I’m sorry to hear,” Mitsuki said, and you knew she meant it. “Breakups are hard at that age.”
“No.” You shook your head. “It was months ago. I’m just glad it happened before graduation than after.”
“I see.” Mitsuki’s voice was soft, so you weren’t sure if she was agreeing with you or not.
Thankfully, the silence that fell over the table didn’t last for long as Mitsuki asked you about your post-graduation plans, opening your eyes to a few interesting things that she’d shared: you and Katsuki would both be moving from Musutafu to Tokyo, both to areas that were relatively near each other, and both at agencies where you’d be working on your own (at first) as Pros.
Under those circumstances, it was almost certain you and Katsuki would end up working together at some point, but neither of you said a thing as Katsuki finished up with dinner. You tried again to offer him your help, but he and Mitsuki insisted you sit where you were.
“This is delicious!” you gushed after trying one of the dishes.
“Isn’t it?” Mitsuki looked proudly at the food as if she’d cooked it all herself. “I keep telling Katsuki if he doesn’t want to be a hero, then he can always be a chef instead!”
Katsuki’s face twisted in irritation, but he didn’t say anything, lifting his bowl to his mouth.
Throughout dinner, Katsuki was uncharacteristically silent, letting you and Mitsuki do all of the talking, and stayed like that even as you helped with the dishes. Mitsuki had said she’d be working in her office, winking at you before she went upstairs while Katsuki’s back was turned.
Only over the sound of running water and clinking dishes did you finally hear Katsuki’s voice again.
“When do you leave?”
It took you a moment to realize he was asking about your move, not kicking you out of his house. “Two weeks after graduation,” you said, drying the bowl he handed you with a towel. “You?”
“One week.”
He was leaving earlier than you were. And even though you knew graduation wouldn’t be the last time you saw him, the idea of Katsuki leaving gave you a sinking feeling in your chest, like he was going away for good.
Because, after three years of high school, you still wanted to see more of him.
You didn’t think you’d ever seen any of the teachers happier than they were on graduation day, Aizawa, All Might, and all the teaching staff standing in a corner with Principal Nezu.
You hadn’t needed to search the crowd for your parents, your mom throwing her arms around you the minute she could, almost dropping the camera strapped around her wrist. You knew the pictures in there would be going in an album at home.
“My baby has graduated!” she cried.
Even your dad had tears in his eyes that he couldn’t hide from you. “You did us proud, honey. Congratulations,” he said, joining the hug your mom had started.
Over your dad’s shoulder, you could see Izuku hugging Inko. Both of them were crying already, talking over each other as they tried to calm down.
Had you still been together, you would’ve smiled at the sight. Izuku and his mom had always been close, as they were all each other had. Selfishly, stupidly, you’d once thought they also had you. But where you’d seen Izuku before as your boyfriend, all you saw now was your ex.
You looked away. This was your graduation. Today wasn’t about Izuku.
Hugging your parents back, you were trying not to cry.
Besides the parents and teachers, a number of famous faces were present—Hawks and Gang Orca, just to name two. But it wasn’t a surprise to see so many of them here, courtesy of all the connections the class had made as interns. Your own mentor had flown in from Tokyo to congratulate you in person.
Even Best Jeanist was here, talking to Katsuki’s parents, much to his chagrin. He’d only been an intern for that one time under Best Jeanist, but for all his complaints about how he’d never learned anything, Katsuki had never really lost contact with his old mentor.
There came a quiet moment when neither of you were talking to your friends, family, or the Pros anymore, and you both locked eyes.
You didn’t know what made you do it—it could’ve been seeing how happy he was—but you smiled at Katsuki. For someone who claimed he didn’t “give a shit” about graduation, he looked like he was enjoying himself.
Katsuki could only stare back, as though he didn’t know what to make of you. Then he looked away, and you wondered, if it weren’t for the warm lighting outside, if you could see him blushing.
Not even twenty minutes into Momo’s party, you were already looking for a way out of the mansion, not at all interested in the luxurious food laid out on long tables or the party games everyone was playing.
When no one was paying attention, you slipped away through the back doors that led to the large lawn half-covered in darkness. Warm air tickled your skin as you made sure you weren’t seen, but that wasn’t difficult to do when you were the only one out there.
You touched the railing, looking out at the bright lights of houses, businesses, and U.A.’s H-shaped building. Was it wrong that on a night like this you wanted to be anywhere else?
You curled your toes. Even in flats, which you’d switched to from the heels you’d worn earlier, your feet still ached. You wanted to sit down. Really, what you wanted was to leave, and the stairs were right there…
“You fucking trying to run away?”
You stilled, turning to find Katsuki with his hands in his pockets. His suit jacket was gone, probably taken off and thrown over a chair inside.
Of all the people to find you here, it just had to be him.
“Shouldn’t you be inside?” you asked, ignoring his question.
The last time you’d seen him, Eijirou had one arm around Katsuki’s shoulders and was crying about how “manly” they’d all become.
“I should be asking you that,” Katsuki scoffed, starting toward the stairs where you were.
You felt a lump in your throat as you kept your eyes on anything but him. “I just couldn’t be inside anymore.”
It was neither the truth nor a lie, but Katsuki wasn’t stupid. He filled in the blanks you weren’t saying easily enough.
“Because of them?” His husky voice ended up emphasizing them, and there was no question about who he’d meant.
Izuku and Ochako—you didn’t have to say their names. All it’d taken was seeing them hug once that night for you to remember how you’d felt before.
Heartbroken.
You’d hoped no one had noticed when you’d slipped away without an excuse, but Katsuki had. Somehow, you just knew he had.
You nodded your head, deciding you didn’t care if Katsuki saw you sit on the stairs, kicking off your flats. The grass was soft underneath your feet, and even with him around, it was much more comfortable being here than it was inside where it was all just too much.
“I don’t want to be angry anymore,” you whispered, voice so low you didn’t think Katsuki could hear you.
“Then don’t,” he said. You could feel him standing behind you. “Forget about Deku.”
It was the way Katsuki had said it so simply that made you turn around, startled by the expression on his face. There was no contempt there, no ridicule or deceit. Just hope, and something more than that.
As if realizing it himself, Katsuki stepped to the side, leaning back against the railing, almost embarrassed. “Those two shitheads can go to hell!” he said, venom in his voice.
You weren’t supposed to, but you couldn’t help laughing at that. Never in your life had you ever thought Katsuki would be trying to cheer you up—and on your graduation night, too.
“Okay, that’s going kinda overboard…”
Breakup aside, Izuku and Ochako were hardly the worst people in the world. While you might’ve wished them inconvenience, you didn’t wish them any real harm.
“So?” Katsuki stared at you with a sidelong glance, and there was a faint red glow to his eyes.
Your heart was racing.
On the tip of your tongue was a single question, a silly thing to ask, when there was still a party going on with the whole class. And who knew when you’d all be together like this again? Soon, you’d be too busy, with barely any time to breathe. Soon, graduation would just be a memory.
But you asked Katsuki anyway, “Wanna run away together?”
You weren’t afraid of his answer. There was no reason to be.
Katsuki grinned at you, loosening his tie, and when he offered you his hand, you took it.