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The day had finally come. The one you’d anticipated for your entire life. Your UA high graduation, where you’d officially become a hero. A real, actual, licensed pro! It’d been a long, tough road to get here. You were grateful to your friends for supporting you this far.
Your palms sweat as you heard the road of the crowd. You had graduated second in your class. That made you extra proud, but also extremely nervous. You sat, listening to the principal as he congratulated you all on your hard work. All the pros were there, even small form All Might. Everyone gave a small speech.
But then, something up expected happened. Up walked a face you'd known well. Who was a year older than you, who had became a great friend in the two years you'd known him.
"Now, we have a little surprise for you all," announced principal Nezu as he returned to the podium. "When he went here, he was known as Katsuki Bakugo. I know you all know him already. He did great things while he was here, his class went through many trials. But, since he's left UA, he's done even greater things and made name for himself - as Ground Zero."
There was a deafening roar as Katsuki stepped up to the podium. A few disgruntled grumbles coming from your peers. Katsuki stood with his infamous smirk. Looking extremely dapper in his suit. His hair still looking like a blond explosion. Your heart skipped a beat.
"Thanks, principal Nezu," Katsuki said, you could hear the strain in his voice. He was trying really, really hard to be friendly. To be the kind of charismatic guy he needed to be as a hero. "During my last two years at UA, I was sought out by a dorky, little, first-year wimp. They may have been a weakling, but they had an incredible quirk of their own. I never thought we'd be friends. But I wouldn't be standing here, as a friend or as a hero, if we'd never been. They're second in your class, by just a half-point. And I've got a surprise for ‘em, since they stuck it out so long. [Name] get your ass up here."
"You have got to be kidding me," you muttered, moving out of line. You sprinted up to the front and up the stairs. You were going to murder Katsuki once this was over.
He immediately threw his arm, which had bulked up considerably since he'd graduated, around your shoulders. He pulled you into a tight side-hug, whispering, "I'm proud of you, kid."
Your heart rate picked up. You could feel heat in your face. You looked down at your shoes. Grateful you'd hadn't tripped and fallen to make things worse. You couldn’t understand why Katsuki was here, and why he’d decided to do the single thing you out. Or why Principal Nezu had even let it happen.
"I thought we'd share today with people who are just as happy for you. Just as proud of you," he announced. "Two heroes that have a place in people's hearts -"
You looked at him, your heart jostling in anxiety. Your knees quaked, your palms slicking more than they’d been. "Please tell me you didn't."
"Your parents, Oracle and Vaporwave." Katsuki gestured over the left. And out walked two people you'd dreaded seeing - your parents. They were all happy. All smiles. Acting as if years of mental and emotional torment hadn't happened.
"Katsuki, you shouldn't have," you muttered, trying to pull away from his grip. He didn't know. You hadn't told him. You’d only shared this with one person. "Like really, you shouldn't -"
He shrugged. Proudly stating, "It was nothing."
Katsuki pushed you towards your parents. You walked slowly. Trying to keep the time until you had to hug them as long as possible. There was a reason you'd chosen to live with your aunt in an entirely different town. Your parents beamed at you. And then, before you knew it before you were ready, they hugged you. You tried your best not to recoil. You had to play it cool. At least until you were off stage.
"We're so proud," your father said in your ear. "It's about time you were useful."
“But number two, really?” scoffed your mother as she hugged you. “You should’ve been better.”
Your parents pulled you to the microphone. You stood numbly, unhearing. Staring out at a million smudges of color. Sinking back into your childhood. Where you were a doll, a decoration. Trained to smile so you looked like a happy family to the public.
"We're so proud of [Name]," your mother said, fake sniffling. Her crocodile tears didn't fool you. You knew she was an ugly crier. "Ever since they were small. We knew they'd grow up to be someone great."
"We spent every second we could grooming and preparing [Name] to be a great hero," your father continued. Each word put another building block of anger in you. Filling you up, tempting you to overflow. Just a little longer. "We're so proud. And we're glad you all finally get to see what we saw all those years ago. Why I remember many fond times -"
He was going to go on a tangent with fake family memories. They'd rehearsed them, you knew it. They were going to keep up this image of a happy family. Like you were fine. Like you weren’t just the unwanted child of a mother, paid off to have a baby and keep her mouth shut. As your father kept droning on about the fake memory, you hit your tipping point. You wouldn't let them fool anyone anymore.
"Shut up," you uttered. You could feel the control you’d worked so hard on slipping.
Your father looked at you. "What?"
"I said," you started lowly, then shouted, "SHUT. UP!!"
Katsuki tried to put a hand on your shoulder, but you slapped it away. You shot him a warning glare. You could see the anger and confusion in his eyes. You didn’t have a reason to be mad at him. Especially when it was your fault you’d never told him.
Your mother smiled with fake patience. "Now, honey, we know this is embarrassing. But you've done so well -"
"What's embarrassing is having parents who didn't want me!" you yelled, the entire stadium went quiet. "After what you put me through - Don’t stand up here and pretend to be proud of me. Don’t stand up here and pretend you didn’t do what he did. Don’t pretend like you didn’t pull that same crap as Endeavor!”
You have the same sad sob story as Endeavor’s boy, you heard your mother’s smug words to you echoed in the back of your head. Isn’t it just pathetic? Isn’t it just sad? We’re the real losers here. Paying off that woman, only for her to have a dud like you. No one will take you seriously. They’ll think you’re just leeching on to a more famous backstory.
“What’re you talking about?” Her voice was dripping sweet and bitter. She tried to reach for you, but you smack away her hand. Then you shoved her hard, sending her flying into your father. The two landed a few feet away.
“I was friends with Todoroki!” you snapped, stomping your foot. “I told him. I told him what you did. We shared our trauma. Pathetic parents, creating children because they were too weak to come out on top themselves. - I’m not an experiment! You thought I was pathetic and useless as a child! You don’t get to stand here and act like I became someone because of your help. It’s because I don’t want to be anything like you two that I climbed until I was near the top. I’ll take number two. Because it means I stand above you. In a place you could never hope to reach.”
For the first time, your parents looked at you with fear in their eyes. With respect. Taking notice of what they’d done. It didn’t help you’d ended up in the air, and you were wild and glowing. And probably two seconds away from obliterating them. Even after all this time, when you let your emotions get to you, your control slipped. You acted without thinking. Fight or flight.
You glowered down at them. “Now I want you both to leave. I don’t ever want to see you again. - Thank you. For ruining my graduation day.”
You landed on your feet, and sprinted across the stage and out of sight. Your parents scrambled off the opposite side of the stage. Principal Nezu took the podium awkwardly, clearing his throat as he tried to get the day back on track. Katsuki chased after you, slamming open every door until he found you. You were curled in a ball, silent tears down your cheeks. He shut the door behind him.
“Uh,” he murmured hesitantly. “Hey. Nerd. You okay?”
You stood before you could think, bolting to him in a flash. You were in his face. “What the hell is wrong with you?! I told you we didn’t get along. Why the hell would you do that?!”
“I thought it’d be nice! I didn’t know it was this fucking bad!” He took a step back. “How the hell am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?!”
You groaned. “I thought it would have been common sense -”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Common sense ‘we don’t get along’ just makes me think that they don’t - I don’t fucking know - don’t like your friends. Don’t like the path you chose because it’s fucking dangerous. Not because you were a damn experiment!”
“Don’t call me that.” You could feel the white-hot rage filling you. But this was Katsuki you were talking to. Not your parents. And he had a point. Still, you couldn’t help it. “I am more than just some experiment!”
“I know!” he yelled. Then took a long moment’s pause. He tried to even himself out, but there was still an angry edge to his voice. “Why do you think I let you tag along? Why do you think I stopped trying to ditch you like Deku?! - Because nobody else was talking you up! But I could see it. All the potential you had. You had that fire. But you weren’t using it right! I didn’t want to see you fail. And you didn’t. And if you think I’m going to let you go and do something fucking stupid to mess all your work up -”
You felt your feet leave the floor. What business was it of his if you let all your work go to waste? Who’d even let you be a hero after this burst?! “Why do you even care if I fail or not?!’
“Because I think I love you, dumbass!” His face turned red as he processed the words that came out of his mouth. “I mean - I like your face - I - Shit - I like everything about you - and - fucking hell -”
Katsuki shot a blast out a window. He roared in some sort of rage, bellowing, “You’re the only person in the fucking world I want to outrank me! You’re the only person I’d let be number one over me. I like your stupid face. And your stupid quirk. I want to be a team. But not just at being pros. I mean, in life. I want to just - this is a shit time for this. Especially after I made you so upset. I have no fucking right to say this. But - I’m pretty fucking sure I love you. And that I wanna spend the rest of my damn life with you.”
Katsuki wrapped his arms around your leg, you still in the air. Katsuki was eye level with your belly button. You looked down at him. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. But you saw the anger in his eyes. It was mixed with concern. With regret. His face was full of emotions you’d never seen him have before. It began to fizzle the fire in you.
He stared up at you, keeping a hold on you. “I’m sorry for inviting them, for embarrassing you. I should’ve asked. I’m such a fucking idiot. I should’ve asked why you didn’t get along. And if it was okay if I brought them. This is all my fucking fault. I promise, I’ll make it up to you. If you’ll let me.”
He supported your weight as you fell out of the air. You’d had a thing for him since you’d first met him. Originally, you just admired him for being insanely strong and thought he’d be a good person as a mentor. Your feelings for him crashed down on you like a meteor. You hadn’t even realized them until he’d actually let you stick around for a few months. But everyone said you were stupid. That you’d never get anywhere because he was too goal-driven to look around. Because he was too selfish to think of anyone but himself.
You supposed this proved them wrong.
“I’m still pissed at you,” you noted. Katsuki nodded, anticipation flickering through his eyes. “But what did you have in mind? Is the great Ground Zero asking me on a proper date?”
Katsuki smiled - a real one. Not that stupid smirk. He squeezed your legs tightly. “I could never have been half as great without you. - And I’ll fucking murder you, you tell anyone I said that. But I’ll take you to dinner, a nice restaurant. None of those little bullshit hole-in-the-wall places you seem to think are so swanky. An actual restaurant, somewhere fancy. Black tie. I’ll do anything I can until you see I care. Just you and I - a team for life. Through everything.”
When you two went back, after an hour of filling Katsuki in on your past, you discovered your parents had been escorted off campus. And you were given your awards and diplomas and certificates behind the scenes. After what happened, everyone thought it was best. Later that day, you also filed a restraining order against your parents. They weren’t going to mess with you anymore. A weight felt like it was lifted off of you.
Katsuki took you out for the best date of your life a few nights later. He followed through with his promise. He took you out to the nicest restaurant he could find. It was black tie, so you wore your best. But you guys ended up getting take out after anyway because the portions were so small. You’d never felt so whole as sitting in Katsuki’s apartment, half-dressed up, laughing at some crappy movie, and scarfing down some takeaway. This made up for the graduation day disaster. You just hoped that Katsuki kept his word, and you’d be a team for life. And not just at work.