𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐧 | b.k.

Chapter Twenty-Two

22.
Chapter Twenty-Two : A tragedy, really.

Y/n wasn't sure who she was expecting to be behind the door when she pulled it open. Part of her thought it was one of her friends coming to rope her into a night of drinking and dancing. She was expecting Ochako, or maybe Momo? Another part of her, however, thought it was her mom. Maybe the big city was too much for her after all, and maybe she came crawling back.

Y/n was wrong on both counts. When she pulled the front door open, Katsuki Bakugou was standing on her doorstep with a giant bouquet of wildflowers. He was filthy. He was just coming home from work, she gathers.

"Bakugou!" She gasps in shock, her eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

He inhales a shaky breath, holding out the bouquet. "I'm sorry I couldn't walk you home tonight, Sweetheart. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Y/n purses her lips. Without a word, she accepts the bouquet—holding it to her chest—which must've made Bakugou assume that all was well. Things were great for Y/n and Izuku, but Katsuki didn't know that. He's about to pull her in for a hug when Y/n holds up a hand.

Katsuki's eyebrows knit together in confusion. He's about to question her actions when his eyes catch a small, dark bruise on her neck.

"I'd like to make an apology of my own, Katsuki." She whispers, "Izuku and I... We're—"

"Don't finish your sentence." The blond snarls, his muscles tensing. His jaw locks and he turns his head to hide his teary eyes.

"I have to, Kat—"

"And don't call me by my fucking name you whore!" He spits, "You lead me on, and for what? God, I can't believe you."

Y/n watches with wide eyes as the blond man aggressively turns on his heel and stomps down the porch steps. He hops up on his horse and without another word, rides down her drive way. She's left there in shock, and surprisingly, in pain.

He was right. She was a whore, and she lead him on. Her heart squeezes at the acknowledgment. She may not have loved Bakugou, but he did mean something to her. It hurts knowing that he's in pain right now, and that she's the cause of it. It hurts knowing that she won't wake up tomorrow and be walked to school by him. It hurts.

It takes everything in her to stop the tears from falling.

With a small sniffle, she shuts the two doors—swiftly locking them—and takes the bouquet into the kitchen. Katsuki may have just stomped out of life, but she wasn't going to let his last gift go to waste.

She takes the time to fill up a glass vase with water before setting the flowers inside. They earn a spot on the kitchen table, right in the center.

Before heading back upstairs to Izuku, she pulls open the back door, her eyes instantly searching for the gift Izuku got for her—the little Fox Terrier. To her surprise, he's lying right by the door. Her heart melts at the sight. With a low hum, she reaches down to pick up the little puppy and bring him inside.

Y/n wanders around the first floor of her home, going through the rooms to blow out candles and lock the windows. She's done sooner than she thought, so she takes her little puppy upstairs to her room, where she finds Izuku fast asleep in her bed.

Again, her heart melts. The poor guy was tuckered out. She doesn't blame him though. She sets the puppy down in her room and quietly moves to shut the door. One by one, she blows out the candles until it's completely dark. One by one, the clothes she's wearing are stripped away until she's naked. She doesn't bother dressing in a night down. No, she throws her clothes into a pile somewhere in her room and joins Izuku in her bed.

While she steadily falling asleep against Izuku's warm body, Katsuki is riding through town with a deep rooted frown sketched into his face. The reins are grasped tightly in one of his hands while the other rests on the horn of his saddle. He's swaying from side-to-side with each step his horse takes, but he's not really paying attention to where he's going. He's lost in thought, wondering why Y/n picked Izuku over him.

Not to toot his own horn, but Katsuki is a better man. He may not be the nicest, but he's strong and he can provide! As soon as he got back from the war, he got his old job at the Todoroki's Ranch back. He's been working day in and day out at the ranch, making money so that he could buy his own place. He's still living with his parents, but he doesn't mind. Eventually, he'd like his own little ranch somewhere on the outskirts of town, where he could raise cattle and a small family of his own.

His heart rattles in his chest when he realizes the one girl he wanted didn't want him back. His frown deepens and his grip on the reins tighten.

Instead of going home, Katsuki steers his horse away from the town. He's aiming for a little bit of time to think on his own, and he can't do that at home—not when his parents are there. Thinking is nearly impossible around his mother, and that's the God honest truth.

The further Katsuki gets away from town, the more the feeling of despair settles in his chest. He begins to feel that heavy weight push down on his sternum, and his tear ducts sting as tears form. Against his will, a few tears escape and a sob—more like a grunt—rips through his chest.

He's never been more devastated in his life. There was something he told himself while he fought in the war, something that drove him to do better and come back home. He told himself that if he survived, he would finally man up and do what he could to be with Y/n. For years he pined over her—showing his affections through methods she saw as bullying or tricks. This crush on Y/n isn't new. No, he has loved this girl for years. His only problem was that someone else in town felt the same way, and that someone just so happened to be better at conveying his feelings.

Katsuki is bitter. He's bitter and he's in pain. Y/n has slipped through his fingers, and there's nothing he can do to fix that. Or so he thinks.

He pulls his horse to a stop at the top of a small hill. Looking over the edge, he sees a familiar river. The moonlight is being reflected off of the water, illuminating the shoreline. He remembers days as a child where he and Eijirou would play in that very stream, throwing mud pies at one another and hunting for salamanders. As they got older, they stopped playing in the mud and tormenting lizards. A lot of parties for thrown here once they hit 15. The river has seen Katsuki grow and develop into the man he is today, and that makes him smile. A little smile, but a smile nonetheless.

With a grunt, Katsuki pushes his horse not a walk. They walk along the hilltop for a little while before Katsuki decides to start making his way home. They don't get very far, because suddenly, there's a man standing in their way. A man wearing three piece suit and a startling smirk. He's pale with long black hair, which is styled in a half up-half down type fashion. The moon is illuminating his striking features.

Katsuki has never seen this man before. He knows he's not a local, but he has no idea how he got out here. There is no horse or wagon in sight.

"Hello." The man starts, his voice thick with an English accent.

The blond's eyebrows burrow. "The fuck are you doin' out here? Are you lost?"

"No," he chuckles, "I'm not lost, Bakugou."

A chill climbs down Katsuki's spine. He doesn't know this man, but he sure as Hell knows him. "Then what d'ya want?" He scoffs.

"I have a debt to collect and I need your help."