Your eyes fluttered open, and you took a deep breath. A second later, your alarm went off, and you let out a groan.
"Time for school," you muttered, rolling out of bed and onto the floor lazily. You leisured through your morning routine, pulling on your uniform after showering and brushing your teeth. You double-checked your reflection, making sure everything was to your satisfaction, before pulling on your shoes, grabbing your backpack, and heading out the door.
Only to be greeted with another bump into someone.
"Hey—" you caught yourself, looking up to see Bakugo. His tired eyes practically glared at you, but he pushed you forward a bit for you two to walk to the school building together.
You walked in silence for a while, realizing this was one of the first times he's ever really done this. You stole another glance at him, but he caught you staring. Butterflies shocked your stomach and you looked away quickly.
"So . . . walking to school now, are we?" you chuckled awkwardly.
Bakugo huffed out a sigh. "Did you hear about Dunce Face and Headphones?" He asked, completely dodging your question.
You raised an eyebrow. "Huh? No, what—"
You were cut off by an "Aye, Kacchan!" and "Y/N! Over here!" You looked ahead to see your friends, Mina, Eijiro, Hanta, Denki, and Kyoka. You smiled, waving over to them excitedly. You did a double take towards Denki and Kyoka, your eyes bulging at the arm that the blond boy had around her. Your jaw dropped, and Mina giggled while Kyoka blushed. You hurried over to them, leaving your conversation with Bakugo.
"WHAAAAAT?!" You squealed, jumping up and down. "You're together? You're finally together?!"
Denki had a look of pride on his face, pulling Kyoka closer towards him. "Yep! I'm the luckiest man in the world!"
"Shut up," Kyoka mumbled, clearly embarrassed. She hid her face in his chest, to which everyone exclaimed "awwwwww!"
You turned back to Bakugo with a bright smile and a look that said, "Your plan worked!" But his face wasn't rejoicing with the rest of your group.
You were able to fully take in how tired and . . . defeated he really looked. He had dark circles tinting the skin under his eyes. He gazed around with half-lidded, crimson orbs. His posture was slouchier than usual, and his breaths seemed heavy. He glanced at you, and you quirked an eyebrow, as if to say "are you okay?"
He just looked away.
You frowned, wondering why he was so disappointed. His plan finally worked! Those weeks of fake dating weren't for nothing, after all! And now, you could . . . you could . . .
Oh.
Your breath halted.
Now you could break up.
Your heart sank, deep, deep down into the pit of your stomach. Your mind clouded over with confusion. How? How could it end so quickly? How could you not want it to end?
How could you catch feelings for him?
You felt your eyes water, and you quickly excused yourself to the bathroom before anyone could see. Mina must have noticed because she quickly came after you. You hurried into the school building, maneuvering through the halls with Mina calling after you. You swiped at the tears coming out of your eyes, trying to compose yourself. Mina caught up to you before you could enter a bathroom.
"Y/N! Hey, please talk to me!" She tried, grabbing your shoulders. "I know exactly what you're thinking, and I'm so, so sorry. Kyoka only told me super late last night, and I figured you were already sleeping, so--"
"Mina, it's okay," you sniffed, forcing a smile. "It's not your fault! I knew this would happen eventually, anyway," you chuckled. "It was only a matter of time . . ."
Mina sighed. "Hamilton references aside, this is different now! You actually--"
"Y/N" you heard a gruff voice call down the hall. Your heart stuttered as you saw Bakugo approach you and Mina, his eyes locking with yours and causing him to hurry towards you.
"Mina, I can't--" you whispered, but it was too late.
"Racoon Eyes, leave," Bakugo muttered. Mina tried protesting, but he insisted. She gave you an apologetic look, leaving to find the others and head to class. You glanced back at Bakugo, but you were unable to look into his eyes.
"I tried telling you," he started quietly. "They, uh, got together."
You nodded, still not looking at him. "Mhm, your plan worked! Congratulations . . ."
You heard him sigh. "You know what this means, right?"
"Of course . . ."
He stayed quiet for a moment. "Well, how does it feel to finally be able to be rid of me?"
You finally looked back at him, shocked to see the emptiness in his eyes. "What?"
He blinked, staring at you. "Isn't this what you've been wanting? Ever since day one of this operation, you've probably wanted to 'break up' and get out of this mess."
"Well, isn't that what you wanted to?" you asked, confused. Why couldn't he just get it over with?
He hesitated.
"Of course, dumbass."
Your heart stopped. Your mind replayed his hesitation over and over, until it finally clicked into place.
"Wait . . . do you?" You whispered, stepping forward to better read his expression. He stepped back, his stern face faltering.
"I said yes already, didn't I?" He growled. He looked away with a 'tch.' "Quit dragging this out."
"What, you want me to do it?" You asked, surprised. "I-I don't wanna do that-"
"You don't wanna break up?" He blurted out, turning back to you, hope sparkling in his eyes. Butterflies squirmed in your stomach, ready to burst.
"Wh-what?"
His face fell, as if he'd caught himself. "Wait, no that's not what I meant--"
"Yes, it is!" You interrupted, not believing what you were saying. "It totally is!" He put up a fight.
"No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is!"
"No, it definitely is not what I meant!" He growled, growing irritated. It only fueled your hope.
"You mean to tell me, that you actually want to break up?" You couldn't stop yourself at this point. Curiosity and emotions were overtaking your words. He stared at you, trying to process what you were saying.
"I . . . Wasn't that--that was the plan, wasn't it?" He stuttered, tripping over his words. "Fuck."
You were caught by surprise, never seeing him so disoriented before. He had to be lying.
"You want to break up?" You asked again, quieter this time. The atmosphere calmed down around you, and the world closed in on him, and only him. Staring at the boy before you, you couldn't see the angry, hot-headed pomeranian that you'd met on the train that day. He was there, but there was far more to him than just that. Before you, you saw a caring, protective young man who you knew would be there for you if you called, whether he seemed like he wanted to be there or not. You could see strength and weakness. Confidence and fear. Things that you didn't want him to be afraid to admit to you. You wanted him to trust you. More than anyone.
"I . . ." He sighed, looking away from you and down at his shoes. "I'm a dumbass."
"Huh?" You did a double-take. "You? Admitting that you're a dumbass? Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!" He said, snapping his eyes back at you. Your breath caught. "How could I be okay when I have to break up with someone that I—"
You stayed silent, your heart almost jumping out of your chest.
He couldn't seem to finish his words. So instead, he moved closer to you, taking his hands out of his pockets and raising them to your face. He cradled your cheek and the back of your neck. His touch was the softest you'd ever felt it, but firm, as if he didn't want to let you go. The emotion in his eyes was more vivid than you'd ever seen. He inched closer to your face slowly, as if he was timid. That was hard to believe.
Your heart couldn't beat any faster at this point. The butterflies in your stomach were swarming. Your face was hot with embarrassment. But you cherished every second of it, grabbing onto the sides of his uniform blazer and pulling him the rest of the way towards you.
His lips sank into yours. It wasn't the first time he'd kissed you, of course, but this time was so, so different. There was actually passion in it this time. Fondness. Attraction. Romance.
Love.
His fingers traced down your face and neck, his hands moving down further until they were planted firmly on your hips. You couldn't hold back any longer.
You raised your arms, draping them across his shoulders and wrapping them around his neck, bringing him even closer to you. You could feel his hot breath against your cheeks as you kissed him deeper, your lips melting into his and then drawing back, again and again. Your hands came forward to cradle his face as his slid up and down your back. His skin was soft, and you ran your fingers through his blond locks.
He pulled back suddenly, as if to try and process what was going on. Your mind was fuzzy, and all you wanted to do was pull him back towards you again.
"Y/N, I—" he began, pressing his forehead to yours. You both panted for breath, and your noses rubbed against each other lovingly. "I don't want to break up. I'm sorry, but—"
"Katsuki, it's okay," you whispered, tears prickling your eyes. You pulled him towards you, nuzzling your face into the crook in his neck. "It's okay, it's okay," you cooed as he let out a shaky breath into your shoulder. "I don't want to break up either."
You could feel him tense under your touch.
"You don't . . ?"
You pulled back enough to look at him, but not enough to let go. You didn't want to let go.
"How could I break up with someone I've just fallen in love with?" You asked, looking straight into his crimson eyes.
His face relaxed, but lit up with an unknown joy. "You're . . . in love with me?"
You blushed, your eyes widening at the words. "Well—I mean, I guess. While love is a strong word—I couldn't—well, I wanted to—I . . ." You sighed, giving up and leaning against him. "Yes."
He was silent for several moments, and then you felt his grasp around you tighten.
"I think I love you, Y/N."
His words were so quiet, but you could feel his breath as he whispered them to you. Your heart melted as he continued.
"And I never want to let you go."