After releasing his emotions with the comfort of his friend, Katsuki created a small agenda to accomplish by the end of the day. The first was to revel in a warm shower (after strong encouragement from Shouto). His next priority was to right his wrongdoings.
He ran a hand through his damp hair as he entered his family's living room, Shouto behind him. His throat ran dry when he spotted Mitsuki on the couch flipping through a magazine. This was something he had to do, but he was still apprehensive.
Mitsuki's face softened as she caught Katsuki staring at her. "Katsuki," she said as she set the magazine to her left.
"I'm sorry," Katsuki blurted out. "For how I acted on Saturday. And for causing you and Dad to fight."
He didn't apologize for being suicidal. That was too big of a bomb to drop. If Mitsuki found out how close her son was to ending his life, she'd never stop worrying that one day he might actually go through with it.
"I promise I'll do better," he told her. "I'll go back to school Monday. I'll catch up on everything I missed. So you and Dad can stop fighting." He pouted as his eyes grew watery. "I don't want you guys to get a divorce."
"Oh, honey."
Mitsuki nearly leaped off the couch to engulf her son in a bear hug. Katsuki and his mom didn't hug often. She wasn't the nurturing type, and he wasn't the affectionate type. But right now, Mitsuki's embrace was the perfect remedy for his healing heart.
"I'm sorry too," she said as Katsuki nuzzled into her shoulder. "And I don't ever want you blaming yourself if your father and I fight. That's between me and him. And I promise honey, we're not getting divorced."
"Huh? Who's getting divorced?"
Masaru popped his head in the entryway. Mitsuki and Katsuki broke apart and turned to him. Mitsuki caressed her son's hair as she addressed her husband.
"Katsuki was scared about you and me."
Masaru frowned. "Kat." He swiftly made his way over to Katsuki. "Come here."
Just like Mitsuki did earlier, Masaru wrapped him in a tight hug. He pressed his lips to Katsuki's head, which embarrassed Katsuki since Shouto was still in the room. When they pulled away, Masaru kept a hand on Katsuki's shoulder.
"Your mother and I are very much in love," he said. "But no couple is perfect. We argue sometimes, but that's because we're different people with different opinions." He paused to smile at Mitsuki. "But they're always temporary. Certainly nothing to end a seventeen year marriage over."
Mitsuki smiled back before giving Masaru a quick kiss on the lips. Katsuki's embarrassment skyrocketed to infinity. He turned to Shouto to shoot him an apologetic look, but Shouto beamed where he stood. Maybe the boy was more of a hopeless romantic than Katsuki thought.
"Still," Masaru said, "I'm sorry if we scared you." He cupped Katsuki's cheek. "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"
Katsuki pressed his lips together. "Yeah. Kinda. But, um..."
Once more, he panned to Shouto. Katsuki's friend gave him a reassuring nod. Shouto's dual colored eyes carried the same sincerity they always did, but Katsuki was more appreciative of them now than he ever was.
He looked back to his parents. "I-I...I t-think I need to g-get help. Like...talk to s-someone."
Mitsuki brushed her fingers through Katsuki's damp hair. "We can look into that."
"I can ask my mom," Shouto said from behind them. "She knows a few. We've, uh, well my family's dealt with a lot of trauma."
"And there's nothing wrong with that," Masaru said. With a smile, he brushed his thumb along Katsuki's cheek. "If help is what you need, we'll make sure you get it."
Katsuki was then trapped in a three way hug with his parents. They kissed him, told him they loved him, and Katsuki felt the pressure alleviate off his shoulders.
Mitsuki broke free just to acknowledge their guest. "Come on, Shouto. You're part of this family too."
Shouto's eyes widened. "Oh. No, really, that's okay. I'm fine over here."
"Well," Masaru answered, grinning, "guess we'll have to come to you."
The three Bakugous, still hugging each other, shuffled across the room to Shouto, who was petrified. Katsuki giggled as he removed his arm from around Masaru and pulled Shouto into the hug. Shouto let out a little squeak as he was consumed by the ridiculousness of it all.
It was corny. If anyone else was here to witness it, Katsuki would melt into the ground. But sometimes, all a fifteen-year-old boy needed was the most important people in his life comforting him like this.
Change wouldn't happen overnight. It would take a lot of self discovery and reflection for Katsuki to grow into someone he could be proud of. But if for nothing else, he now knew that there was still a chance for him.
And as long as there was a chance, Katsuki refused to give up.
*
Katsuki and Camie sat on the curb in front of her house. There was no reason to go inside. He couldn't stay long as he was grounded. According to his parents, depression wasn't an excuse for hitting someone in the head with a baseball. But they did grant Katsuki permission to mend things with his girlfriend.
Could he even call her that anymore? After what happened, Katsuki had no clue where their relationship stood. But that wasn't his main concern. Whether they'd be fine after this or not, Camie deserved an apology.
It hurt to see her after what he did. Under the moonlight, she looked ethereal. Not that Katsuki didn't find her breathtaking at all times, but she dressed down today. Katsuki appreciated Camie's everyday glam looks (especially after watching her do her makeup in real time, all 45 minutes worth), but she rocked the hoodie and sweatpants combo better than anybody ever should. She looked both cute and cuddly, a deadly combination.
Katsuki wanted to hug her, throw an arm around her, hold her hand, something. But he was lost as to what was appropriate and what wasn't. So, they sat on the curb with a small bit of distance between them, and Katsuki abstained from touching her.
"First of all," he said, "I'm sorry for blowing up at you. You didn't deserve that."
Camie's hands were tucked in her sleeves as she rested them in her lap. "I'm sorry too. I should've listened when you said you wanted space."
"No, you were just trying to help. I know you only acted like that because you care about me. If the roles were reversed, I would've done the same thing."
Camie studied his face with sad eyes. "Okay."
And then they fell silent. It felt unnatural. Before their dispute, Katsuki and Camie were completely comfortable with one another. They shared secrets, poked fun at each other, and their chemistry in the bedroom was unmatched.
But right now, Camie might as well have been a stranger to him.
Camie took a slow breath. "Look, Katsuki," she said, fidgeting with her clothes, "last year, before I met you, I had a boyfriend."
Katsuki narrowed his brows. He knew he wasn't the first guy Camie had been with, but not the specifics. She never elaborated and he never asked. Katsuki was fully invested in their relationship. Any boy from Camie's past was irrelevant to their situation.
However, it'd be a lie if he said he wasn't intrigued that Camie was mentioning said ex-boyfriend at this moment. Given the circumstances, it had to be quite the story.
"He was a senior," Camie said. "I was a freshman. At first it was amazing. I'd never been in love before and he was so great." She shrugged. "And then, things changed."
"What happened?"
Camie tucked her hair behind her ear before responding. "He just...turned mean. He'd call me names, tell me I was dumb, say my looks were the only thing I had going for me. When I tried to stand up for myself he'd tell me that I'd never find a guy that would put up with me like he did. He said I should be thankful he let me be his girlfriend since no guy would want me for anything other than sex."
Katsuki's jaw dropped. He thought back to that night in her room when they fired questions at each other. When he asked her what her biggest fear was, her expression fell somber as she gave her cryptic answer.
"Getting hurt again."
If Katsuki knew back then that this was what Camie was referring to, he would've done more throughout their relationship to reassure her how incredible he thought she was. Now all he could do was observe the pain in her eyes as she recounted her past.
"It sounds bad," she said with a chuckle, "but he broke down my self esteem so much that I actually believed what he told me. So I stayed. I was still miserable, but I guess I just thought if I lost him, I'd be alone forever. And for some reason I believed I was better off dating a jerk than being on my own."
"Well you obviously came to your senses eventually," Katsuki said.
Camie smiled sadly. "Yeah, but only after I found out he'd been cheating on me for months."
"Jesus." Katsuki shook his head in disgust.
"The best part is when I confronted him about it, he tried to say it was my fault. That I wasn't satisfying him enough sexually so he needed to seek out other girls to 'get his fix'" she said with air quotes.
Katsuki clenched his jaw. "Who is this bastard? I'll kick his ass!"
"It doesn't matter," Camie said. "He graduated. And I'd rather not have to deal with him again." An exaggerated sigh escaped her lips. "I want to say that was the end of it, but it wasn't. Even after we broke up, I was still brainwashed by all the bullshit he said to me. So once I was single, I accepted that I'd never be anything more than a hookup girl. So that's who I became."
She dipped her head as she tugged at her hoodie. Katsuki still didn't touch her, but he did scoot closer to her. He figured that didn't cross any boundaries.
"I kinda..." Camie said, "fucked around a bit before we met. I'm not proud of it, but I also can't go back and change it."
"I'm not judging you," Katsuki replied.
"I know. I just want you to have the full story of the kind of person I used to be. And why I acted the way I did at the beginning of the year."
Now Katsuki understood. Camie kept her distance from him at school because she had her guard up. She was just as interested in Katsuki as he was in her at that point, but she convinced herself that Katsuki would never see her as anything more than a hookup.
Katsuki was young, so he didn't have a full grasp on the complexity of relationships and just how badly they can mess people up. To know that Camie fell in love with some douchebag who toyed with her emotions to where she couldn't even trust her own judgment, Katsuki was heartbroken on her behalf. No wonder why she ran away crying after Katsuki accused her life of being perfect. Now he felt even more like a jerk.
He couldn't bear the awkwardness anymore. "Can I hug you?"
Camie leaned into his hold immediately. When she hugged him back, Katsuki's heart soared. He missed this tremendously, that sense of security from having Camie in his arms. It felt so right that it was almost wrong. Euphoria like this wasn't meant for guys like him.
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he breathed into her hair. "And I don't think that'll ever change. But that's not the reason I fell for you. I like you for who you are. I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend if I didn't enjoy being around you."
When he realized his flub, he pulled away just enough to look her in the eye. The confusion in Camie's gaze was so endearing that he would've kissed her if he wasn't confused about something himself.
"Wait," he said, "are you still my girlfriend?"
A bit bashful, Camie grinned. "I hope so."
Katsuki skipped her lips and immediately kissed Camie's forehead before hugging her again. He peppered a few more kisses into her hair as they held one another. As suspected, Camie's hoodie made her extra cuddly.
"I missed you so much," he muttered. "I promise I'll never yell at you like that again."
Camie kissed his shoulder. "I'm sor-"
"Stop. Just hold me."
And so she did.
*
"You're late."
Katsuki snickered as he sat beside Shouto. To be fair, it was shameful that he was late to their meetup when the meetup took place on the roof of his house. But he only returned from Camie's house a few minutes ago and he first needed to assist Mitsuki with loading the dishwasher.
Technically, he wasn't breaking any rules. Katsuki was on house arrest, meaning the only places he could go for the next three weeks were school and home. As far as Katsuki was concerned, that meant the roof was fair game. And he was in desperate need of a night on the roof with his best friend.
"You're smiling," Shouto said. "So everything's okay with Camie?"
"Yeah," Katsuki answered. "We're cool now, thank God. I would've understood, but I'd have been a mess if she dumped me."
Shouto smirked. "Yeah. I think you cried enough for one day."
Katsuki snorted. "Fuck off."
He glanced up at the stars. Katsuki would never not be mesmerized by how enchanting the world looked at night. It bewildered him how expansive the galaxy was. Millions of stars scattered the sky, the majority of which he'd never see. Only a small fraction shone brightly enough, like they belonged to an exclusive club. If humans were like stars, no doubt Camie would be one of those special few.
"It's wild," he said. "Like, part of me still doesn't believe it. The most incredible girl I've ever met, and she's into me. It's the craziest fucking feeling. I know it sounds cheesy, but I'm so fucking happy with her, man. I don't even know how to explain it."
Shouto giggled. "Oh my God," he said. "You love her!"
"Huh?" Katsuki scrunched his face. "Who said that?"
Shouto pointed at him as he broke into a mischievous grin. "I can tell by looking at you. You're in love!"
Katsuki swatted his hand away. "Stop it! I never said I'm in love, idiot!"
"Katsuki's in loveeeeee," Shouto sang.
"Ugh."
Katsuki glided his tongue over his front teeth, puckering his lips like he swallowed a lemon. Shouto continued the teasing, and Katsuki wanted to brush it off. But deep down, he knew it was true.
Katsuki was in love.
It was extraordinary yet terrifying. For as wondrous as he found Camie, she could break his heart at any time. All that needed to happen was for her to realize that she could find someone better than Katsuki. It was a lot of stress for someone his age to deal with, and his life was complicated already.
But if he wanted this relationship to work, he needed to trust Camie. And she'd done more than enough to prove she was trustworthy.
With Shouto still taunting him, Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered. "Maybe I love her. So what?"
Shouto beamed. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm glad you found someone that makes you feel this way. It seems nice."
Katsuki would've pressed Shouto on his choice of wording, but was too occupied by the way his friend's smile faded. "What's wrong?"
Shouto shook his head. "Nothing," he said quickly. "It's just been a long day, that's all."
Katsuki sensed there was more to it, but after what he put Shouto through earlier, he left it alone. Shouto was right, today was a lot. And if something was truly bothering him, well, he'd bring it up to Katsuki at their next rooftop hangout.
So instead Katsuki laid down, Shouto following suit, and basked in the company of the whispering night, his best friend, and all the time in the world.