The young couple stayed close together for a moment in that warm embrace with Ayano's hands wrapped around Bakugou's neck and his hands wrapped around her waist.
Ayano was the first to pull away. Truthfully, she wanted to stay like that for as long as time would allow, but they had to return to the dorms sooner or later.
On Bakugou's end, he would have much rather pulled her back in for another kiss, but he knew that she would disapprove of it. Even though it was nighttime, they were still out in public. He couldn't care less if people saw them, but she would admonish him for disregarding modesty.
As he was debating on whether or not to pull her back to him, she interrupted his thoughts. "Oh...I suppose I should tell you now." She hummed in thought, bringing his complete attention to her. He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Our classmates, particularly Hagakure-san and Ashido-san, insisted that I give you a parting gift, as this is our last date as well as my last night with you before I depart for I-Island." She began explaining. Bakugou rolled his eyes in response, hearing very familiar words. The guys had also nagged him about the same thing. People really needed to learn how to mind their own damn business!
"I believe we both know that I am not particularly one for material objects..." She continued. It was true. The only thing that Ayano had ever taken great interest in were support items. Well...and Bakugou.
"Of course, I could always give you a hand-made gift. Another support item perhaps, but I feel that it would hold little meaning. I have already made you many support items, and I will most certainly make you more in the future. That is why I have chosen to gift you with something more symbolic." Her hand raised to grasp at a few strands of her hair, her fingers fiddling with the freshly cut ends.
"Until I return to you, I will not cut my hair."
"..."
Unlike the comfortable silences that they usually had, this one was abrupt and almost uneasy. Ayano, with her normally impassive expression, stared back at Bakugou's shocked face. She said what she wanted to, and she was simply waiting for his response.
"...Do you even know what you just said?" Bakugou finally asked. "Of course, I do. I'm the one who said it." Was Ayano's straight-laced response.
To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. They had met when they were little kids, before Bakugou's quirk had even manifested. For as long as he had known her, Bakugou had never seen her with long hair. The furthest it ever grew was to just below her chin. She always found long hair to be a nuisance, often getting in the way of her work.
Even if she kept longer hair, he was sure that it would be burned or cut off in some way due to her experimentation. That's why her hair was always so uneven and why she never bothered to accessorize it. He couldn't even imagine her with long hair!
If she wanted to gift him something more symbolic, then this was the way to do it. It was the ultimate show of devotion.
"Are you sure about that...?" The ash blond asked almost hesitantly.
Ayano raised an eyebrow. "What, are you saying I can't handle it?" She asked in challenge, playfully throwing his words right back at him.
The boy smirked. "Never said that." He took her hand, beginning to walk towards the school again.
The young inventor squeezed his hand back. "Who knows? Perhaps you will come to prefer me with longer hair." She suggested.
"I just prefer you." The explosive boy scoffed, no sign of a teasing tone in his voice. He was completely serious and meant every bit of it.
When he didn't hear a response, Bakugou turned to look at Ayano. His eyes widened to see her sheepish face, cheeks a slight pink. "...And you say I'm the one that knows how to say embarrassing things with a straight face..." She mumbled with a slight pout.
Bakugou couldn't help himself, bending down to steal her lips in another kiss. She was just too cute. To hell with modesty! People could look at them all they wanted!
Once again, Ayano was the first to pull back, albeit reluctantly. "We should get back. It's already this late. They might start to worr—" She was interrupted by another rough kiss.
"Let them worry." Bakugou breathed out quickly before diving in to seal her lips again before she could respond. Despite her original protests, Ayano could do little to resist him. After all, he wasn't the only one who wanted this.
After quite some time, Ayano was finally able to push him back, much to both of their dismay. "Come on, let's go." She promptly tugged at his hand, nearly dragging him with her.
.
.
.
"Congratulations, Aya-chan!!!" Everyone shouted as the couple entered the dorms, confetti flying from their party poppers. The room was decorated with a banner, streamers, balloons, and the works. Even Ayano's classmates from 1-H were here.
The girl bowed her head in appreciation. "Thank you, everyone. You really didn't have to go this far though." She had repeatedly told them that such celebrations were unnecessary, as Ayano wasn't exactly the type to care much for grandiose farewells. Her classmates, however, took it upon themselves to throw the best party. In a sense, it was like the party was more for their fun than for hers.
"Nonsense! We won't be able to see you for a whole year!" Hagakure exclaimed.
"Not to mention getting into I-Island is a huge accomplishment!" Midoriya added.
"Yeah! Of course, we'd throw you a party!" Mina concluded. "So, let's get this party started!!!" At that, the rest of her classmates shouted in agreement.
"Hey, Sasaki!" Ayano turned to the voice to see Fujiyoshi Yuudai. "If you hadn't come in with that brute of a boyfriend of yours, I almost wouldn't have recognized you." The boy quipped, causing one Bakugou to become very agitated. The ash blond was about to attack when he was held back by Ayano and given an admonishing stare.
"Wow, you've even got him well trained too!" Fujiyoshi continued to joke, making another vein pop up on Bakugou's forehead.
"You can stop antagonizing now, Fujiyoshi-kun. I thought we were done working for villains." Ayano somewhat joked back.
"I know, I know. It's just so fun to get a rise out of this guy. It's no wonder you do it all the time!" The boy laughed while Bakugou glared at him. "Anyways, I came here to congratulate you. Also, to warn you that once you come back, I'll be in a completely different league so you better watch out!"
Ayano smirked. "I'll be sure to take you up on that. It would be a shame if you fell too far behind me." She challenged back.
"Just you wait!" Fujiyoshi declared as he walked away.
"Sasaki!!!" Ayano turned to the new voice. "Mei! I'm surprised you were able to tear yourself away from the Development Studio." She remarked.
"Well, this is the last time I'll be able to show you my excellent babies for a while! And the last time I'll be able to see your babies!!" The pink-haired girl's eyes sparkled in excitement. "This is my 239th baby!!" She whipped out one of her inventions, wasting no time to discuss with Ayano.
Bakugou saw the light in Ayano's eyes as she spoke with Hatsume. He smiled, choosing to leave them to their own devices for a while. "Leaving your girlfriend, the guest of honor, already?" Kaminari questioned him as we went to the refreshments table.
"I don't need to be with her every second of the day, dunce face." Bakugou scoffed. As much as he wanted to actually do just that, he would never openly admit that to everyone.
"Oh, come on, man! You can be honest just this once you know? You're not gonna see her for a whole year!" Kirishima reminded him, his words accompanied with a jab of pain to Bakugou. Although, once again, he didn't show it.
The ash blond directed a longing gaze at Ayano, watching her enthusiastically talk about support items with Hatsume. He smirked, going back to his original task of bringing her a drink and a plate of food. "Who cares? It's not like one year is gonna kill us. You guys should mind your own business."
Kaminari and the other guys just shrugged their shoulders, leaving the matter alone. Kirishima, on the other hand, could have sworn that he saw a shred of sadness in Bakugou's eyes, but the boy returned to Ayano before the redhead could confirm what he saw.
.
.
.
After curfew was called, everyone returned to their respective dorms, tuckered out from all of the partying.
The couple had arrived at Ayano's door, but neither of them made a move to open it. They both knew that once they did, the night would come that much closer to ending.
"...Would you like to come inside?" Ayano tentatively asked as her hand paused on the doorknob.
Bakugou nodded as she opened the door. The two walked inside, still hand-in-hand. They sat next to each other on her bed. With their fingers interlocked, Ayano squeezed his hand. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"...I was hoping this day would feel so much longer..." She said softly. Bakugou tightly squeezed her hand back, indicating that he felt the same way. He pulled on her arm as he leaned back to lay on the bed.
She fell with him without any resistance, her head laying in the crook of his neck with her hair brushing against his cheek and chin. Bakugou wrapped an arm around her waist, his other one stroking through her hair.
He thought about her promise earlier. He once again tried imagining Ayano with long hair, but to no avail. It just didn't look right. Not that he thought long hair wouldn't suit her, just that it was so unthinkable and unexpected that nothing he imagined seemed like it would be the actual outcome.
Amidst his thoughts, Bakugou realized that Ayano's breathing had slowed and evened out. It wasn't surprising that she fell asleep so quickly after such a long day. After all, they had to deal with a horde of giant insects, a villain, crying children, and their very nosy classmates.
The boy gazed at her sleeping face, taking it all in before he lost the chance. He sighed, closing his eyes and gently pulling her closer.
.
.
.
The first thing Ayano realized when she awoke was that Bakugou was no longer on the bed with her.
She felt the sheets around her. They were cold, which meant that he left quite a while ago if not soon after she fell asleep. Ayano picked up her phone to check the time.
5:17 AM
The girl rubbed at her eyes as she set her phone back down. She realized that she was still wearing the same outfit from yesterday's date. Thankfully, she had lots of time to wash the clothes and give them back to their rightful owners.
She looked around her room, noticing how vacant it seemed. Since she would be leaving to study abroad for a whole year, they had requested she pack all of her things so that the room would be empty for the new coming first-years.
Aside from the furniture, which would be taken care of by the school, everything else of substantial size was gone. She had shipped all of her bulkier inventions back to her house, only keeping a few smaller ones on her person. Other than that, all of her belongings would be able to fit into a moderately sized duffel bag.
Ayano had held off on packing the things she would take to I-Island with her. It wasn't like she had much to begin with. Most of her belongings consisted of her tools and inventions which she had already shipped back home. It wouldn't take her more than a few minutes to pack.
She had just put it off for so long because packing would mean that she was really leaving. Knowing that she was going to leave had a completely different feeling from actually preparing to leave.
It proved to be harder for Ayano than she had initially thought.
The young inventor glanced at the corner of her room where the empty duffel bag was.
She sighed, getting to work.
.
.
.
After washing the borrowed clothes, Ayano neatly folded them and placed them into small bags. She hung the bags on Mina's, Uraraka's, and Jiro's doorknobs along with a thank you note.
She returned to her own room which was now even more empty. Her belongings were packed into her duffel bag and school bag. The furniture cleaned and the bed stripped of its sheets. She checked the time, seeing that it was now close to 7:00 AM.
She sighed once more, strapping on her school bag and picking up the duffel bag. Leaving her room, she headed to the boys' side of the floor towards Bakugou's room.
Her knuckles tapped lightly on his door. When she received no answer, she knocked again with slightly more force. When she was once again met with silence, her brows furrowed.
She would have knocked even louder, but she didn't want to wake him or Kirishima who was just next door. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out an earpiece. Placing it in her ear and tapping on it once, a holographic eye visor appeared over her face.
Her brows furrowed even further, when she switched the vision settings to Heat Mode. She didn't detect any heat signatures from Bakugou's room, indicating that he wasn't there.
Tapping the earpiece again to retract the eye visor, Ayano hummed in thought. It was possible that he was already awake and was just downstairs. With that thought in mind, the girl took the elevators down to the first floor.
"Aya-chan!" Midoriya got up and greeted her as he heard the elevator doors opening. Ayano smiled at him as she stepped out. She looked around, noticing that several of their other classmates were also in the lobby, many of them still in their pajamas and sleepy-eyed.
There was still no Bakugou though.
"Have you seen Katsuki?" Ayano asked her childhood friend.
Midoriya's eyebrows shot up. "Eh? Kacchan? You mean he wasn't with you? Is he not in his room?" The boy asked. At the shake of her head, Midoriya gave a small frown. "Sorry, Aya-chan. I haven't seen him today yet."
The girl thanked him, moving to the kitchen to make breakfast. By the time she was finished eating and cleaning up after herself, it was already close to 8:00 AM, her departure time. There was still no sign of Bakugou, which was beginning to worry her.
Of course, she would have liked to see him before she left but it wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't.
Even though she rationalized that in her head, it didn't make her any less sad at the possibility.
The car sent by I-Island officials reached the U.A dorm at 8:00 AM on the dot. Ayano placed her bags into the trunk of the car. Walking back towards her classmates who had gathered together outside, she bowed to them. "Thank you all for a memorable year. I hope to see you again as third-years."
Her short statements were met with many smiles and a few sniffles. "We'll miss you Aya-chan!" Many of them shouted. The girl smiled at them as she looked around once more. Bakugou was still missing from the crowd. Now that she was looking properly, it was odd that Fujiyoshi and Hatsume were also missing.
Before she could think more on it, the I-Island official's voice rang out. "Are you ready to depart, Sasaki-san?" He asked. She opened her mouth to respond when she heard three frantic pairs of footsteps.
Everyone turned to that direction, seeing Bakugou, Fujiyoshi, and Hatsume running towards them. Bakugou stopped just in front of Ayano, panting and tightly holding a long reddish-orange cloth. "Your gift..." He breathed out.
She gently took it from him, laying it out across both of her palms. It was soft like normal cloth, but it was oddly sturdy. Not exactly stiff, but it seemed tougher than an average cloth should be. Ayano looked back up as Bakugou began explaining.
"You can't really use it now since your hair isn't that long yet, but I figured if you were going to grow it out, then you'd need something to get your hair out of the way while you work." The ash blond said, looking away in embarrassment.
So that's where he was. He was up all night to make this gift. Of course, he couldn't have done it alone since this area wasn't exactly his expertise. So, Ayano turned to Fujiyoshi and Hatsume.
"It's made from a heat resistant and shock absorbent material. I can guarantee that no matter what you're working on, it won't break. We even had Mr. Explodo-King here use his explosions from one of your grenadier bracers." Fujiyoshi explained.
"It's also made from a shape-shifting alloy that can fit snugly around your hair! Not too tight or too loose! And when you're not using it, it'll shape perfectly to wrap around your wrist!" Hatsume continued excitedly.
Ayano wrapped the cloth loosely around her right wrist. True to Hatsume's word, Ayano felt it tighten to snugly fit itself around her wrist as if it were a roll of bandages.
"It's my 242nd baby! A baby I made with Bakugou and Fujiyoshi!" The pink-haired girl exclaimed, earning her a disgusted look from the other support student.
"Would you mind phrasing that a little differently, please?" Fujiyoshi asked. Hatsume only tilted her head in confusion, causing Fujiyoshi to shake his head in displeasure.
Ayano chuckled at their antics. Turning back to Bakugou, she gave him a bright smile. "Thank you, Katsuki. I love it." She gazed at it, fiddling with it on her wrist.
Bakugou promptly pulled her against him, swiftly cupping her cheek and kissing her deeply. There were a few cheers and wolf whistles behind them, not that they really heard it though.
As they pulled away from each other, Bakugou breathed out a sigh. "I love you."
Ayano's eyes widened and her jaw nearly dropped. It wasn't that she didn't believe him. She knew that he felt the same way about her that she felt about him. It's just that he never said it aloud like this. It never bothered her because she never needed him to confirm his feelings with words. He did so just fine with only his actions.
She knew he would say it eventually. She just didn't think it would impact her like this. Maybe it was because it would be the last thing she heard from him for a whole year. Or maybe it was because she longed to hear those words more than she originally thought.
The girl looked down, her fringe blocking Bakugou's sight of her eyes. "Ayano?" He asked with concern. "...fair..." He heard the last bit of what she mumbled out. "What?" He asked again.
"...It isn't fair...For you to say that to me now of all times..." Her voice was shaky. Bakugou bent down to see her face, his eyes widening at the sight.
"I was not supposed to cry today...and then you come and say such an embarrassing thing at the last moment..." She accused him with no real strength, her eyes glossy and tearing up slightly. Before her tears could fall, Ayano shut her eyes tightly. Opening them, she roughly pulled Bakugou in for another kiss. When she pulled away, Bakugou could still see the unshed tears in the corners of her eyes.
"We will be third-years when I return. When that happens, I better hear news of you becoming part of U.A's new Big Three." Ayano challenged him.
Bakugou smirked. "I was going to do that even without you telling me to. I'll be standing at the top, so you better be prepared to claw your way up to meet me there when you get back." Ayano smirked back at him, accepting his challenge.
The couple heard the I-Island official awkwardly cough behind them. "Excuse me, Sasaki-san, but if we delay departure any further, we will be behind schedule." Ayano gave him a nod of acknowledgement. She gave Bakugou one last kiss before heading into the backseat of the car.
She rolled down the window as Bakugou walked up to it. "Remember what I said about not giving those lame foreign boys the time of day." He warned her as the car started.
"I will, and you can remember what I said about trusting that I will not look at any other man but you." Ayano replied as the car slowly accelerated.
Bakugou started walking alongside the car to keep up. As the car kept accelerating, he picked up the pace, going from a walk, to a jog, to a full-on sprint. Finally, he had to use his quirk, throwing his hands back and releasing explosions to propel himself forward.
Even with all of his training, however, his hands had to give out eventually. He was unable to follow the car any further, standing in place and staring after it.
He stood in the middle of the street for a while, longingly staring at the car as it and Ayano slowly disappeared from his sight, his arms shaking and throbbing from overuse of his quirk.