Work Text:
There he was.
He still looked so good, handsome as he always had been. You hadn’t looked away from him since you spotted him a minute ago. He was standing with Kirishima and Kaminari, all drinks in hand. He was wearing a plain black shirt with some loose cargo pants and those ugly loafers you always used to make fun of him for wearing. They were talking to each other, but all you could see was their lips moving. The sound of everyone talking making it hard to pay attention to any conversation. When it seemed he was going to look your way, you looked away. Looking back to your own group of friends, Ochako and Asui.
The last time you had seen him was almost four months ago, when he had decided to cut ties with you. He had wanted to focus on his hero career, something you understood completely. It still hurt like hell when he broke things off. Whatever it was you both had going on, neither one of you put a label on it. You weren’t exactly dating, but you weren’t seeing other people either. It was hard to forget those late nights you both spent together, doing other things besides having sex. You had really treasured those nights, knowing how strict he was about his sleep schedule. Yet he always made an exception for you. In the end it didn’t really matter, he had went his own way without you. Maybe all those times he had kissed you so tenderly, almost lovingly, had messed with your head. Maybe it had only been sex to him.
So now here you were, at some reunion with your class. You were all around 25 now, full blown heroes. Well, except for Midoriya who was a teacher at UA now. Tonight, you were all gathered to celebrate Todoroki on being the number 2 hero. A spot that was very much earned, he really did deserve it. You were rank 33, never being one to care for popularity. You had a good quirk, umbrakinesis, the ability to control and manipulate shadows. Your quirk was at its best at night, where there were more shadows. You worked in the back ground, basically as support. You were working for the hero commission, a job you took after Bakugou had ended things with you. You had relocated from your former city, Musutafu, and were now located in Tokyo. You occasionally still went back to visit your parents. You snapped out of your thoughts at the sound of your name.
“Huh?” You looked confused, looking around your table to figure out who was talking to you.
“I was asking how working for the hero commission was going?” It was then you realize Kirishima was the one who asked. You turned around to look at him, avoiding looking at Bakugou who was looking in your direction. Everyone was looking at you, waiting on you to answer.
“Oh” you laughed awkwardly before saying “it’s been good so far! The commission has me doing high priority cases here lately so I’m always busy”
“You said you flew in from Tokyo yesterday?” Midoriya asked, looking a bit excited “is that where your latest case was at?”
”No, I live there now” you smiled, thinking of how beautiful the city was. You had really enjoyed your time there “it’s closer to headquarters so the commission had me relocate there, it’s a beautiful city”
”That’s right, I remember Tokoyami saying something about a case he was working on with you” Asui said, a finger laid on her lip as she spoke thoughtfully “I didn’t know you had moved there”
“I moved there a few months ago” you said nervously, realizing you never did tell anyone you had moved. You had been so busy with hero work that it had slipped your mind. You looked away from the red head and down to your glass of wine you were drinking from.
“Is the commission better now that Hawks has took over?” Momo asked concern, they all remember how the commission had received backlash before the war. The truth about all they kept hidden from the public and what they made some of their heroes do under their orders had been expose.
“The commission has been nothing, but honest throughout my time there” you said, thinking of how things are at headquarters. “Hawks is great at what he does. Nothing like the previous commission had been exposed of”
“So,” you turned to see Mina smiling devilishly at you, trying to get some juicy gossip “is Hawks still as handsome and charming as he used to be”
“Sure” you laughed, looking over at Tokoyami. You both knew Hawks was not a people person, he had been trained by the commission to be. In reality he was awkward and a little derpy. Working with him had made you realize that he was lonely and a bit of an introvert, the result of having to act a certain way for the previous commission. The former wing hero was far from a lady’s man, the gossip tabloids had been so wrong about that.
The conversation soon changed, some of their group had went outside to smoke. Sero, Satou, Kaminari, and Jirou– you didn’t know they smoked. Momo had come to sit with your group, sitting in Satou’s empty seat.
“So how has your program been going, Ochako?” Momo asked, everyone at their table looking over at the zero gravity girl.
“It’s been going so good! I’m hoping to open another center in Hosu and Tokyo later this year” The pink cheek girl said, her voice excited as she spoke about the progress she had made throughout the years. Her program had really done well now that the government had started funding it. She was doing amazing work.
“Your program is going to help so many people who are misunderstood by society, ribbit” Asui said, smiling proudly at her best friend.
“That’s the plan!” Ochako smiled, a sad distant look in her eyes. The memories of the war still lived fresh in all their minds, some more than others.
You were taking a drink from your glass of red wine when someone bumped into your shoulder, causing your wine to spill a bit on your white button up tshirt.
”Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” A horrified Kaminari said, having stumbled as he tried to sit back down at his seat. It was obvious he had been having a bit too much to drink.
“It’s fine” you sighed, trying to wipe your shirt with a paper towel, but it wasn’t helping “I’m going to go rinse it off in the bathroom”
“Want one of us to go with you?” Ochako offered, it was like a thing for the girls to go to the bathroom together.
“Nah,” You waved off, getting up from your seat “I’ll be back in a bit”
As you were walking out the room, you could hear Mina scowling Kaminari for spilling wine on your shirt. You didn’t even look around as you made your way to the bathroom. The room was empty when you walked in, you unbutton your shirt and took it off. Good thing you had wore a white spaghetti strap shirt underneath, you weren’t completely naked. You rinse your shirt with cold water, but the stain still remained. You tried to scrub it with your fingers, but it was being stubborn. You decided to take it to a dry cleaners when you got back home. Drying your shirt and hands, you put the shirt back on without buttoning it up and you walked out of the bathroom. As you made your way back to where your friends were at, you bumped into Bakugou. Something you hadn’t expected to do.
“Oh, hey” You tried not to sound too surprised as you stopped before you smacked into him. He was walking out of the private room their class had reserve. His pretty red eyes locked on to yours, a look in them that you didn’t understand. He was still so pretty.
“You headed back in?” He asked, he sounded almost strained. Like he was forcing himself to talk.
“Uh, yeah” You gulped, feeling your heart clench a bit at the tone of his voice. You didn’t want to bother him, he was probably already annoyed enough with being here. You pointed to the stain on your shirt “Couldn’t get the stain out”
You internally cringed at how awkward you sounded. You hadn’t talk to him in so long and it’s like you didn’t know how to anymore.
“Try some white vinegar” he recommended, looking away from you at something behind you “you seem to be doing good”
You were a bit stunt at his attempt at conversation. Bakugou wasn’t much of a conversationalist, specially with women. He was awkward and usually aggressive, even when showing affection. He always had a hard time trying to say what he felt. So him actually talking to you wasn’t something you expected, specially after not hearing from him after so long.
“Yeah, I guess i am” You laughed nervously, lying. You had been far from good and you hid it by working so much. You missed him and the only way to distract yourself was by working until you didn’t have time to. “You seem to be doing better than ever. Congratulations on the agency by the way, I… I know it’s always been a dream of yours”
“Thanks, yeah it has been” he said back in a gruff voice, it sounded like his throat was dry. His shoulders were tense, his hands stuffed in his pockets, and his pointed glare aimed at the wall behind you. He almost looked uncomfortable.
It hit you then that maybe he had not planned to talk to you before running into you in the hallway. Bakugou was not one to have meaningful conversation, always doing things through actions was his go to. His body looked so tense with how straight it was.
“I’ll…” you gulped, your turmoil of emotions getting a bit too much for you. You had to go, now “I’ll let you get by”
You didn’t hear anything from him as you looked away and walked around him. Everyone was back in the room except for you and Bakugou. They were talking about the latest hero news from what you picked up. You walked back over to your table to grab your things.
“I’m about to head out” You said, getting everyone’s attention. You grabbed your purse and put it over your shoulder as you looked at your friends.
“It was so good to see you!” Was said by a lot of your other classmates, you saying the same back to them with a smile.
“You probably need to get some rest before you fly out tomorrow” Momo said thoughtful, her tone sounding very motherly.
“I do,” You sighed, already missing your friends that you don’t get to see all the time “I’ll text you all to see when we can all meet up again soon”
The next reunion was your turn to pick when and where. The girls all agreed, excited to planned something for you all in the future. You waved at them all before walking over to Todoroki and congratulating him on his rank before leaving. For some reason Kirishima looked at you weirdly, but you ignored it. The last stop you made was at the front to pay your tab. After that you walked out of the building and towards the parking lot where your rental car was at.
The drive back to the hotel was short, the radio lowly playing. You thought about your friends the whole time. They all had done well for themselves, it was obvious. It was only when you were getting ready for bed that you let your thoughts wander over to Bakugou.
You had missed him, seeing him tonight only made those feelings stronger. A bit before he had ended things, you had come to the realization that you loved him. You didn’t really care about anything else as long as you had him there by your side. You never did tell him, you had been trying to work up the nerve to ask him what you both were to each other. The thing you enjoyed the most were the days you both were able to see each other. Those days were often during the week, maybe two days if you both had time. You both would cook together, something he taught you, but you still weren’t as good as him. You would listen to him rant about his day, usually about how weak the villains were or about a useless sidekick. You both would end the night by either watching a movie on the couch or having sex. The cuddling was the best part, you loved to be close to him. He always smelled so good and his skin was soft, even with all the scars that littered his skin. He wasn’t very clingy, you think the cuddling was mostly for you.
The situation you both had ended up in had happened after a late night out with your class. Kaminari had picked a night club for the yearly reunion, it had been his turn to pick. You don’t really remember how it happened, but you both had ended up kissing by the bathrooms. Both of you leaving without saying anything to your friends after that, hand in hand. You only remember parts of that night, it had been so good. You had grown addicted and you both kept going back for more. That had been an almost a year before things ended and you both went your own separate ways.
“I think we should stop this, I have to focus on my hero career”
After not hearing from him for weeks, you took the offer from the commission and left Musutafu. You couldn’t bare to be there in your house, full of memories of the man you wanted, but couldn’t have because he didn’t want you. The change had been rough at first, but it didn’t take long to adjust. Eventually you were okay again. Work was a good distraction, even if you still thought about him often.
Tomorrow you would go back to the longing that you put aside and go back to work.
The flight back to Tokyo was uneventful, you mostly read through a file the commission had sent you on your next case. An underground trafficking station, suspected to mostly hold women and children. The location was still unknown, you were to be sent out to scout. The file said you were to be working with Vantablack, a student from class B who has a similar quirk as yours.
Getting back to your apartment later that afternoon, you unpacked your bag. You were exhausted. You didn’t really have time to rest much while you had been in Musutafu. You went to visit your parents after you arrived there before going to your hotel. Then the reunion and then you flew out the next morning. There had been no time to rest and now it was time to get back into work mode. Working is really all you did now. Sleep, eat, work, come home, eat and repeat. Hopefully now that Ochako would be opening a center for her program here you could at least have one of your classmates to hang out with. The few that work at the commission were never interested in making friends with others. Sometimes you would see Tokoyami when he would come visit Hawks, but you both weren’t very close. Sure you both could have good conversation, but it wouldn’t go farther than that. It was lonely.
As you unpacked and silent to some music, your buzzing phone got your attention. It was the buzz it did when you got a text message. You were expecting it to be from your mother or from Hawks. You hadn’t not expected it to be from a certain blonde that occupied your mind a lot.
Bakugou
Hey.
It was a short and simple text, but it left your mind spinning. It had been months since you last had a text from him. He hadn’t even text you to wish you happy birthday 2 months ago. You sat froze, looking down at the text that sat in your notifications. You finally blinked when your screen went black. Should you answer or just ignore it? You were both heroes and would eventually have to work together. Besides, you both were kind of friends before you had hooked up.
You
Hey.
You quickly typed and sent before you chickened out. You leaned back on your couch with a sigh, setting your phone face down. You were trying to calm your nerves when your phone buzzed again. You quickly flipped it over to read what you assumed was his message. Only to see it was your mom.
Mom
Next time you come to visit we should go to the spa!
You groaned, a bit irritated with yourself for jumping so desperately. You texted your mom back and got up from your couch. You set your phone down on your coffee table and walked to your bedroom bathroom. A shower would surely help your nerves, but even standing under the warm water you felt still so nervous. You tried to figure out what he could possibly want. Surely it wasn’t to get back together, not after months. You were for sure he had took his few things he had at your place when he had left. He had not left anything behind, not a sock or a shirt. You let the water spray you on the face once more before stepping out. You got dressed for bed, choosing some fussy pijama pants and a crop tank top along with some fussy socks. You went back to the bathroom to blow dry your hair before going back out to your living room. You looked at your phone while chewing on your bottom lip before you groaned and snatched it. The screen lit up to show that you had been in the shower for almost an hour. You had several notifications, you scrolled past some from your social medias. Past some emails from work and finally down to your messages. You had 2 from your mom you would answer later, some from the class A group chat, 2 from Hawks, and 4 from Bakugou.
Mom 7:17
They just opened one up not far from the house!
Mom 7:17
Just let me know when you’re coming for a visit and I’ll set us up an appointment!
Hawks 7:26
Did you go over the case file? They want you to fly out in two days and will be meeting Vantablack at Location C to scout out.
Hawks 7:27
Oh and don’t worry about breakfast tomorrow! I’m getting everyone bagels! 🥯
You laughed at that, at least it wasn’t donuts this time. Hawks did like to spoil his employees with sweet treats and breakfast. Your favorite was when he would get everyone hot chocolate on cold days. Those were the best days. Finally, you got down to Bakugou’s messages.
Bakugou 7:13
Are you still in Musutafu ?
Bakugou 7:14
Shit. That’s right, you were flying back out today.
Bakugou 7:20
I’m flying there tonight. Can we meet up sometime tomorrow?
Bakugou 7:23
You can say no if you want, I’m not forcing you to say yes
For some reason, his text sounded nervous. He was never one to repeatedly text like that. Maybe he was drunk? He had always been an affectionate drunk, which was very surprising considering how aggressive he usually was. You typed something, but quickly deleted. You didn’t want to seem too desperate and you truly didn’t want to jump to the wrong idea. It could be for a case after all, right? Probably not.
You
8:12
Sure, got any place in mind to meet up at? I have to go in tomorrow but my shift ends at 4:30. Would 5 be a good time for you?
There. It was professional and almost straight to the point. You could feel your belly flutter with stupid butterflies. You weren’t even mad he still made you feel like that. You missed him. His reply came a minute later, surprisingly.
Bakugou 8:13
You know where the Minamoto shop is at? The one downtown?
You 8:13
I sure do. I go there just about every week, lol.
Which, you really did! They had some white peach mochi that was to die for! Hawks had gotten everyone some matcha from there when you first started working at the commission and it had gotten you hooked. Their high prices were why you only went once a week, when you were home of course. You tried to save some for when you leave on missions, but you always end up eating them on the flight to wherever you’re going. It got you thinking as to why he wanted to meet there, he was never really a fan of sweets. He had always lectured you about how bad for you it was to eat too much sugar.
Bakugou 8:14
Of course you do. Meet you there at 5.
You 8:14
Okay, see you then.
You set your phone back down, nervously chewing on your lip. You tried to think of the hundreds that he could be asking you to meet for. It couldn’t be bad, right?
“It’s fine. No big deal” you tried to reassure yourself as you grabbed your phone and got up to go to the bedroom.
It was time for bed.
Sleep didn’t come easy for you that night. You tossed and turned and freaked out about your meeting with Bakugou. You eventually got up a little earlier than usual and actually put in an effort to put on a little make up for work. You weren’t much to wear make up since you discovered lash extensions. You usually got them done monthly or sooner if they didn’t last. You didn’t have to put much effort, but still liked to wear makeup rarely.
Your day at the commission wasn’t too busy. You just went over important mission details on the case and were informed about your departure time for tomorrow. 4:30 didn’t take long to arrive and you were soon changing out of your hero costume and into some civilian clothes. A simple t-shirt and jeans with some comfortable sneakers. You had your hair down, preferring it that way. You arrive at Minamoto at 4:52 as foot traffic was a little heavy. The work commute at this time was awful, but you managed. You weren’t expecting to find Bakugou at the door at the same time you arrived. He was dressed in jeans and a tshirt as well, with custom sneakers. He looked comfortable.
“Oh, hey!” You said a little shyly stepping closer to him wrap him in a quick hug. Something you only did with with him and close friends. You had debated on wether or not to hug him, but thought ‘oh what the hell’. What do you have to loose?
”Hey” he said a little surprised at your sudden hug, wrapping an arm around you in a tight holed. You had really missed being in his arms. And oh god, his smell. He still smelled so good.
“What to head in? The line doesn’t look too bad” you said pulling away after a bit of time passed. The hug wasn’t awkward, it was more longing than anything.
“Yeah” he mumbled as he opened the door for you. There was 3 people ahead of you both so the wait wouldn’t be long.
“So what brings you to Tokyo?” You asked trying to start a bit of conversation going. Your nerves were brewing in you and you were trying not to show it “you here for work?”
”Kinda” he said looking down at you to meet your eyes. By the look he was giving you, you knew this conversation was going to be a good one. “I opened my agency here”
”Wait, what? Really?” You asked surprise, not even hiding it. “I didn’t know that”
Which you really didn’t. Nowhere in the class A group chat was anything said about where his agency had been opened at. You had not expected it to be here in Tokyo.
“Yeah,” he nodded, stepping forward as the line shortened “Musutafu wasn’t where I wanted to stay at forever”
Which you understood, leaving the nest or something like that. How would any of you grow if you didn’t leave the place where you started your career at? You had come to learn that after moving to Tokyo. You get so used to being in a routine that it’s hard to change. At one point you had been okay with living a simple hero life as long as you had him by your side, but now you knew he had been right to take a little time for himself. You grew from it and were now making a change out there that you never thought would be possible for you.
“What made you pick Tokyo?” You asked genuinely wanting to know. A lot of hero agencies were already here, the big ones too.
“You, actually” he said it like it was an obvious answer, like it had always been his answer. You snapped your head to look over at him, shock clearly written on your face as you looked at him. He looked back you, but you didn’t get to say anything as you were called to the counter.
“Next!”
You both stepped up to place your order, not looking back at Bakugou.
“Hi, let me get an order of chocolate mikasa and a box of assortment mochi, please” you said, putting your card out from behind your phone case to pay. As you were about to slide your card, Bakugou’s hand grabbed yours to stop it.
”Add hers to mine. Let me get an order of the Sakura mochi and that’ll be all” he didn’t look over at you as you tried to argue. You both didn’t say anything as you waited on your sweets. When you each received your boxes you turned to walk over to the seating area they had. You both picked a corner booth close to the window. You could people watch while you ate.
You opened your chocolate mikasa, but didn’t start eating it yet as you looked at him. He was looking out the window with a calm expression on his face. The finger tapping he did on his crossed arms was the only give away that he was nervous.
“Why me?” You finally asked, chewing on your bottom lip nervously as you looked at him. Waiting on him to look back at you “what does your agency being here in Tokyo have anything to do with me?”
He finally looked over at you when you got done talking. His eyes bounced around your features for a few seconds. They finally stopped at your eyes and he gave you this look. A look so soft that you could had swore could make you melt.
“I never thought about where I would open my agency. I only cared about it being the best, no matter where” he started speaking, his voice so uncharacteristically soft that it sounded like a different man talking to you. He paused for a few seconds and when you were about to open your mouth to ask something, he spoke again “that was until what you told me started mattering to me. I used to not care about rainy days, or how pretty the sky looked when it was setting, or how the stupid fucking stars looked good at night. I never thought the color yellow was pretty until you told me it was your favorite and after like a fucking idiot I ended things with you, I started seeing yellow everywhere”
You could had burst into tears right there and then. His words so soft and meaningful, even with the cussing. You silently sat there looking at him with teary eyes as you let him continue saying what he wanted to say.
”I don’t know if you remember the night you had asked me about where I would want to live when I settled down. I told you I didn’t care because I would be too busy with hero work”
You nodded, because you do remember that night. You had asked him after you had come to realize how you truly felt about him. You had wanted to know, but didn’t really get an answer you wanted to hear. “You said-“
”Tokyo because of the gardens and how beautiful they were when it’s spring” you smiled, thinking of the lush gardens you visited when you first arrived. You couldn’t wait to go see the Sakura trees at their prime later this year.
“I knew then that I wanted to opened my agency up here in Tokyo.” He still looked at you, not looking away a single time as he spoke “because the only opinion that I care about besides my own, is yours. Because I knew that I would follow you anywhere you went”
You sniffled, wiping your tears away with one of your fingers as you tried to keep the water works at bay “If that was how you felt, then why did you end things?”
You were confused. How he was talking now didn’t explain why he ended things four months ago. It didn’t make sense. If he cared so much about what you thought and wanted then why-
“I was a fucking coward” he looked down at the table and scoffed “I came to realize that what I felt for you was too much for me to handle. And like a god damn coward, I ran away at the fact that I am so in love with you that if fucking scared me”
Your breathe was sucked out of you at his words. You looked at him wide eyed at his confession and how easy in came from him.
“I thought at one point that hero work and love could never go together. Look at All Might for Christ sake. Number one hero and symbol of peace, but it is worth it if you’re all alone and miserable without the person you love by your side?” He looked back up to meet your eyes, “the last four months have been nothing, but shit without you by my side. I don’t want to do it any longer, living my life like im not dying to be at your side. That’s saying a lot given I a have died and my heart could give out any moment”
You winced at his shitty joke. Katsuki had always been shit at joking, specially intentionally. After the war and living with heart damage he had developed a knack for making her problem jokes. Which left everyone feeling awkward at his not so funny jokes that he thought were hilarious. The joke taking a bit of the sentiment away, but you knew what he meant.
”I have known for months that I love you” you said, feeling a weight come off your shoulders at your confession. You watch a small smile come to his lips making your heart flutter. “These last couple of months have been the worst without you”
He brought one of his hands to the top of the table. Laying it flat and facing up, an invitation to lay your hand over the top of his. The touch felt so good to you, his hands were callous like always. But you didn’t mind, you never did.
“So what about giving this another try? One more time?” He smiled at you, squeezing your hand affectionately as you smiled back at him just as loving as he was looking at you.
“I would love that” you giggled a bit, blinking the tears away.
Deep down you knew that you wouldn’t need to give him another chance. This was it, the start of a happy beginning for the both of you.