Chairs skidded, chatters and bodies rose, blending into a lighthearted symphony of departure familiar to everyone. Another long day of classes was over yet rather than skipping excitedly down the hall with her friends, Uraraka remained pensive by the door. Following the events of last night, she had sent Midoriya a text message requesting they make time to talk the following day. A very thorough talk that would, once and for all, make clear where each of them stood under their...circumstances. Not to mention he still owed her that answer. Though if she had to be honest, it probably meant plenty less to her now than it would have months ago. Before…

She laughed quietly to herself. There she went again. Her thoughts, no matter how muddled, always circled back to a certain person that, in what felt like a blink of an eye, single-handedly turned her world upside down. And it all started with a kiss— their first kiss. The places where he tasted and touched seared with longing and despair, worse so at night when she laid in bed alone, staring up at the ceiling or some dark corner of her room, remembering how he adamantly pushed her away before she could reveal the sins of her heart. 'It's probably for the best,' she constantly reassured herself, figuring that if she had actually succeeded, Bakugou would likely have resented her for not having a strong enough will to keep her end of the bargain. Yet now and again, she found herself imagining an alternate reality where he listened to all of her feelings, disposed of their 'deal,' and accepted her with open arms. Just then, a heavy presence appeared beside her, disintegrating the pitiful thoughts into white dust. Without even having to look, Uraraka knew who the potent energy belonged to. Honestly, she was surprised he sought her out at all. "Now isn't a good time," she spoke up first, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Hmph, you're sure of yourself," Bakugou scoffed, watching more for Uraraka's reaction than the curious looks of their classmates walking past them. "Let me guess. Kirishima?"

'He knows.' The thought had haunted Uraraka since she stepped foot in the classroom that morning and was immediately met with bitter and callous air emanating from Bakugou who neither stirred nor turned her way. His hostility still managed to prickle her skin even when he sat a good distance across the room and it was evident from his blatant disregard of Kirishima that she wasn't alone in the torment. Kirishima . Realization just sank in. It really happened— they'd kissed. Not in a friendly or harmless greeting sort of way either, but an actual kiss not unlike the ones she shared with Bakugou, if only lacking a small degree of fervor. She remembered feeling peaceful, if even for a fleeting moment, and her heart overflowed with sweet gratitude as she kissed him back. No doubt her decision to indulge herself in the bliss of his caresses was to mostly help her forget the painful wound Bakugou inflicted, but when she awoke, the spell had broken and she was overcome with remorse for conceding to her weakness.

"You might be here a while since Aizawa kept him," Bakugou interrupted her pondering, probably out of impatience when she didn't answer him.

"If you must know, I'm actually waiting for Deku." Uraraka heard him snicker and frowned. Either he was trying to pick a fight or he thought the incident between them minuscule enough to disregard and go back to teasing her like he used to. "What?" she sternly demanded of the blonde.

"Nothing," Bakugou shrugged, "I just can't take you seriously when you act all 'cold.' It's not like you."

"Oh and I'm supposed to always smile while happily telling you, 'Go ahead, Bakugou. Mess with me all you like, I don't mind!' For your amusement?"

"I wasn't…! Ugh. Forget it." Bakugou turned the other way, breathing deeply to keep his temper mild. He lowered his voice a tad. "Look, I know you're still upset from before, but be reasonable. The sooner we get back to how things were-"

"A little too late for that now, don't you think?" Uraraka knew her tone had been unusually harsh, but she couldn't help it. Just when she thought she'd ascended enough to feign some normality, it took only Bakugou's brief intrusion to send her plummeting back into disheartenment. Even worse, something as simple as him shifting away from her, like now, still managed to spur the feeling of disappointment. She peeked from her peripheral as he tucked what looked like a bundle of his gym clothes under his arm and walked away without uttering anything in return. Wasn't this how she wanted them to be? She should have been satisfied...relieved… Beaming with victory. And yet, with his back completely turned to her, she proceeded to look morosely towards him, wishing she didn't secretly think, 'Say something, you jerk! Come back and refuse me even just a little…' She withheld voicing her grief, and thankfully so because Kirishima's voice popped in from behind shortly after.

"Oh, Uraraka! Sorry, were you waiting for me? Mr. Aizawa wasn't too happy with my quiz results and scheduled me for an hour of tutoring every other day with Yaoyorozu until exams. It's my fault. I should've studied more." Seeing as the brunette didn't immediately turn his way, he followed her gaze. "Were you with Bakugou just now?"

Uraraka shook her head. "Ah, yeah, but it was nothing. He just...asked me things I didn't have the answers to. That's all."

The dejection in her glossy eyes left Kirishima unconvinced. He wanted to find solace in that she was now looking at him as she spoke, but no. Bakugou's presence still chained her and he could sense that it was taking every ounce of strength she had not to return to staring at his disappearing back. An overwhelming surge of longing overcame him as he recalled every moment he found Uraraka with her head turned from him, yearning for the attention of another. Before he could process his actions, Kirishima pulled her in by the waist and, to every present bystander's astonishment, planted an affectionate kiss atop her head.

"Ki-Kirishima?!" Uraraka's face brightened to match his hair. "What are you-"

Kirishima briskly restored some distance between them before any nosy individuals had a chance to document his little moment of exhibition with their phones. "Sorry! I forgot myself for a sec there. Won't happen again, I promise. Unless…you want it to."

He flashed an innocent smile, but Uraraka wasn't blind. She knew he somehow sensed her affliction and did what he did to snap her out of it. To her relief, she felt no offense towards his actions, especially since they were lucky enough that none of their friends were there to witness the event. "You really are kind, Kirishima," she began to laugh with him, gently rubbing the spot where his lips had been. "Thank you."

"Eh, I wouldn't say that. I did it for more selfish reasons than you think."

"Hmm, maybe that's true. I still appreciate it, though."

"And about, well, you know… What I asked you before…"

Uraraka nodded in understanding, bouncing anxiously on her toes. "I haven't forgotten, don't worry. As promised, I'm thinking seriously about it."

"I know and I appreciate that. Just…" Kirishima hesitated, unsure as to why he felt such disquiet whenever he searched Uraraka's eyes. He wanted to be sure that they were looking back at him, but if he had to be honest, he might as well have been a ghost. "Anyway," he quickly digressed, disliking where his thoughts were going. "Should we go or…?"

"Oh, you go on ahead." Uraraka pointed back at the classroom with her thumb. "I'm actually waiting on Deku. Don't know what's keeping him, though."

At last, Midoriya came bouncing out the door, his thumbs tucked comfortably under his backpack's straps as he wailed, "I'm sorry, Uraraka! I wanted to make sure I copied down all of the notes on the board so I could study them tonight. Di-Did you wait long?"

Before Uraraka could politely tell him otherwise, Aizawa stepped out of the room after him. He glanced between the three and asked, "Is Bakugou still around?"

"No," both Kirishima and Midoriya replied first.

It was a short and honest answer that Aizawa would have no choice but to be satisfied with, until Uraraka added with clear certainty, "He's staying after to train. Probably out in the field since the other facilities are closed for maintenance today."

Aizawa loudly breathed in, "Drat. I have to attend a staff meeting right now so it seems I'll have to try and catch him tomorrow. Ah, but if any of you happen to see him before then, let him know I need to speak with him."

The three watched as the older man lazily swept his clipboard and folders under his arm and trudged on down the hall. "I hope Kacchan's not in trouble," Midoriya muttered, "Seemed kind of urgent."

"Y-Yeah. Me, too." Uraraka stole a glance at Kirishima, uncertain as to what kind of face he was making. She didn't mean to blurt out something assuming, but before she realized it, the knowledge had left her with ease. How could it not? Bakugou keeping any type of outdoorsy clothes out and handy meant he intended to do some workout or intense quirk training. At least, that's how it always was when they used to do their sparring sessions together.

"Well then, I should get going," the hardening quirk user finally grinned, still not looking at either Uraraka or Midoriya. "I have a quiz to make up for and I don't intend on flunking it again! See you guys later!" He gave a weak wave of his hand before also disappearing down the hall, finally leaving the two to their privacy.

"S-So," Midoriya thickly exhaled as he turned to face Uraraka. With the hallway finally emptied out, now was as good a time as ever to start. "Aside from you calling me out with that, err, text you sent— thanks, by the way— I believe I owe you a lot of…explanations. Way overdue."

Uraraka rallied her composure and nodded almost sarcastically back, "Oh, you bet you do! Like why you sent Kirishima to meet me at the amusement park specifically mentioning it was to host our date 'in your place.'"

A deep frown formed on Midoriya's lips. "That was…"

"The worst part about it? You knew how I felt. We even spent hours at a café together after your grand return to make sure we were both on the same page following up on my confession from way back when. So forgive me, Deku, if I sound so fed up right now because I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all hurt after I realized you did!"

"I know and I'm so, so sorry," Midoriya pleaded, "I messed up, I really did. I thought you deserved someone who could be with you wholeheartedly-"

Uraraka shook and tilted her head, perplexed by what she was hearing. "And knowing all that you knew, not once did you consider that you could be that person? Geez, if I was so god awful and you were disgusted by my confession, you should have just been straightforward about rejecting me from the start instead of putting me through all this."

"It's not like that so don't even say that! I care about you, Uraraka, okay? I really do! More than you think…" Midoriya's mouth parted and shut a few times before he finally uttered the rest, "But probably not the way you want me to. I've started to realize it myself."

Like water to a flame, Midoriya's words almost immediately ameliorated Uraraka's warranted anger. At last, she'd gotten the answer she spent so much of her time waiting for.

Midoriya paused to gather himself. Never in a million years did he think he'd ever have to talk to a girl— much less a long-time friend like Uraraka— about these things, yet here he was, redder than a tomato and sweating up a storm. "N-No one's ever noticed me before so you have no idea how surprised and happy I was when I received your confession. I've always admired you. Ever since you saved me from falling flat on my face in front of everyone on the day of entrance exams."

Uraraka couldn't help but blush at his honesty. "Why are you telling me this when you're supposed to be turning me down?"

"After my time away and coming back to you, I thought I had grown enough to respond to your feelings. But I can't after all. I'm too selfish."

"...What do you mean?"

"I can't share myself with you…or anyone, for that matter. Not right now and, honestly, I don't know when I'll ever be ready. I just know that becoming the number one hero and saving everyone takes place first and I'm going to dedicate my entire being to making that happen, or die trying." Without hesitation nor care for any pain it would ensue, Midoriya dropped to his knees, palms, and forehead as he passionately declared his apology, "Even so, what I did wasn't fair to you or Kirishima! I acted on my own stupid assumptions when as your friend, I should have been more considerate of your feelings. Again, I'm truly, deeply sorry! I'm forever remorseful, from the bottom of my heart, so please… I hope you can forgive me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I lost you."

"...Geez…" Uraraka crossed her arms over her chest as she shifted from side to side. Receiving such a heartfelt apology from Midoriya definitely felt justified, even partly empowering. Still, she couldn't shake off the guilt that hung over her head. "Thank you, Deku, but there's no need for you to go through such lengths for me."

Midoriya's gaze shot up to her. "O-Of course I do! You're an important and irreplaceable friend! That's why I'm apologizing so sincerely-"

"And I've accepted your apology, so stop," Uraraka nearly pleaded, "You see, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for some time now, too, and probably owe my own apology for."

"Oh, u-um sure, okay…" Midoriya slowly rose back to his feet. "Wh-What is it?"

Uraraka took in a deep breath. "Back to when I confessed, you didn't give me an answer right away and asked me to wait until you'd thought it through."

"Yeah…?"

"Well, you see, during that time…it was a lot later on of course, just before you came back, but I didn't know you were coming back at the time you did and it all happened so quickly, I-" Despite her preparation, Uraraka's breath still ran short. Not to mention her tongue had become impossibly tied again and her new sense of confidence was beginning to shrivel.

"Uraraka, what happened?" Midoriya gently encouraged her to continue.

"I-I ended up having feelings for someone else. Even though I was supposed to be waiting for you… I'm so sorry, Deku."

Shame quivered in Uraraka's voice and her reddened ear tips were telling, but Midoriya nodded to show his understanding of her feelings. He didn't have to wonder too deeply why he felt more sympathetic than victimized by a lover's falseness. It was just a better assertion that he made the right judgment about his own feelings and needed to be the most reliable friend to her now. "Why are you apologizing for something like that?" he broke into a chuckle, "I'm happy for you!"

Shock crossed Uraraka's face. "You are?"

"Of course! You've always been free to be with who you wanted, Uraraka. And as long as that person treats you well and shares your feelings, I'll keep wishing you all the best."

Uraraka thought back to Kirishima and his promises of how lavishly he'd treat her as her boyfriend, but behind him Bakugou remained, leering and scoffing at her so vividly that she thought she could grab and toss him into the sky. "Don't you think it's ridiculous, though?" she sighed, "How I seem to be jumping from one guy to the next?"

"Well, I didn't think of it like that ," Midoriya admitted, genuinely surprised by the cynical view Uraraka had of herself. "Maybe you've always liked this person and just never followed it through because uh, I…sorta…made you wait."

They traded anxious looks, nodding and clearing their throats as a long silence followed. "So… Is it Kirishima?" Midoriya thought he was about to faint. He couldn't believe he just asked such an invasive question so soon! But Uraraka's guilt-leaden stare found him and, without a single word leaving either one of them, he knew he'd received his answer. He replied with a halfhearted smile, "Listen, I know it may seem redundant for you at this point, but the sooner you have a proper talk with that person you like, the better. You never know, he might be able to fulfill the role that the others before him couldn't."

Uraraka tugged on the ends of her hair. "I know he can. I felt that assurance every time we were together… Probably still do, while I'm being honest. I've tried talking to him about my feelings, but I seem to have terrible luck with confessions."

"Why is that?" Midoriya asked, worried.

"He wouldn't hear any of it," Uraraka laughed dryly, stroking her own arm in an attempt to soothe the remembrance of her heartache. "So I think, in that way, I've already been rejected."

"B-But you're saying you think , so that means you don't know for absolute sure, right?" Midoriya punched the air with encouragement. "You have to make sure, Uraraka! Even if he runs from you, you have to tell him how you feel— loud and clear until it knocks the guy off his high horse!"

"Deku…" Uraraka stared back at him, dumbfounded yet pleasantly stunned by his sudden optimism. Funny, it was as though they traded personalities for a day.

"And i-if it counts for anything," Midoriya persisted, "I strongly believe that being honest with yourself first is the most important thing. That way, other people won't have to get hurt…" He trailed off. What exactly was he trying to say anymore?

Uraraka started to reveal a wide and determined smile. "You know what? You're absolutely right."

"Ah… I am?" Midoriya squeaked.

"Sorry, but I'm going on ahead. I still have something I need to do."

"Wait! We can head back to the dorms together. Are you sure?"

"More sure than I've ever been before! Don't worry!"

"A-Alright then." Midoriya waved to her as he turned away to leave, "See you around, Uraraka. Good luck!"

"See you!" Uraraka ran down the hall, her heart hammering in her chest.

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Bakugou's gym attire stuck to him like glue as he sped down the dusty track lane. He'd been exercising like a madman since he left the classroom; starting with lunges and jumps to confronting the ground for a couple hundred pushups to now running laps around the open field. His joints ached and the air trapped in his side cut him like a sword, but he didn't care. Being in the open air was a huge relief compared to the stuffy atmosphere he just came from. Moreso, he just wanted to get the image of Kirishima kissing Uraraka out of his head.

"Oy!" came a sudden holler from afar, "Bakugou, over here!"

Amidst running his final lap, Bakugou looked ahead to find Kirishima jogging towards him. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, "What do you want?"

Kirishima hadn't expected to be met by the blonde so cooperatively. Having little time to steel himself, he spluttered, "Hey, how've you been? I just thought I'd check in on you since we haven't talked m-"

"Look, shitty-hair, I'm in a shitty mood right now and you're the last person I want to see, so if you don't get to the point-"

"Okay, okay…" Kirishima raised and lowered his hands to calm the rancorous male. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Uraraka."

Bakugou instantly scowled, "Again? I already told you everything I had to say about her."

He pushed Kirishima aside to continue his run only to skid to a stop when he heard Kirishima mutter, "Not everything."

"...Wanna run that by me again?"

"Uraraka is probably finishing up her talk with Midoriya right about now," said Kirishima as his eyes flicked to the school building afar, then back to Bakugou.

The blonde scowled back, "The hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm sure you know it, too, but the next time either of us see her, she'll be at a crossroads. Between you and me."

Bakugou turned his heel, facing Kirishima completely. For some reason, hearing Uraraka's situation brought to light that way made his blood boil and his palms sweat all at the same time. Every possible retort that hung on his tongue tasted so bitter that he wanted nothing more than to spit them all on the dirt, but he'd be the bigger person this time and retain his composure; to act like none of what Kirishima was saying held any truth. "Hmph, you're still on about that?" He leered at Kirishima, expecting just as amused a response, but could see that he only succeeded in turning the redhead's expression irate. Gladly, he responded with a sour smirk, "You really are a lot stupider than I thought."

"Drop the tough guy act already!" Kirishima snapped, "It's not fooling anyone! Much less me. If you and Uraraka are already…involved, then please, just tell me. I don't want to get in your guys' way. You're both very important to me and, truthfully, you more to a degree."

Any resemblance of apathy left Bakugou's face completely. It was the first time he'd heard something so hard-nosed come out of Kirishima. He didn't know whether to be furious or impressed. He pivoted to continue on his run, but was abruptly yanked back. Fighting instincts taking over, he swung his arm back, tearing Kirishima's fingers from his shirt sleeve before he hoisted him up by the collar. He raised his fist, clenching his fingers until they swelled…then stopped. He knew better than anyone how pointless it was to challenge Kirishima in a fistfight given his armored quirk, but seeing the redhead in his grasp, unwilling to even activate his quirk as he choked, Bakugou found that he couldn't muster the strength to do what he was about to do.

"...Fuck!" he spat and dropped Kirishima on the ground. "Last we talked, you sounded like you already made up your mind about Uraraka so why bring me back into this?"

Kirishima dusted himself off and approached Bakugou again, stopping just short of their chests touching. "You think you guys are the only ones feeling torn about all this?"

"Idiot, that's why I told you not to get involved!"

"I don't know the whole story between you two, but even I can see that there's history there. Yes, I've already made up my mind about pursuing Uraraka, but I want to know that it won't be at the cost of losing my best friend, damn it!"

Bakugou turned away as his face twisted with frustration. He couldn't take it anymore. Kirishima's avalanche of despair was like fingernails on a chalkboard and any clever response he surmised vanished sooner than a pleasant dream on a workday. "I don't need this shit." His mood thoroughly soured, he kicked a hole in the ground and marched away.

Kirishima ran after him, shouting, "Bakugou, stop! You can't keep running from this!"

Becoming the unmatched number one hero demanded harsh effort and sacrifice and up to this point, Bakugou had no qualms with either because he'd been disciplined enough to not form any unnecessary attachments with any single routine or person. His immediate family was probably the only thing that could personally impact him should anything happen to them, but he took great measures over the years to display false intolerance of them when out in public. Someone outside of that world he'd worked so hard to build, and so small, emotional, and endearingly annoying, shouldn't have had such a strong influence on him. But he couldn't have been more wrong. For the first time in his life, he began to fear the growing doubts of his disposition. All because of her .

"Fuck off! Don't follow me!"

Kirishima stepped back. "Bakugou…"

"I'm serious! I can't promise I'll be able to hold back like earlier if you hang around me now." Bakugou abandoned the tracks for the school building, defeated by the very same unpleasant thoughts he initially hoped to trample.

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Uraraka arrived in the deserted hallway of the opposite wing, sighing heavily with hands tucked behind her back as her eyes grazed the locker rooms to the side. Her wandering only came to a stop when two large doors blocked her path. She had been ready to accept what was with thoughts of 'what if' to help her cope with the long melancholy to follow, but Midoriya was right. A halfhearted resolve like that would not give her the closure she wanted, only years of regret. Anxiousness stunned her legs to stupor and as expected, raising her arm to reach the door handle proved arduous. Still, she refused to succumb to the retention of those invisible shackles and scrambled with all her might to push forward, squeezing what ounce of determination she had left to confront the dread that waited beyond.

Just then, the doors opened and time froze with her. The emerging figure's sullen gaze rose from the floor and stopped on her face. As she thought— despite everything that transpired between them, this person still managed to wake the butterflies in her stomach. His jaw slacked a moment then quickly snapped back to a hardened grimace. Not a single word was exchanged and not one second was wasted on hesitation as his heavy steps approached her. She shut her eyes, apprehension crawling all over her skin.

Bakugou growled low and fatigued, "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Uraraka fought the urge to avert his intense stare. "I came to see you."

"Hmph, could've fooled me. The way you were acting earlier, you made it seem like you wanted absolutely nothing to do with me."

Uraraka offered a wistful smile. "Can you blame me?" An intentional brush of the shoulder as he walked past her was his only answer, albeit a silent admission of his defeat at her remark.

"Well, now you have me," Bakugou huffed, frowning at his choice of words. "What do you want?"

"A few things. One, I want to tell you that I finally talked things over with Deku. I only left out what obviously needed leaving out, of course. I… I came out of that a lot less sad than I thought I would be. Relieved, actually."

"Congratulations on finally growing a pair and using some common sense. Go get yourself a gold star."

"Two," Uraraka continued, ignoring Bakugou's condescending jeers, "I want you to be completely honest with me. Do you already know about me and Kirishima? Involving yesterday."

Bakugou took a deep breath. He figured she would confront him about this, but in his stubbornness he didn't really prepare for it. It took a minute to fortify his composure, but slowly, he nodded. "Rattle him a little and the nerd gets pretty talkative; he set you two up on a date instead of going to meet you himself. And people think I'm an asshole." The small reveal was to stave off any further suspicions Uraraka might form. Just like he predicted, she frowned and prodded him again.

"Nothing else?"

But he was quick to counter, "Anything more I'm supposed to know?" As far as she knew, he didn't tail them at the amusement park and therefore didn't see what he wasn't supposed to or wanted to see. After all, he had nothing to benefit from revealing everything he knew to her; down to the last, disgusting, sultry detail of the consequence Midroya sowed. So he'd maintain the illusion of ignorance. No matter how aggravating.

"He confessed his feelings for me," Uraraka continued to breathe life into a conversation that Bakugou preferred to be smothered to death. She didn't offer him a chance for a quip and carried on, "Then after that, he asked me out. I was confused at first, but then…I don't know. I wasn't angry or anything. Maybe flattered? I had no idea he saw me that way-"

"Well isn't that peachy?" Bakugou hissed through his teeth. He'd put more disdain into that than he would have wanted. Cursing himself internally, he quickly redeemed himself, "Why are you talking to me about this? For your information, I'm not in a hurry to lose my lunch."

"Something felt off," Uraraka admitted with a deep sigh, "I really tried, but my mind was somewhere else the whole day and even when we kissed, our feelings weren't in sync."

"Oh-ho, kissed , imagine that," Bakugou grumbled mockingly under his breath, annoyed that Uraraka still managed to fail at sparing him the details he wanted to forget.

To his surprise, she cracked a smile before quietly asking, "Do you remember that night...when I told you there was a time I considered some others before Deku? As boyfriend material, I mean."

"How could I forget?" Bakugou smirked, "That's what helped start all this."

Uraraka nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Kirishima was one of the names I mentioned, so this works out, right? It's interesting how everything came full circle."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Bakugou wanted to feign extreme disinterest in the topic, but his face betrayed him, creasing to a morose glower instead. Uraraka's eyes softened as if asking his reason for wearing such an expression, but he picked up on her approach and immediately broke eye contact. "Imagine that," he grumbled again.

"I also gave what you said a lot of thought and decided that you were right. I need to make a decision, no matter how difficult it may be."

"...And?"

"...Last night, as he saw me off to my room, Kirishima asked me to learn to like him back. To be honest, I was really moved by his sincerity."

Bakugou could feel his face growing sore. He had no idea he'd been scowling for so long.

Uraraka sucked in a breath and held it carefully in her cheeks as though it were her last ration of air. Then, as she released it in a trembling stream, her eyes slowly fluttered shut. "I want to know...if you'd be okay with it. If I accepted him."

"Tch, what do I know?" Bakugou replied a little too quickly, "Kirishima's Kirishima. At least you're guaranteed to be with a good and honest guy— with him."

"O-Oh. Really? But…didn't you tell me before that he'd make for a poor choice? Why the change of heart?"

He could hear the grief constricting her throat, but Bakugou knew it was too late to turn back or regret anything at this point. He'd made his own decision and with it came the responsibility to deal the final blow that would mark the rift between them, "Like I said, stop coming to me about this stuff. I have no say in what you decide to do with your life, so just go out with whoever you-"

"Stop it!" Uraraka suddenly cried, startling Bakugou back half a step, "I wish everyone would just stop telling me that! 'Whoever I want.' None of it means anything so please, stop. I don't want to keep being reminded that I can't be with…with you."

Knuckles white and fingertips flushed wine red, Bakugou could only stare in silence as her anguished eyes flitted up to meet his. "What are you saying?" he asked quietly. Though deep down, he'd always known they were tiptoeing around the subject. He even took heed to coldly deny her the last time she tried bringing it to light since he expected the two of them to already know and understand each other's answers. But now, as he watched Uraraka's lips move and the first tear roll down her cheek, he found himself mesmerized and unwilling to stop her. His heart caught in his throat as her voice finally rang clear in his ears—

"I'm sorry. The truth is, I ended up falling for you after all."