If Love is an open doorâŚthen keep that mother fucker closed
Three times Bakugo Katsuki refused to confess his feelings for you, and the one time he thought he would die if he didnât
âCome on, Bakubro, whatâs stopping you?â
Kaminari pestered as he poked Bakugoâs bicep repeatedly. âHeâs /scared/,â Mina teased with a giggle, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. Bakugo scoffed, scooting away from Kaminariâs poking and sneering at Minaâs goo-goo eyes. âI ainât scared of shit. I just said it was a waste of time.âÂ
Kirishima shrugged, âI donât know, man, I think theyâre into you. And youâre clearly into them. Plus, weâre third years. If there was a time to make a move, it should probably be now.â Bakugo rolled his eyes at his closest friend, his lip curling upwards. âThatâs exactly why Iâm not doing this shit. Weâre third years. Come this time next year, Iâll be focused on being number one. I donât have time for feelings or whatever the hell. Iâm here to be a damn hero, not some romantic. I donât need someone dragging me down- especially not y/nâÂ
Mina lightly punched Bakugoâs arm, her eyebrows furrowing. âHey! Even if you donât want to date them, even though I know you do, donât be mean! Y/n is a great person! Clearly, you donât know them if you think they, of all people, would hold you back from getting what you want.â Sero nodded as much as he could, hanging from the thick branch above them. âMinaâs right! And Y/N is gunning for that spot too, just like you.â Bakugo rolled his eyes again, looking away from his friends and towards where you sat with Izuku, Todoroki, and Ida. âYeahâŚI know.âÂ
âOkay, soâŚwhatâs the big deal then?â Bakugo shrugged his shoulders, dropping them as if an extra ten pounds was resting on top of them. âI donât fucking know! I mean, Y/N is amazing. Theyâre smart, talented, and funny. And they fucking get me- they arenât as quick to judge me like everyone else. I just wouldnât want to scare them away or hold them back. Iâm doing them a favor by not saying anything.âÂ
âBut thatâs not fair!â The alien girl huffed, falling back onto the picnic blanket they sat on. The boys all side-eyed her dramatics before following suit, Bakugo being the last to lie with his friends and look at the blue sky. âI mean, you donât know how they feel! I know you want to protect them from you or whatever, even though as your best friend-â âHey!â âSorry, Kiri- best /girl/ friend I donât think thereâs anything to protect them from, but regardless, thatâs not your choice to make. They donât see you as some monster!â She ended her ramblings with a pout, watching as clouds seemed to float across the sky.Â
âMina is right, man,â Kiri backed his friend, âyou never know unless you try!âÂ
âYeah, man! Plus, you are the only one Y/N asks to take care of that fish in their room. They donât even trust Koda with him, and he knows everything about animals!â And it was true. In your first year, you won the little goldfish at the school festival, and the little bastard was still kicking. Bakugo helped you name him, calling the small creature a âlittle bastardâ when he first saw it. Now, you call him Bass for short. Since Bakugo helped to name it, you thought it only fair that he helped take on a parenting role with the fish as well.
 So whenever you werenât able to perform your fish guardian duties, Bakugo was always the first one you asked. He took his role very seriously, making sure to play with the fish and would even study in your room next to him so he wouldnât be lonely. Hell, when neither of you could be there, he would leave on river sounds. âMaybe the sound of his old home helps him chill the fuck out or some shit,â he explained to you. Now, you did the same.
Despite all of this, though, Bakugou still refused to confess. He didnât want to burden you with him.Â
âWhatever. Come on, we got homework and shit.â
Confetti poppers shot colored paper into the air with a bang as class 3-A stood together in the dorms.Â
As everyone celebrated, dressing in Santa suits and custom hats like they did every year, Bakugou couldnât help but stare at you. Your smile was radiant as you cheered and hugged other classmates, reveling in your last Christmas as a class. Your âuglyâ sweater, in his eyes, made you even more beautiful as the color complemented your soft skin. Your laugh rang out like jingle bells, and Bakugou swore that your joy was the greatest Christmas gift in the world.Â
âYouâre staring~â Kirishima sing-whispered to him, causing the explosion hero to jump. The glare that followed wasnât as menacing as it usually would be. Your image was still at the forefront of his mind. How could he be irritated at anything when he could feel the warmth of your happiness from across the room?
âIâm not staring,â he denied, huffing and rolling his eyes. âIâm observing.âÂ
âI hope youâre observing to figure out a good time to confess,â Sero said, a sly smirk on his face. This time, Bakugouâs glare was sharper as he slapped Sero upside his head. âShut the hell up, Iâm not confessing shit.â He snapped, keeping his voice low.Â
âCome on, bro! This would be the perfect time! You could confess in the snow,â Kiri said, tilting his head toward the sliding back door, where snow had covered the campus in a layer of soft powder. âOr find a mistletoe! I know Mineta set up some around the dorm.â Sero chimed. âOr-â âShut the hell up!â
Bakugou cut the two boys off, fed up with the comments. âI already said Iâm not confessing shit. I donât want to ruin the Christmas party for them. Look at them,â his eyes found your figure, now that you had a cup of hot cocoa in your hands. You nodded at something Shinsou said, taking a sip of your warm drink.
Kirishima and Sero looked at each other before rolling their eyes.Â
âWhat makes you think you would ruin the party for them? Do you think youâll get rejected?â
Bakugou didnât answer, though the light shade of crimson filling his cheeks seemed to be enough of one.
âWhy wouldnât they like you, man?â Kiri exclaimed, âWell-â Sero closed his mouth when Kiri gave him a look. âYouâre brave, strong, smart, even kind when you want to be! Youâve faced a literal demon lord, and literally died, but all of a sudden, fear of rejection is whatâs stopping you?â
Kirishima had the slightest point, Bakugou thought. But then the picture of your face distorting into disgust, into judgment, popped into his mind. He was terrified, scared that if he confessed, the way his body felt like it was floating every time you said his name, you would not only not return his feelings, but despise him for feeling them.
âMy answer two months ago hasnât changed,â Bakugou said gruffly. âIâm protecting-â âYourself?â â...them. Iâm protecting them.â
âHappy Graduation Day!âÂ
Mina cheered, kicking open Bakugouâs dorm door. Kirishima, Sero, and Denki sat on the floor in the room, wrinkling their freshly pressed suits.
âKick in my door again, and Iâll kick your ass.â Bakugou snarked, glancing at Mira through his mirror. Though his tone held no malice. It was hard for even him to have an attitude on such a special day. The day they officially graduated from UA, and became official heroes.Â
âYeah, yeah, whatever,â Mina waved him off, coming further into the room.Â
âI canât believe it! Weâre actually graduating!â Denki beamed, small sparks coming off of his blonde hair. âI canât believe /youâre/ graduating either!â Sero joked, to which Denki shoved him. Kiri and Mina laughed as Mira took a seat on the floor beside her new boyfriend, kissing his cheek.Â
Bakugou watched through the mirror, his heart tugging just a bit. For the smallest second, your face flashed across his mind. He never acted on impulse. He always analyzed a situation, calculating everything in order to get the best possible outcome, a total victory. But his feet began moving before his brain could catch up, and by the time it did, he was already in front of your dorm door, his knuckles tapping against the wood.Â
He considered turning around or lying once you opened the door. But as soon as he saw your face, all bright and beaming, your hair done up in a more formal style, your uniform that he had seen ten thousand times looking better than he had ever seen it before. What was that thing Denki always said? Oh yeah.
âI have something to tell youâ âI have something to tell youâÂ
You both smiled at each other, Bakugou chuckling softly. âYou go first.â He told you, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Maybe if he covered his chest, you wouldnât be able to see the way his heart was thundering inside his ribcage.Â
âI just got off the phone with the U.S.H.A., the USâs hero commission, and they offered me an internship!âÂ
The usual color that seemed to flood his worldview every time you spoke drained in an instant. His mouth became dry, his body cold. But you were so excited that you didnât notice. âI get to hop on a flight to New York in two days! The turnaround is super sudden, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and-â You stopped talking, noticing the way his face had hardened.
âBakugou? Whatâs wro-â âNothing.â His body went stiff, and his tone was sharper than he intended. He took a deep breath, clearing his throat as he tried to put on his best smile. â Iâm happy for you, y/n.âÂ
You could see right through him, though, as you always could. You were the first one to call him on his bullshiw when he had that whole bravado act going on. You had always seemed to be able to see what was in his heart since the beginning, which is one of the things he loved most about you. But before you could say something, his back was turned, and he was walking back to his own dorm.Â
âBaku-â âY/N!â Ochako, your neighbor across the hall, came out of her room. âCan you help me with my tie? I think Iâm so nervous that I canât tie it properly.â Your eyes tore from Bakugouâs retreating form to Ochakoâs round face, as a soft smile graced your features. As you walked over to help your friend, you couldnât help but replay Bakugouâs face in your mind. It broke your heart.Â
âYouâre quieter than usual.â
You said, your head turning from the window to look at Bakugou. He shrugged, eyes focused on the traffic ahead. âIâm focusing on the road, I figured youâd want to make it to the airport alive.âÂ
You smiled, knowing he meant no ill will despite his sarcasm. âUh huh.. Well, while I do appreciate you glaring down every other driver on the street, I also know when something is up. Youâve been weird ever since graduation day. Whatâs been going on with you?â
Bakugou huffed, and though his face didnât change, you instantly noticed how his hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.Â
âWant to try that again, boombox?â
His side-eye at the nickname was quick but sharp. You knew he hated that nickname. You only used it when you wanted to provoke him. And it always worked. He had tried to avoid telling you answers to the questions you asked in the early days, yet you always had a way of pulling the truth out of him. He would call it your second quirk.Â
â...Youâre leaving.â The words were solid. He was just stating a simple fact. âIâve spent the last four years with you. Even fought a war with you, and now youâre moving halfway across the world. Itâs hard.âÂ
Your brain tended to move a million miles a minute. Usually, you only focused on the bigger picture, and this situation was no different. You were so excited about the new opportunity, this new step in your life, that your brain hadnât fully processed the fact that you would be leaving not only your friends and family behind, but the one person you trusted with everything in the world.
It hit you like a train, then.Â
All you could muster was a soft âOhâ.Â
The car went silent then. You stared straight ahead, too, watching the airport quickly come into view. Tears welled up in your eyes, slowly rolling down your cheeks. âAh hell- what the fuck are you crying for?â Bakugo asked, concerned.Â
âI donât want to go anymore,â you sobbed, rubbing at your eyes. âI donât want to leave you, or our friends, or my parents, I donât want to leave Japan!âÂ
He blinked at you, his own mind trying to figure out what to say. âListen to me,â he said, his tone soft but leaving no room for discussion. âYou are the most talented, inspiring, and heroic person I know. If any motherfucker deserved this opportunity, itâs you. You didnât work your ass off at UA just to back out now. Youâre going to go, get on that plane, fly to the US, and show that godforsaken country what a true hero looks like. Do you understand?â
You didnât know what to say. Your tears had slowed, as you were stunned into silence. So, he asked again.
You swallowed, and a wavering grin crossed your lips. âYeah⌠yeah, I got it.â
Since day one, Bakugou had always been the one to light that fire in you. You remembered when he found you after Mr. Aizawaâs first âhero test. While you didnât come in last and were saved from âexpulsionâ, you were in the bottom five. It was a major blow to your ego, and when the classroom had cleared out at the end of the day, you stayed at your desk to bawl your eyes out.Â
Bakugou had forgotten his headphones at his desk and came back to get them when he found you. He made fun of you, calling you weak and a crybaby, saying that if you were going to cry like a bitch then you didnât deserve to handle it. From that moment on, you made it your mission to prove him wrong. You wouldâve never expected to become such good friends with him a year later, spending almost every night together before curfew hit, becoming study buddies, and telling him everything in your head.Â
He was your rock, inspiration, and someone you could always rely on.
And when he looked at you with that half smile, your heart and mind were instantly lighter. How lucky you were to have him in your life. How fortunate you were to love someone so deeply. Because you did love him, you had since he agreed to watch Bass for the first time. But you kept your feelings to yourself, focusing on your education and future, and not wanting to be a roadblock in Bakugouâs pursuit of number one.Â
âBakugou-â âWeâre here.â
Sure enough, the car was parked in front of the entrance to the bustling airport. Bakugou got out of the car, going to the trunk to grab your bags (like the gentleman he is), while you collected yourself in the front seat. He came and opened your door, and when you stepped out, you were immediately engulfed in a hug. He smelled like burnt caramel and firewood and vanilla. You buried your face in his chest, holding him just as tight as he was holding you. But eventually, his grip around you loosened, and you both took a step back.
âShow them what the hell you can do.â
You smiled at him, grabbed your suitcase, and walked toward the airport.
Bakugou had only felt pain like this once, when he defeated All for One that rainy night during the war. When his heart was ripped in two, his arm was shattered, and his legs felt like jelly. He would relive that again and again, if it meant he would never have to relive the way his heart shattered while you walked away from him. All he could think about was the memories you had made together. When you whispered to each other in the library during late-night study sessions about being heroes together. How your agencies would collaborate, how you would go back and forth on the hero chart, battling it out for a top spot.
And the more his mind raced, the faster his feet began to move. There was no stopping, no second-guessing. He was a hero, damnit. Since when was he afraid of anything? He knew that fear, the fear of not knowing what could happen next, the staunch realization that anything can change in the smallest moment. He had to take the chance.
He was fully running when the door of the airport opened, when he yelled your name, and when he caught up to you, sweeping you up into a kiss.Â
If love is an open door, he would rip that motherfucker off the hinges if it meant you were waiting for him on the other side.Â
Damn, that was long as shit- I wrote this in one night after remembering that the first paragraph was just sitting in my drafts. I've been really burnt out recently, with college and work and just life, so why not come back to old reliable? The ending was a bit rushed, since it's 2am and my brain is on fumes, but I hope yall liked it!