At miserable! Paulit, ulit lang ang nangyayari
Bakugo Katsuki x Reader
Synopsis: Reader is facing a difficult path in her Medical Biology course with plans to shift to a different course. How would Bakugo Katsuki react to that?
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
Medical Biology used to feel like something you could conquer.
At least, that’s what you thought.
Then it stopped being a challenge and started feeling like a wall, too tall, impossible to climb no matter how hard you tried. Failed quizzes. Failed practicals. Staring at notes until the words blurred together without meaning.
You smiled through it anyway.
You learned how to nod when your friends asked how you did. How to joke it off. How to say “barely passed” when the truth sat heavy in your chest.
You studied. You really did. Late nights, early mornings, rereading notes until the words lost meaning. Still, the red marks came back. Still, the numbers stayed low. Still, the quiet thought crept in every time you failed something new:
How am I going to shift with these kinds of grades?
Your dorm room was dim, lit only by the desk lamp you’d forgotten to turn off. Papers were scattered everywhere, lab reports, exams, scribbled notes you no longer had the energy to read. You sat on your bed, knees pulled to your chest, staring at nothing in particular.
I’m so sick of this. I’m so tired. Paulit-ulit lang ang nangyayari. Paikot-ikot tayo parang bote.
But inside, it was the same thought over and over again.
Failed. Failed. Failed.
And then there was Bakugo Katsuki.
Relentless. Brilliant. Always moving forward.
Somewhere along the way, standing next to him started to feel unbearable, not because of him, but because of you.
So you pulled away.
You told yourself it was temporary. That you just needed space. That you’d talk to him when you figured yourself out.
But days turned into weeks.
You replied late.
You stopped waiting for him after class.
Stopped sitting beside him.
Stopped letting him see you unravel.
Because every time you thought about telling him the truth, a cruel thought followed:
Bakugo would be ashamed of me.
So you locked yourself away.
Because how could you stand beside someone like that when you felt like you were constantly falling behind?
When grades were finally posted, your hands shook as you opened the portal.
You passed almost all your subjects. Then, as you saw it,
General Botany – 73 (Lab and Lec): FAILED.
Talaga naman. I can’t fail. No. I still have to shift. No! No…no.
Desperately, you computed your grades.
84.7 (GWA).
Oh, I can shift?
Hurriedly, you emailed your school’s head dean, department dean, counselor, anyone, everyone! Sitting at your desk, waiting, hoping for a reply.
“You can shift; however, you need to message the DH of the Rad Tech Department regarding your shifting.”
Sincerely,
Faculty, SoNAHBS
Nervous. I should take a break.
You wandered, letting the campus noise blur into the background until your feet carried you back to your dorm.
You barely had time to sit on your bed before there was a knock.
“…Oi.”
Your chest tightened.
The door opened slowly. Bakugo stepped inside like he wasn’t sure he was welcome. No shouting, just tense shoulders and sharp eyes that softened the second they landed on you.
You looked small, curled in on yourself. He noticed.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, quieter than usual.
“I haven’t,” you replied automatically.
“Tch. Liar.”
He closed the door behind him and stood there for a moment. Then he crossed the room and stopped a few steps away.
“I thought…” he continued carefully, “maybe you were fed up with me or something. You don’t talk much anymore. Don’t wait for me. Don’t even look at me the same way.”
His jaw tightened. “I didn’t wanna assume shit, but it’s been eating at me.”
“Bakugo—”
“Then talk,” he said, low. “What’s going on?”
(｡•́︿•̀｡)(╥﹏╥)
“I was failing,” you whispered. “Not everything. Just enough to make it feel like I’d never catch up.” Your hands clenched. “I tried so hard, and it still wasn’t enough. I didn’t know why I couldn’t make myself care anymore, and that scared me.”
You laughed softly, bitter. “So I stopped talking. To you. To everyone.”
He exhaled and moved closer, sitting beside you on the bed, close, close enough for your shoulders to touch.
“…Is that why you shut me out?” he asked.
Tears slipped free. “I didn’t want you to see me like this. Weak. Lost. Dumb.” Your voice broke. “I didn’t want to burden you.”
“That’s not how this works,” he snapped, then softened. “You don’t get to decide that alone.”
You hugged your knees tighter. “I felt like I was falling behind you.”
“You’re not competing with me,” he said immediately.
“It feels like it,” you admitted. “Everyone sees you as…unequaled.”
Bakugo turned to face you fully. “Look at me.”
You did.
“I didn’t get here by never failing,” he said. “Tch! I’m not good with words, but listen to me. I got here by being stubborn as hell. You didn’t fail because you’re stupid. You failed because you were forcing yourself to stay somewhere that didn’t fit.”
Silence stretched…
Then you whispered, “You were my motivation,” averting your eyes from him, suddenly feeling shy.
He stilled.
Your throat tightened. “I look up to you,” you said, barely above a whisper. “You’re so sure of yourself. So smart. I kept thinking, if you really saw me struggling, you’d realize I’m not on your level.”
Then you took a breath and let it spill, finally looking at him again.
“You were my motivation,” you said. “Every time I wanted to quit, I thought about you. About how you never back down. You made me want to cross the bridge instead of stopping halfway.”
His expression, surprised, sad, guilty, unreadable.
“You idiot,” he muttered softly.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then his hand reached out, hesitant, and rested over yours.
“You fought,” he said. “You stayed. You made it through, even when it sucked.” His thumb brushed your knuckles. “That’s not something I’d ever be ashamed of.”
“And don’t,” he added, leaning just slightly closer, “don’t ever decide what I think without asking me first.”
You let out a shaky laugh. “Yes, sir.”
He huffed. “Smartass.”
“You’re shifting,” he said. “RadTech, right?”
You nodded.
“…Figures,” he muttered, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Took you long enough.”
You smiled sweetly at him, letting out a small giggle.
“Thank you for being patient and understanding with me,” you said.
Later, the room settled.
The papers stayed scattered. The lamp stayed on. Nothing was fixed all at once, but the weight in your chest was lighter now.
Bakugo leaned back first, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling like he was pretending he wasn’t thinking about anything at all. After a moment, you followed, lying down beside him. Your hands rested awkwardly between you, close but not quite touching.
Eventually, his hand shifted. Careful. His pinky brushed yours just once. When you didn’t pull away, his fingers curled around your hand, firm and warm.
At some point, you turned toward him without thinking. Your forehead rested against his shoulder. He stiffened for half a second, then relaxed, shifting just enough to make room.
His arm came around you.
I missed this, you both thought to yourselves.
Bakugo stayed awake longer than you. When your breathing evened out, his thumb brushed small circles against your hand. He studied your face, dark circles under your eyes, messy hair, tear stains. Carefully, he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.
“Sleep well, idiot.”
my 1st semester is finally done and yes! Im shifting courses 😅 If you guys are confused, Im from Saint Louis University and we use terms like SoNAHBS (School of Nursing, Allied Health, and Biological Sciences) to address schools within my university. Anywwaayyss, thank you so much for reading this far!! I hope everyone will have a wonderful academic journey 🫶 may we all be underworked and overpaid! 😌🤞 lovulots!!
