Bakugou Katsuki was your soulmate—that much had been established long before you'd even spoken your first words to him. He was loud, arrogant, and quick to start a fight; you'd been able to tell right off the bat. Still, you'd gradually learned that there was more to him than that, and his loss against Izuku had proven that his "superiority" complex, was more so one of "inferiority"; the fear of being less than others. You'd also thought he was just brash and impulsive, but you'd come to discover that he was nothing short of a genius, and was easily smarter than you were. So, really, there were a lot of things that you'd gotten wrong about him. Except for one.

Bakugou Katsuki was strong.

Ever since you first saw him display his Quirk, that much had been obvious. But seeing him now, as he stared down the villains with absolutely no fear in his eyes, you only just realized exactly how strong he was. All Might had arrived a little while earlier, but even he was having difficulty against the villains' secret weapon: Noumu. You were just a little distance away from the cluster where Izuku, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Katsuki had all gathered to help. And the reason why you knew he was strong was because he'd gone in and done something, unlike yourself, who'd been too frozen in fear to move a muscle.

Your lips pressed together, hands balling into fists.

Just now, Katsuki-kun jumped in front of me to protect me from that warp-gate. And he even managed to pin him down and stop him in place. Meanwhile, I...

"Just as I thought!" Katsuki cried out. "I knew you had a physical component to your body, shitwipe! This whole time, you've just been using that mist of yours to cover it, haven'tcha?!"

The villain could only groan underneath him, his yellow slits flickering in dismay. Katsuki only grinned maliciously.

"Don't you dare move, fucker. The second you so much as twitch I'll load you up with a nice little explosion, right here, right now!!"

You had to admit, it wasn't exactly the most heroic line, but the way he was able to stare danger in the face so determinedly was amazing. He was pretty rude, and he did have a loud mouth, but he also possessed most of the qualities that you genuinely wished you had.

Courage.

Strength.

Determination.

He was so different from you, in so many ways, and you got the sense it was like that for a reason. It wasn't just meant to be some silly, fickle relationship; the universe had tied the two of you together with a much larger scope in mind. Through the slits on the side of your costume, you paid your tattoo a quick glance.

"Get in my way, and I'll fucking kill you."

It was strange. Before, those words would make your heart ache. You felt none of that anymore.

—

Thanks to All Might, you'd all managed to make it out of USJ relatively unscathed. Izuku had broken his legs by using his Quirk, but other than that, the rest of your classmates were fine. Aizawa, on the other hand, had received some serious damage, and so had Thirteen. You were told that they would be okay, but it was hard to keep your heart from aching. Alongside the pros that had arrived, the police had also shown up to assist. It was a shame that the main two villains had managed to escape, but you couldn't exactly afford to be picky with everything that had just happened.

Long story short, you were very relieved when the pros escorted you back to U.A where you could change out of your costumes and head home. Pulling the fabric away from your skin almost felt like you were removing a heavy weight; one that carried all the violence and cruelty you'd been exposed to today. You couldn't wait to go home, take a shower, and just wash it all away.

Uraraka said she wanted to wait for Izuku to be discharged from the infirmary, even if it was going to be a while. You smiled and told her that you'd be just fine heading home by yourself. Seriously, you'd never before wanted to curl up in your bed this much.

"...Oh. Katsuki-kun?"

You'd just made it outside campus, and the ash blonde was walking a little distance ahead of you. He spared you a sideways glance, half-shrugging.

"Want something?"

"Ah, no, nothing really," you smiled, walking over to him. "Maybe we could walk home together? Which way do you go?"

Katsuki lazily gestured off into the distance with his finger and you sighed.

"That's the opposite direction from where I'm headed. Sucks."

"Guess so."

He'd stopped in place to speak to you, but didn't seem too interesting in talking. Maybe he was tired—it had been a long day, after all. Or maybe he was starting to think you were clingy...? You definitely hoped that wasn't the case.

Katsuki sighed. "So did you have something to say or are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Me talking to you is annoying?" you asked, feeling a bit hurt.

"I'm just fuckin' tired, alright? Let me go home."

You debated just saying your goodbye right then and there, but you decided that you may as well tell him what you wanted to in the first place. A shaky smile slowly rose to your lips as you gazed up at him.

"All I really wanted to tell you was that I thought you were really cool—back at USJ, I mean. You were able to act at just the right moment, and that helped give All Might the opportunity he needed to act. I was really blown away," you admitted. "I'm...not as brave as you are, so I probably wouldn't have had the guts to jump into the middle like that. You really are strong, Katsuki-kun."

He seemed a bit surprised by the compliments slipping out your lips. He almost looked....happy?

"...Oh. Okay," he muttered back. "I already knew that without you telling me. That all you wanted to say?"

"Pretty much. Ah, also, since you said I only used my Quirk on Kirishima-kun back there..."

You inched closer to him, slowly lifting your hands. With golden specks flitting between your eyes, a gentle light slowly enveloped your fingers. Katsuki stiffened from both your touch and the warm glow surrounding him.

"T-the hell's this—?"

You giggled. "Sorry, it tickles a bit at first. But it feels pretty nice overall, right? You just have to relax and let yourself ease into it."

Your fingers gently grazed across Katsuki's cheekbone, and you didn't miss the way they flushed a faint shade of pink. The filaments of light danced across his features, illuminating his sculpted jaw and fair skin. You'd always thought that he was attractive, despite your initial rejection of the situation, but being up close like this somehow made you feel a bit...warm. Even though the gesture was innocent enough—the very same which you'd done to Kirishima—the fact that you were trailing your hand down Katsuki's face made you feel so much more self-aware. It actually made you a bit flustered.

"D-does that feel okay?" you stammered out, hoping to regain some of your composure. "If I'm making you uncomfortable, just let me know..."

You'd expected a lot more resistance on Katsuki's part, but he merely grunted back as if saying that you could continue. He then let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes as the gentle light enveloped him. Your touch shifted towards his neck, and though he tensed up and flushed a bit deeper, he didn't open his eyes. You exhaled slowly, wondering if he could hear how fast your heart was beating right now.

I've used my powers like this on so many other people before, but knowing that it's HIM is making me so much more nervous...

Feeling a bit more daring, you edged your fingers down towards the front of Katsuki's shirt. He never wore a tie with his uniform, which allowed for some exposed skin near his chest. Your fingers gingerly pressed down on the area; a bit more shakily than you would've expected, and you only realized what you were doing once your hand had begun to slide underneath his shirt.

"W-what the fuck are you doing...??"

You barely managed a squeak as you looked up and found a pair of gleaming, crimson eyes staring back into your own. Katsuki's mouth had gone ajar, and the small blush on his cheeks from before had spread like wildfire. You couldn't even blame him, since your fingers were literally prodding the naked skin underneath his shirt.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" you cried out, pulling away in a hurry. You could already tell how fiercely your face was flushed, just based on the heat alone. To have your soulmate catch you doing something so embarrassing...you honestly just wanted to dig a hole and crawl up inside of it.

Katsuki seemed to be just as flustered as you were, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, all the while clenching his jaw. He didn't look like he wanted to yell at you, though. Or rather, he was just much too embarrassed to bother trying.

Unfortunately for you, he seemed to be in a teasing mood.

"Can't keep your hands off me, huh?"

He was smirking, despite the fact that he was just as red as you were, if not more. You'd never actually seen him smile properly, so this cocky smirk of his was pretty much the only somewhat-happy emotion he seemed to display.

"...I just got a little lost in the moment," you mumbled timidly, knowing full well that you weren't fooling anyone. "S-sorry about that. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, or anything."

"Sure, sure."

Katsuki waved you off, and you actually felt a bit lucky that he hadn't bothered to torment you any more. Were you just imagining the fact that he was blushing? Were you the only one who was flustered beyond belief?

He probably thinks I'm some kind of pervert now...

You decided to force a smile, hoping to put the topic as far behind as possible.

"So, did you like it?" you asked hopefully. "My friends always tell me that besides giving them a boost of energy, it also helps lift their spirits. With how grumpy you are, I figured you could use a bit of help in that department."

"The fuck was that?!"

"Ah, looks like it didn't work."

Katsuki gritted his teeth, and you had to clamp a hand over your mouth to abstain from giggling. From what you'd seen, most of your class would actively avoid him; they all thought he was rude, intimidating, and just overall unpleasant—the exact same things you'd first thought of him. But now, as he stared back at you puffy-faced and indignant, you honestly couldn't remember why you'd felt that way.

"You're...a lot different from what I expected," you mumbled out.

He merely groaned. "Oh, great, this shit again? Yeah, yeah, I got it—I'm not nice enough for you or whatever the fuck you want."

"No, I mean, you're a lot different from the type of person I envisioned myself being with. And I know we've been through this before, but I'm honestly just surprised." Your eyes flitted down towards the ground in a hurry. "I'm surprised to see that I'm enjoying spending time with you as much as I am."

Katsuki froze. This seemed to be one of the rare occasions where he was genuinely at a loss for words. You felt your blush deepen, wondering if you'd said too much.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," you added hurriedly. "I mean, I know we're soulmates and all, but I guess it's just nice to see that things can work out between us. Y-you might not feel the exact same way, but I'm—"

"You like spending time with me?"

"Huh? Well...yeah. I do."

He ran a hand through his tousled locks, brows furrowing together. If you didn't know any better, you would've thought he was upset, but from your standpoint it was pretty much clear that he was trying to fight off a blush. His bottom lip trembled along with his chin, and he even let out an awkward cough.

You smiled.

Looks like I'm not the only one who's embarrassed.

"...Whatever," Katsuki finally gruffed back. "Good for you, I guess. I don't really care either way."

Liar.

"Anyways, I'm tired. A lot of annoying shit's happened today. I'm going home now."

The blonde gave you a half-hearted wave before turning to exit school grounds. His bag was still slung over his shoulder, and you noticed the way he shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked—every time, without exception. His pants were always really baggy, too, and you almost had the urge to sneak up behind him and pull them up.

Your lips curled up into a smile as you watched his retreating figure. Most might've said that it had been a shitty day, what with the villains invading and everything, but you really couldn't think of it that way. Maybe you were just being silly.

But maybe the warmth in your chest was the real deal.