Chapter 50

**[Two and a Half Years Later]**

Sweat rolled down his temple as Izuku sat in front of the neat looking desk, the woman sitting behind it noting things down on a sheet of paper. A strand of her light blue hair fell on her face the moment she lifted her oddly calming brown eyes to look at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. The greenette didn't think he would ever do this, his fear too powerful to even consider it. But that had been years ago, when his anxiety was at its pinnacle, his depression eating away at his mental health. But, with Katsuki's help, he had found the courage to seek the help that he needed.

Katsuki sat outside of the psychologist's office, his leg jumping in anxiousness as he awaited for his boyfriend's session to be over. According to Mayu, Izuku's psychologist, today was his last session for half a year. It took a while to find effective medication, some of them having worsened his condition rather than improve it. It hadn't been an easy journey, and there had been times where Izuku thought about ending it all. Nightmares of the man he had defeated still haunted him even after years passing, and having lost his quirk took a toll on him. 

"Now, Midoriya, how do you feel about this being your last session? Do you feel ready?" Mayu asked, putting down her pen and leaning back on her office chair comfortably. Although Izuku had shown a considerable amount of improvement throughout the years, his anxiety would still make its appearance when he felt uneasy. The weekly sessions had been part of his routine, and he quite enjoyed Mayu's presence. Her quirk suited her profession perfectly, it being of empath. The moment he learned about it, he immediately yapped about it to Katsuki like the usual nerd that he was.

"I'm a bit anxious, honestly," Izuku admitted, rubbing his palms together as he gave her an apologetic smile. He knew that she could read into his feelings, so there was no use in lying to her. He had tried to on their first sessions and not once did he fool her. "But at the same time, thanks to your help, I feel like I will be alright. And with Kacchan by my side I know I'll be able to get through it."

"I'm happy to know that Bakugo is still a big part of your life. You two share a strong bond that is rare to come across these days," Mayu said sincerely, genuinely glad that the greenette had someone like the explosive blond. Judging by Izuku's state when she had first met him, she knew that the boy wouldn't have made it without Katsuki. 

The greenette blushed at her words, getting immediately flustered the moment his boyfriend was mentioned. He, too, was happy that he had Katsuki by his side. It was something that he would never get tired of admitting. 

Sensing his emotions, Mayu stood up from her chair and walked around the desk, putting a hand atop his curls and ruffling them slightly. She held a deep admiration to the boy, not having believed that he had been the one to defeat All for One at first. Although now quirkless, Izuku was known to be Japan's greatest hero. The new Symbol Of Peace at the age of fifteen. It was truly impressive.

"Our session is now over. Now go out there to your lover boy, I can feel his desperation from all the way over here," she laughed, retracting her hand and motioning to the door. Izuku chuckled, standing up and giving her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Mayu. You have helped me so much throughout these years, and I really appreciate you," Izuku said, watching as her amusement shifted to kindness.

"Of course, kiddo. It's my job," she joked, pulling the boy in for a hug. "See you at your graduation tomorrow?"

"If you're not there I'll come over here and drag you there myself," Izuku joked back, pulling away from the hug and waving goodbye. The moment the door opened, Katsuki shot to his feet, a slightly concealed excited smile adorning his face. His heart pounded, his boyfriend's content expression made Katsuki feel at ease, immediately pulling the bundle of joy into a hug. 

"How are you feeling?" the blond asked, pulling away and intertwining their fingers as they made their way out of the clinic. Izuku waved at the receptionist on their way out, the automatic doors sliding open upon their presence. The warm, summer breeze immediately greeted them, air crisp as the sun shone brightly above them. A hand waved them over, Inko holding back tears the moment she saw her son walking out of the clinic with a smile on his face. When she found out what her son had gone through because of her supposed death, she could not help but feel that it was her fault. She couldn't imagine how much courage it took Izuku to talk to her about it.

The couple took notice of her, Izuku's smile widening as he pulled Katsuki behind him. With a deep breath, he turned his head to stare at his boyfriend over his shoulder, tilting his head with his cheeks flushed. "I feel better than ever, Kacchan." 

 *    *    *

The dorm of class 3-A was a disaster. The soon-to-be-graduates were frantically roaming around the building, looking for their desired items or helping each other out. It was a big day for all of them, a day everyone longed for, but at the same time dreaded. This day marked the conclusion of their high school years. Starting the following week, they would go their separate ways into the hero agencies they had been hired to. They would go from being students, to being pro heroes. 

At least most of them.

Uraraka giggled when Izuku came into the common room wearing a red, tailored suit. He looked utterly panicked, his hair was as disheveled as always. He immediately sought her and rushed over, and only when he was close enough did she notice a comb sticking out of the bird's nest. "Oh my, Izu. What in the hell happened to you?" 

"Save me, Ochako. Kacchan is a menace. A menace I tell you!" The greenette shuddered, looking over his shoulder before rushing behind her small frame. "He's going to rip my hair off!"

"OII IZUKU! STOP RUNNING FROM ME!" A heated Kastuki exclaimed as he stomped into the common room. "I AIN'T DONE WITH YA!"

"AHH he's here!" the helpless boy cried as he shrunk further behind her back. Uraraka made an 'o' shape with her lips, immediately understanding. It made her laugh, a few memories of the past three years flashing through her mind. Those two were seriously the most iconic couple. Never a dull moment with them.

"Don't worry, Izu. I'll call in the cavalry," Uraraka winked, locking eyes with Kirishima. "KIRI, I CHOOSE YOU!"

"SO MANLY!" The redhead exclaimed enthusiastically, quickly running over to tackle the explosive blond.

"No running inside the dorms!" Iida yelled from the other side of the room. 

"Shut up, Iida!" Sero yelled from another side, throwing a shoe at him. 

"GET OFF OF ME, SHITTY HAIR!"

"OCHAKO RUN, I WON'T BE ABLE TO HOLD HIM FOR LONG!"

"I'LL BURN YOU TO A CRISP!"

"NO FAIR! WHAT ABOUT ME?! THE ACTUAL PIKACHU?!"

"Let's go!" Uraraka giggled, pulling Izuku by his elbow into the girl's side of the dorm.

"Boys aren't allowed in the girl's rooms!" 

"You'd be petrified by the things Tsuyu and I have done inside my room, Iida!" Uraraka called out, the last thing they saw being Iida's flushed face as they ran around the corner. Although embarrassed by the unnecessary comment, Izuku let out a loud laugh as he let himself be dragged into Uraraka's room. On their way in, the brunette noticed two of her best friend's walking down the hall, and her smile widened. "Mina! Jirou! Hair emergency!"

Her call out definitely called their attention, and once they spotted Izuku, they rushed over. Mina's pink hair had grown over the years, her wavy curls now reaching the middle of her back. She had styled if perfectly, making it look silky and smooth. She wore a very cute white dress with a sweetheart neckline, the sleeves made of lace. She had also added glitter to her skin and light makeup, finishing the look with white platform pumps. Mina looked absolutely stunning.

As for Jirou, she kept her style by using a black, spaghetti strapped dress that reached her thighs. Her legs were covered by fishnet stockings, and tall, knee length boots. She had thrown a purple flannel on as well, using fingerless gloves, and dark makeup. Her outfit suited her to perfection, her short hair bob styled with purple highlights. The contrast between Mina and her was a lot, but they complimented each other perfectly. 

"Woahh, you two look amazing! You will definitely have Kiri drooling over you," Izuku chuckled, referring to Mina. "And I bet Yaomomo will fall for you even harder, Jirou."

To this both females blushed, thanking the greenette for his compliments as they pushed him inside Uraraka's room. The three girls instantly got into work mode, sitting Izuku down in a desk chair as each took a section of his unruly hair. The boy could feel how his hair was being tugged in three different directions, but thankfully it wasn't to the point of hurting. He trusted the girls with his hair, given the fact that they have brushed his hair in previous occasions. 

"We don't have much time, come on!" Mina rushed, taking a peep at the time and noticing that they had about fifteen minutes left before their parents arrived to head over to gym gamma, where their graduation ceremony would be held. They could faintly hear commotion in the background, to which they hurried to put the finishing touches in time to hear pounding on the door.

"Give me back my boyfriend, dammit!" Katsuki yelled from behind the door, a whining Kirishima and Kaminari on his tail.

"Sorry Midoriya, we held him back as much as I could. He threatened to burn my suit, Mina would've killed me! You have no idea how scary she can be," Kirishima apologized, letting out a yelp when Katsuki smacked him upside the head. 

"I simply gave up," said Kaminari, making Izuku chuckle as he stood up to open the door. The moment he turned the knob, Katsuki barged in, pulling Izuku in by his collar and smashing their lips together. Color rose to Izuku's face as he gasped in shock, but Katsuki simply placed a hand behind his head to deepen the kiss. Their friends whistled and hollered as the blond very clearly asserted his dominance over the poor human broccoli. Even though they have been together for almost three years, those type of kisses made Izuku weak in the knees. As they should.

When Kirishima's eyes laid on Mina, his cheeks turned the same shade of red as his hair. He himself wore a white tuxedo, wearing a black dress shirt and a pink bowtie to match Mina's hair. "W-Wow, Mina. You look...stunning. Just...wow!"

Mina giggled in response, going over to him and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Alright, you can continue the PDA after the graduation ceremony. I gotta help Yaomomo practice her valedictorian speech. Let's go!" Jirou urged them, starting to push everyone out of Uraraka's room and rushing down the stairs. 

"Oi, careful with the suit! If you wrinkle it I'll wrinkle your face," Katsuki threatened, smacking Jirou's hand off as she began pushing him. He brushed the imaginary dust off his forest green blazer, adjusting the green tie and straightening the collar of his black dress shirt. Jirou rolled her eyes at him, deciding to ignore him and just kept going forward. 

"Ever the oh-so-threatening Dynamight," Mina joked, elbowing him on the side playfully making him huff.  They all reached the common room to find it swarmed by their fellow classmates and parents. They wordlessly went their separate ways with the promise to see each other at gym gamma, waving at one another. 

"Katsuki, get over here!" Mitsuki's booming voice grabbed their attention. It made Katsuki groan under his breath as Izuku excitedly grabbed him arm and pulled him in the direction it came from. 

"Hi auntie!" Izuku greeted cheerfully, Mitsuki smiling at him and pulling him into a hug. 

"Hi Izu!" She chuckled, turning her gaze to a grumpy looking Katsuki. "Brat."

"Seriously, old hag? You can't even call me by my name on my graduation day?" the blond huffed, his demeanor softening upon meeting Inko's gaze. "Hi, auntie."

"Hello, Katsuki. You're looking quite handsome today," she complimented, stepping forward and patting down his shoulders. Katsuki smirked at the compliment, giving her a playful wink.

"I am always handsome."

His response made Inko chuckle, and Mitsuki smacked the boy upside the head because of his cockiness, earning a hiss from him. Izuku giggled at the interaction, reaching up to rub the spot Mitsuki had hit. "We should get going. We have a graduation to attend to." 

*  *  *

Gym Gamma was overly crowded. Graduates, teachers, parents, and even reporters were restless in their seats as the graduation ceremony went on. The building was decorated with rich black and golden colors, the combination giving off classy vibes. Each graduate wore their black graduation gown and cap, hairs standing on end as Yaoyorozu stood on the stage. Her valedictorian speech had gone effortlessly, it having brought tears to many in the crowd. Her, along with Nezu, Aizawa, and All Might, handed out diplomas as the names were called out.

When Izuku's name was called out, every single person in the building stood. Shocked, Izuku got up from his seat, turning around to face his fellow classmates and the crowd. One by one, they bowed their heads, the action bringing tears to the greenette's eyes. Even the pro-heroes that managed to attend the ceremony held their heads down to show their respect. The amount of feelings that surged within him had him feeling overwhelmed, but in the good way.

Slowly, he turned back to the stage, where Katsuki now stood next to Yaoyorozu with a proud smile on his face. The moment their eyes locked, Katsuki bowed his head down as well, this making the greenette finally let the waterworks begin. Not long after, they slowly straightened up, the blond snatching the microphone from Nezu's hand and bringing it up to his mouth. "Get over here and get your diploma, you shitty nerd."

The command caused Izuku to laugh, finally moving forward and onto the stage, where he was handed his diploma. The place erupted in applauds, whistles and hollers being heard as he got a standing ovation. His former hero name was chanted, causing heat to rise up to his cheeks by the amount of praise he was getting. He might have been the one that defeated All for One, but that did not take his shyness away. 

Once the crowd settled down, Izuku and Katsuki stepped out of the stage and back onto their seats. The rest of the ceremony went by surprisingly smoothly, Izuku having been called onto the stage once more to give closure to their high school years. Every single student stood up, Izuku smiling at them as he raised his fist into the air. "May we continue with a smile on our faces, and always remember our years full of grief, excitement, celebrations, and hard work. UA Academy will forever hold a special place in our hearts, and even if we now have to take a step forward, this will always be known as the academy where the greatest heroes were born. Go beyond—!"

"Plus Ultra!" Cheers and whistles filled the place one last time, the graduates excitedly taking their caps off and tossing them into the air. Flashes of cameras going off illuminated the area, everyone going to the middle to hug one another as they held back tears. This was it. They have officially graduated from UA Hero Academy. 

It felt so...surreal. The day they had longed for had come to its conclusion, and even though they wouldn't miss all the studying and endless training, it felt as if they were letting go of a big part of their lives. Not only were they leaving the academy behind, they would be going their separate ways. It was going to be a huge change to all of them, but they welcomed it with open arms.

They took pictures together, and eventually, the place started getting empty. The former class of 3-A stayed chatting with one another, too stubborn to say goodbye just yet. Their parents stuck close to them, understanding that they wanted to have their last moments of high school together as friends. Mayu came forward to them, politely interrupting the conversation among them. Izuku took notice of her, a bright smile adorning his features as he beckoned her forward.

"Congratulations, hero. You finally made it," his psychologist praised, pulling him into a hug. His fellow classmates joined in, making it a big group hug between them all.

"Thanks for being here, Mayu," the greenette told her, the woman detecting the genuine sense of gratitude from the boy.

"You might be my patient, but I wouldn't have missed it kiddo," she chuckled, pulling away and turning to Katsuki. "Do I give it to you now, or..?"

Perplexed, Izuku turned to Katsuki, who smirked at Mayu and nodded. Chuckling, she handed the blond an envelope. Even more confused now, Izuku tilted his head, looking between the two. "Huh? What's that?"

Clearing his throat, Katsuki turned to him, biting his lip anxiously. "I couldn't trust the old hag or Inko with this, so I asked Mayu for a favor. Here, nerd." The fact that Katsuki seemed nervous concerned Izuku, so he hesitantly took the envelop from his hands. It was light, only a small object poking slightly out, though he couldn't make out what it was. Everyone around him were now curious as to what the envelope held, so they nosily looked over his shoulder as he opened it.

The first thing he noticed were two plane tickets. He cautiously took them out of the envelope, inspecting them and gasping in excitement. "We're going to the United States?!" 

To say that he was ecstatic was an understatement as he jumped in place, his friends cheering along with him. But that wasn't all, he remembered, as he reached inside the envelope again. His fingers graced the object, grabbing a hold of it. Before he could reveal it, Katsuki cleared his throat once more, cheeks flushing in the slightest.

"Izu, these past few years has been hectic and whatever, but being able to spend them next to you made it better. Ew. Fuck this crappy shit, just say yes and save me the embarrassment," the blond blurted out, covering his face with one hand as it burned redder than his eyes. Izuku still didn't caught up, but the girls behind him surely did and they squealed. They wasted no time in whipping out their phones, ready to record a moment in history.

Still perplexed, the greenette slowly took the object out of the envelope, a loud gasp escaping his lips as he stared at it with teary eyes. In between his fingers he held the most gorgeous ring he had ever laid eyes on. Although it might have been pretty biased considering the fact that it was the ring Katsuki had chosen to propose to him. It was a sleek, silver band with red engravings on it, the color matching Katsuki's ruby red eyes. Izuku's face heat up as he looked back up at his boyfriend with wide eyes, the blond still not meeting his eyes.

"K-Kacchan...I—," the greenette stuttered, looking back down at the ring then smiling brightly. "Fuck yes!"

Their friends behind him screamed in excitement, watching as Izuku quickly enveloped Katsuki in his arms and pulled him down for a kiss. Most of the girls cried, squealing and jumping in place. Katsuki let out a breath of relief, passionately kissing his now fiancée back with the biggest smile on his face. Their parents, that had watch the scene unfold, made their way to them just as Katsuki pulled away to put the ring on Izuku's finger.

Inko took her son's hand with tears in her eyes, pulling him in for a tight hug. Mitsuki smacked her son upside the head excitedly, ruffling his hair as she congratulated them. "That was the shittiest proposal I've ever witnessed, but good job getting the balls to do it, brat!"

Katsuki didn't even bother to push her off, his head on cloud nine as his eyes focused on the ring that now adorned Izuku's finger. It filled him with a sense of pride and content, even relief. The people around them congratulated the couple, and Izuku was a sentimental mess as always. Chuckling, the blond grabbed his handkerchief and lightly dabbed under his fiancée's eyes to wipe the tears. Then, with the gentlest of touches, he leaned down to capture Izuku's lips once more. 

"I will always be here for you, Izu. You can always count on me to catch you if you fall. And that's a promise.

Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki's shoulders, pressing their foreheads together as he smiled fondly.

"I wouldn't want it any other way, Fiancée." 

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The End

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I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you, supportive readers. I'm so proud of how far this story went, and I can't lie, I cried while writing this last chapter, as it feels so surreal that it finally came to an end. You have no idea how much I appreciate you, and I can't thank you guys enough for giving this story a chance. Lots of love <3