˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊

WARM rays of sunshine slithered into the dark room through the thin cracks in the moth-eaten curtains, allowing the streams of light to dance across the old, wooden floorboards which creaked and groaned beneath your weight as you dragged your feet over to the window.

You stretched your arms above your head to crack your stiff bones before rubbing the sleep from your tired eyes. With your free hand, you grabbed one side of the closed curtains and tore away the thick fabric.

A blinding light instantly flooded into the dark room and tightly screwed your eyes shut with a hiss leaving your lips. After taking a moment to recover from your blindness, you drew back the remaining curtain before spinning on the balls of your feet to face the small bedroom you'd lived in for the last five years.

Every item that had previously filled the room was now neatly packed away in the cardboard boxes lining one of the walls and the only thing remaining was the thick mattress lying on the floor in the corner of the room - the sheets tangled messily around the shirtless figure currently stirring awake on it.

"Do you really have to move?" A tired and gruff voice whined as the man lying on the mattress rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a small huff.

You chuckled and collapsed onto the mattress beside the man as he turned his head to look at you. "You know I do. The city will be better for us."

"Will it?" The man raised an eyebrow and squinted his eyes a little. His eyes were such a dark shade of brown that they almost looked black, though the tiny specks of light sprinkled across his irises filled them with a certain warmth that had captured your heart the moment you looked into them. "Didn't you move here because the city is dangerous?"

A small sigh left your lips; this was about the third time you were having this discussion. "It is dangerous. But the job I've been offered pays a lot more, and Tatsu will have a chance to make some friends when he starts school. And besides—"

"Your friends are pro heroes so there's no need to worry." He rolled his eyes. "I know."

"Awe, cheer up. We'll still see each other!" You propped yourself up on your elbow to stare down at your boyfriend and gently brushed the stray strands of his messy, ebony hair out of his face. "You can come and see us whenever you want and you can stay whenever you're not busy with work."

"I know." Aki breathed out a long, defeated sigh through his nose before his lips curled into a smile and he raised his hand to tuck a strand of your h/c hair behind your ear. "No matter how far away you are, nothing can keep us apart."

Your heart fluttered at his words; completely missing the dark look in his eyes as your bedroom door abruptly swung open and the small figure of your son rushed in.

"Mama! Mama! It's moving day!" The small boy chirped as he jumped onto the mattress laying on the floor with a wide grin stretched across his face. He jumped into your lap and tilted his head back to look up at you - childlike wonder swirling in his wide, red eyes. "When will we be leaving, Mama?"

You wrapped your arms around the boy's small figure and gently tapped the tip of his nose with a smile. "After breakfast, hun." You raised your eyebrow playfully. "Did you make sure that everything is packed away?"

Your son's head bobbed up and down. "Mhm! Everything is in the boxes just like yesterday!"

"And you didn't take any of your toys out?"

Tatsuhiko's expression fell when it dawned on him that he had pulled out his toys this morning and he dropped his head while wringing his tiny hands. "I'm sorry, Mama..."

You breathed out a laugh and ruffled your son's spiky yet soft, h/c hair. "It's alright, hun. Just go tidy them while I get breakfast, okay?"

"Okay!" The four-year-old's grin returned in the blink of an eye and he quickly jumped out of your lap before rushing out of the room to tidy up his mess.

"Want me to run and grab breakfast?" Aki pushed himself to sit up while a yawn escaped his lips and he scratched his exposed back.

You couldn't stop your wandering eyes from raking over his figure and you bit down on your bottom lip. Dark ink travelled up his left arm with his tattoo sleeve and the warm rays of sunshine kissed his toned muscles and the few moles dotted across his back. Your heart rate quickened and the longer you stared, the tighter the knot in your lower stomach became.

He's so hot!

"Like what you see?" A smug smirk shaped Aki's pale face as he looked at you from over his shoulder.

You froze; heat slowly rising up your neck before you rolled your eyes. "Shut up." You gently pushed your boyfriend to lie back down. "I got breakfast. Just stay here and catch up on your beauty sleep." You joked as you planted a kiss on the man's soft lips.

"Gladly." The black-haired man hummed with a satisfied smile as he slipped back under the warmth of the blankets and turned his back on the open window - already starting to drift back to sleep.

You chuckled at his actions and pushed yourself to your feet before getting changed into a simple jumper and pair of jeans. You quietly closed the room door behind you and as you made your way down the hallway, you stopped at your son's bedroom and peeked your head through the open door.

Tatsuhiko sat on the floor of his empty bedroom, tidying away the toys he'd taken out of one of the boxes lining the wall. Your lips curled into a fond smile as you watched him play with the hero figurines - making up some game that involved the heroes going on a super important mission and the box was their transport.

"Hey, Tatsu," you gently tapped your knuckles against the wooden door and leaned against the frame, your arms folding over your chest. "What do you want for breakfast?"

The four-year-old paused his playing and pouted in thought before his face brightened into a grin and he punched the air with his tiny fist. "Granny's pancakes!"

You nodded with a chuckle; you already knew that would be his answer. "Alright. Granny's pancakes it is." You pushed yourself off the door frame and continued on your way downstairs. "I won't be long!"

"Okay, Mama!"

You stopped in your tracks when you reached the bottom of the stairs, your eyes taking in the odd appearance of your dark and empty home. All of the framed photos that used to hang on the walls were gone. All of the colourful and bright flowers that used to liven up the place were tossed in the bin. All of the furniture was dismantled and every piece of decor that had made the house feel homey was packed away in boxes.

Your chest twisted with a strange feeling as you stared at the empty rooms that used to be so bright and full of life. It felt... weird. Sure, you had only stayed there for a little over five years, but in those years, this became your home. This was where you started your family and raised your son. It was where you had celebrated so many accomplishments with your family, and it was where you'd experienced so many kinds of heartbreak. The idea of leaving behind the one place you truly called home made your chest tighten uncomfortably and your mind started to cloud with doubt.

'Am I making the right decision?'

You quickly shook your head to rid yourself of your doubt and slipped on your shoes before stepping out of your home.

'No. This is the right decision.'

'Think of the positives.'

Your mind was instantly flooded with the memories of your old friends whom you hadn't seen in what felt like forever. You missed your friends dearly. Not being able to see them as often as you used to tore a crack through your heart but now, you would be able to see them again.

The person you'd seen most out of your friends in the last five years was Izuku. He made sure to call at least a few times a week - if not every day - and whenever he had holidays from his teaching job at UA High, he'd come out and visit. Tatsuhiko had grown to call him 'Uncle Deku' and was ecstatic when he found out that your best friend was Japan's greatest hero - even if he was hardly in the hero scene any more.

Izuku was probably your only friend who had seen Tatsuhiko grow up. Everyone else had only seen him when he was first born and they journeyed out to welcome him into the world. Now he was almost five and save for the few people who saw him when you'd video called, no one had really seen him.

Which meant that not many of your friends knew about your total mix-up of your pregnancy timeline. You thought you'd gotten pregnant when you had a drunken one-night stand with a stranger from a club but boy were you wrong.

It didn't take a genius to know that your son's spiky hair and bright, vermillion eyes didn't come from you. And you could vaguely remember the drunk stranger having green eyes and not spiky hair. Which left one other person:

Katsuki Bakugo.

And said fucker hadn't visited you once since you moved. He used to call every night to see how you were doing after you'd first moved. You could still remember the concern in his tone when you would break down in tears and tell him about how lonely you felt. You could still remember the reassuring words he'd spoken to you on those nights - assuring you that it wouldn't be long until he visited.

But he never did.

You understood that his journey to becoming the number one hero would be a long and busy one. One where he didn't have time for others. But if that was the case, then why would he say those things? Why would he get your hopes up just to trample over them?

And after Tatsuhiko was born, his calls stopped coming. You lost all contact with him after that and no matter who you spoke to, everyone seemed to dodge your questions about him. So eventually, you gave up.

You guessed that one of your friends who knew about your mishap had told him and he'd connected the dots by himself - your drunken hookup on Halloween night and your son who barely shared any of your features. You guessed that he just didn't want to be a dad and instead of talking to you about it like an adult, he pushed you away until you became a complete stranger to him.

Your hands balled into tight fists that turned your knuckles white and your nails left crescent-shaped dents in your palms. It made you mad whenever you thought about it. You didn't care if he was the baby daddy or not, to completely cut you out of his life without an explanation was just uncalled for and hurtful. It broke your heart having to watch your best friend become a pro hero from afar. The only times you saw him were when he was on the news.

It left you heartbroken.

"Ugh, let's not think about that..." your fingers rubbed your temples to subside the oncoming headache you'd given yourself. You shook the thoughts from your mind and focused your energy on the excitement you felt about seeing your old friends again. You could feel your heart flip with anticipation as you hurried down the sidewalks until you reached one of the only restaurants in your small neighbourhood.

The restaurant was warm inside and greeted you with the enticing smell of freshly cooked food. Your stomach grumbled in hunger as you made your way to the front counter where an elderly woman holding a warm smile greeted you. She took your usual order before passing it on to her husband in the kitchen and she conversed with you while you waited.

"How are you, deary? You must be excited to get back to the city." The elderly woman smiled as you leaned against the counter and returned the gesture.

"I am. But I'm going to miss it here. The countryside is so much more peaceful than the city." Your smile turned playful. "And I don't know how I'm going to live without your food."

The woman with greying hair laughed as she waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Oh, dear, you flatter us. There will be plenty of good food out in the city, much better than ours."

"I seriously doubt that."

The old woman held a grateful smile on her lips as her husband emerged from the kitchen with a paper bag of steaming food in his hand. "Come back and visit sometime, yeah? And make sure to bring the little guy with ya." He grinned while handing you your order.

You laughed with a nod as you took the bag. "I give it three days before Tatsu is begging me for 'Granny's pancakes' again." The elderly couple laughed before bidding you farewell and you left the restaurant.

You glanced at the elders through the window as you passed and a frown tugged at your lips. They were the first people to welcome you to the neighbourhood and over time, they'd become something like the grandparents you never had.

E/c eyes flickered to your surroundings as you made your way home and you inhaled a deep breath of the crisp, morning air before you exhaled a long sigh.

"I'm gonna miss this place."

After your small family of three had finished your breakfast, you all got ready to start your move and the movers arrived just in time. You helped the burly men load your belongings into the back of their vans before handing them a spare key to your new apartment and they left to start their long journey to Musutafu.

"Do you have everything?" Firm, slight-scarred hands were placed on your shoulders as you stared into the dark, worried eyes of your boyfriend. "Your purse? Keys? Tatsu?"

A wave of deja vu washed over you from the man's worried words and your lips formed a smile - chuckling at his last word. "Of course, I have my son." You nodded your head in the direction the four-year-old was. He was crouched in your now-old garden, curiously watching the bugs he'd found amongst the soft blades of grass. You raised your hands to rest them over your boyfriend's on your shoulders and you gave them a gentle squeeze. "I have everything. Don't worry, babe. I've done this before, remember?"

"You didn't have a son last time though, nor did you drive when you moved here."

You rolled your eyes playfully. "True. But I still know what I'm doing." Your e/c gems held a reassuring glint in them. "We'll be fine."

Aki slowly nodded in understanding before he pulled you into a tight embrace and buried his nose into the crook of your neck. He inhaled your signature scent of apples and cigarettes and his tense shoulders relaxed a little as his eyes fluttered shut - enjoying the warmth you provided. "I'll come visit tomorrow, okay?"

"Mhm." You hummed as you wrapped your arms tightly around the man's torso and rested your chin on his broad shoulder. The single black cross earring dangling from his left ear tickled your face making you giggle. "Your earring's tickling me."

The ebony-haired man chuckled as he placed a gentle kiss on your temple before he pulled away and held you at arm's length. "I'll miss you, love."

Your lips curled into a saddened smile as your eyes met his and the world around you seemed to come to a halt. Every memory you had made together over the last five years flooded into your mind like a tsunami and you couldn't help the salty tears that welled in your e/c eyes. It's not like you were never going to see him again, but the thought of leaving him drew a crack through your heart.

Aki was one of the first people you'd met here. He was kind and showed you around the neighbourhood. When you felt alone, he was always somehow there by your side, ready to comfort you. You'd confided in him about your past and he'd welcomed your problems with open arms. You ranted to him countless times over how mad Katsuki made you when he cut you off and he listened without judgment. He helped you throughout the last four months of your pregnancy and after Tatsuhiko was born, he became the father figure you were scared your son would never have. He raised your son as though he were his own flesh and blood without a minute's hesitation. He meant the world to you and you were his world. He wouldn't hesitate to let the world burn if it meant saving you. He'd do anything for you. Anything.

"I'll miss you too."

"Mama! Mama! When are we leaving?" Tatsuhiko bounded towards you and tugged on the hem of your jumper. His vermillion eyes sparkled with excitement that brought a smile to your face and you quickly wiped away the tears that had gathered in your eyes.

"Soon, hon. Are you ready?"

Aki crouched in front of the four-year-old who bobbed his head up and down excitedly and he placed his large, scarred hand on the boy's shoulder, successfully gaining his attention. "Tatsu. Make sure to take care of your mom, okay?"

The spiky-haired boy nodded with a wide grin and he punched the air with his tiny fist. "Of course! That's what a hero does, after all!"

A small chuckle passed the man's lips and he gently ruffled the boy's soft, h/c tresses. "That's right. You'll become a good hero if you look after your mom."

Tatsuhiko nodded excitedly before he tackled the ebony-haired man beside him in a tight hug. "I'll miss you, daddy!"

"I'll miss you too, kid." Aki smiled and patted the boy's back before they pulled apart and he stood up fully. He then snaked his tattooed arm around your waist to pull you into his side and he rested his chin on your shoulder. "I love you, Y/n."

"I love you too, Aki." You smiled into the loving kiss placed on your lips - missing the possessive glint in his dark irises. The loud 'Ewww!' of your son made your face twist into a wide grin before you scooped the boy into your arms. "What? Don't like kisses?"

You attacked the four-year-old's face with kisses making him squeal with laughter. "Mama! Stop it!" He wriggled around in your arms and tried to pry your face away but you easily dodged his tiny hands. Aki watched you with a smile on his face and he stuffed the hand that wasn't on your waist into the pocket of his baggy trousers. He sure was gonna miss you.

After a few minutes of your son's uncontrollable laughter causing tears to prick his wide, red eyes, you stopped your attack and smiled lovingly at the boy in your arms. You then shifted him in your arms to hold him by your hip and you turned around to pin your gaze on your boyfriend - your smile saddening. "Well, we should get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

Aki nodded in agreement and removed his arm from around your waist. You walked over to your car parked behind his in your driveway and he watched with dark eyes as you settled your son into his car seat in the back. You gently slammed the door shut and hopped into the driver's seat where you clipped in your seatbelt.

"Mama! Can I watch videos of heroes?"

You glanced at your son from over your shoulder and nodded with a smile before you grabbed his tablet which lay in the passenger's side. You quickly opened YouTube and pressed on the first video that popped up which just so happened to be about your dear old friend, Eijiro Kirishima - AKA Red Riot. You passed the device back to your son who took it with a grateful smile.

"Thank you!"

You chuckled and started up your car, shifting the gearstick into reverse and carefully pulling out of the driveway. After you straightened up on the road, you waved at your boyfriend who stood beside his own car in the driveway, waving back with a smile.

You breathed out a deep sigh through your nostrils as you glanced at your old house through your rearview mirror. A pit formed in your stomach as the building grew farther with each passing second and before you knew it, it disappeared into the distance and your chest grew heavy with sadness.

You sure were going to miss it here.

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚.

━━━ AUTHOR'S NOTE !!

hello, my lovelies! thank you for reading!
the name tatsuhiko means dragon star!
(it will make more sense later)

remember to leave a vote and comment!!
i love you, take care!!

word count ; 3.6k