˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊

A THICK silence hung in the air as Katsuki sat frozen in his seat, his hand stuck in its place on the steering wheel. His eyes were stretched wide in shock and an aching feeling filled his chest.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He couldn't believe that you were right there.

A thick lump formed in the back of his throat which he swallowed uncomfortably and it left a dry feeling in his mouth. He didn't know what to say. It had been over five years since he'd last seen you and this was not how he was expecting things to go. Though now that he thought about it, he honestly didn't know what he was expecting.

"I'll uh..." Kirishima slowly slid his arm away from your shoulders and he took a step back. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and gave you an awkward smile. "I'll let you two talk..."

Katsuki's eyes snapped to the carmine-haired man who began walking away and panic coursed through his veins. He didn't know why, but he didn't want him to leave right now.

Before Katsuki could even think of calling out to his retreating friend, you tapped your knuckles against the car door, urging him to look back at you. His blood ran cold when he was met with your tight-lipped smile that was overly sweet.

"Get out of the car, Katsuki."

He swallowed thickly and for a moment, he considered slamming his foot on the gas pedal and speeding away from you, but he knew that he'd have to face you sooner or later. May as well get it over with.

With a defeated sigh, the ash-blond switched off the car's engine and pulled out his keys. He stepped out of the vehicle and shut the door behind him before walking around it and stepping onto the path you were standing on.

Vermillion eyes raked over your figure as you stood with your hand on your hip and the man's chest tightened. Somehow, you looked exactly the same as before yet completely different at the same time. Your hair and eyes were still the same, your height was the same, and even your weight hadn't changed much. But your expressions seemed different and the suffocating air around you was nothing like the comforting one you used to hold. However, he guessed that was only towards him.

"What do you want?" He sounded tired, defeated. Like he just didn't want to be in this situation. It made your heart ache that he could barely even look at you.

Instead of answering the man, you rummaged through your pockets until you found the small, paper box you were looking for and pulled it out of your pocket. You tapped out one of the smoke sticks and held it carefully between your teeth as you returned the box to your pocket.

"Got a light?"

Katsuki glanced at you only to find you staring at him with an expecting look on your face. He took in the sight of you with your cigarette hanging from your lips and he was reminded of years ago.

Rolling his eyes, he extended his index finger towards you and after you leaned closer to it, he detonated a tiny explosion from his fingertip. He watched the end of your cigarette catch alight and when he focused on your eyes, he saw the reflection of the flame in your e/c irises.

You inhaled a deep breath of the cancerous smoke as you pulled away from the man before your fingers gingerly plucked the stick from your lips and your lungs pushed a thick cloud of smoke past them. A small wave of relaxation washed over you and you felt your nerves slowly disappear with the nicotine that coursed through you.

Katsuki watched in silence as you took a few draws of your cigarette before a tic mark appeared on his forehead and he clicked his tongue. "Are you gonna tell me wh—"

"Why did you leave me?"

Your words cut through his like a butcher's cleaver slashing at raw meat and his red eyes stretched wide in surprise. You wrapped your arms around yourself with your lips drawn into a frown and your gaze pinned on the floor. You couldn't bring yourself to look at him, for you were scared that if he had a bad expression, you wouldn't be able to contain your pain.

After a second of silence, the spiky-haired hero's expression twisted into a scowl and he took a step towards you. "The hell do you mean, 'Why did I leave you'? You're the one who moved out to the countryside, not me."

You shook your head slowly. "That's not what I meant..." you swallowed the lump that had gathered in the back of your throat and mustered up the courage to look him in the eye; your eyes welling with tears as a pleading look took over your features. You needed to know. "Why did you cut me off?! What did I do to make you so mad that you couldn't even talk to me about it?!"

Katsuki froze at the cracks in your voice and when he looked into your eyes, he found them shining with desperation and despair. For years, you had bottled up your emotions and tried to push past this. 'What's done is done.' You used to tell yourself. But now, seeing him again after so long. You just couldn't hold it in anymore. You needed to know how he could just cut you off like you meant nothing to him.

"You were supposed to be my best friend, Katsuki." You bit your lip to stop it from quivering. "You were supposed to be there for me when I needed you, but you left me! The one time I really needed you and you left me!" You felt the anger simmering in your chest begin to bubble but you tried your hardest to contain it.

"You're the one who left!"

You felt your emotions snap and you took a step towards the male, jabbing your finger roughly into his chest. "You know I had to!"

"Then don't fucking blame me!" Katsuki slapped your hand away from him. He didn't even know why he was shouting. He knew you were right. He was the one who cut contact. But his pride wouldn't let him back down and the only way he knew how to respond was through anger.

"How could you do that to me!?" You screamed in his face. "How could you just cut me off and throw me away like everything we had meant nothing to you!? Like I meant nothing to you!"

"Because it hurt too much, alright!?"

You froze at the pain in his voice and only now did you realise how close your face had gotten to his. Your eyebrows knit together and you slowly back away. "What?"

Katsuki clicked his tongue and turned his face away from you to hide the hurt in his eyes. When he made no move to explain his words, your face turned into a scowl and you slapped his arm.

"Tell me!" You slapped his arm again, drawing a crease between his eyebrows. "Tell me!" His body trembled with the anger coursing through his veins but he tried his hardest to hold it in. "Tell me what you fucking mean!"

Snap.

"I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU!" His head snapped back to face you and he roughly grabbed your wrist. "I WAS SO FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU THAT WHEN I HEARD YOU MOVED ON IT BROKE MY FUCKING HEART!!" His voice cracked with sadness and he lowered his head - his spiky locks casting a shadow over his face. "You promised you'd come back for me..."

You were left frozen in shock at his outburst. Multiple people who were passing on the streets had stopped to see what the commotion was and a few that had heard the man's confession had their eyes stretched wide in surprise. This was like something straight out of a K-Drama.

"Wait. What?" You blinked owlishly as the pieces in your mind clicked together like a jigsaw puzzle. It then dawned on you that you had completely misinterpreted the situation. "That's why? But I thought it was because you didn't want to be a dad?"

Katsuki's eyebrows furrowed and he raised his gaze to pair it with yours; both of you sporting bewildered expressions. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Tatsu..."

"Mama!" Your eyes widened at the sound of your son's voice and just as you turned around, he tackled your leg in a hug. He stared up at you with a bright grin stretched across his face. "I just met Red Riot!" When his red eyes landed on the half-smoked cigarette in your hand, his lips formed a pout and he pointed at it angrily. "You said doing that was bad!"

You slowly shook yourself out of your surprise and huffed out an awkward laugh. "I'll stop after this one then, 'Kay?"

"Okay!" He chirped before his gaze fell onto the pro hero standing behind you and he gasped loudly with his eyes stretching wide. "Is that Dynamight!?"

Katsuki's jaw was slack in shock as he stared at the four-year-old who resembled you in so many ways and yet, resembled him at the same time. Your words echoed in his mind and he slowly brought his gaze back up to you. When he found you staring back at him and biting your lip with an unreadable expression, his chest tightened.

"Wait. He's..." When you slowly nodded in confirmation, the ash-blond shook his head and took a slow step backwards. First, you appeared out of nowhere and now this? It felt like his whole world was being flipped upside down. "But how? We—"

"Halloween."

He froze when he remembered that night and the uncomfortable feeling in his chest worsened. There's no way this was real, right? There's no way he had a son and was only now finding out about it... right?

He ran his hand through his messy hair before dragging it over his face. "There's no way..."

"I thought you knew."

His gaze snapped back to you and his eyebrows furrowed with his scowl. "Why the hell would I know!? We stopped talking before he was born!"

You froze when you realised he was right. You started dating Aki a month before Tatsuhiko was born and if Katsuki cut you off after your relationship started, then that was way before your son was even born.

"I'm so sorry..." tears welled in your eyes and bit down on your quivering lip. Guilt ate away your heart. All this time you'd blamed him for cutting you off when it was all mostly your fault. How stupid could you be?

Katsuki's eyes widened when he saw a tear run down your cheek and his heart squeezed at your sadness. He'd pushed you away all those years ago to save himself from the heartbreak he felt but looking at it now, he felt so selfish for doing so. He'd caused you so much pain when that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. He was such an asshole.

"God, we're both stupid as fuck." He breathed out a sigh as he ran his hand through his spiky hair. You couldn't help the small chuckle that left your lips and you wiped away your tears whilst nodding.

"We really are."

"Mama? Are you okay?" You glanced back down at your son who was staring up at you with his head tilted to the side. His tiny hand curled around the hem of your jumper and his vermillion irises shone with concern.

Your lips lifted into a smile and you gently ruffled the boy's spiky hair. "Don't worry, Hon. Mommy's fine."

Katsuki cleared his throat and crouched to be at eye level with the four-year-old. His red eyes took in the boy's features and the corners of his lips quirked upwards a little into a smile. "So, you a fan of mine?"

Tatushiko's eyes stretched wider than ever and his cheeks flushed in excitement. He couldn't believe his favourite hero was talking to him. He shyly nodded his head before he held up the action figure that he'd brought with him. "Mhm. My mommy bought me this today..."

"Really?" The ash-blond held his hand out towards the boy and tilted his head a little. "Mind if I have a look?" Tatsuhiko bit his lip to contain his excitement and carefully placed his figure in the hero's palm. Vermillion eyes flickered over the figurine of himself before he handed it back to the four-year-old. His lips twitched upwards as his arms rested loosely over his knees. "You know, I have an even cooler one at mine. Maybe one day, your mom could bring you around to see it."

Tatushiko's mouth fell open and he quickly whirled around to face you. "Can we, Mama!?"

You chuckled at your son's excitement and nodded with a smile. "When we're not busy, of course."

"Or, I could bring it round to yours someday?" Red eyes shone with a glimmer of hope and his lips drew into a lopsided grin. "All I'd need is the address."

In other words, this was a promise to see each other again. There was no more watching your friend from the sidelines, he'd be back in your life. Just like old times.

Your expression softened and your smile widened. "I'll text it to you."

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚.

━━━ AUTHOR'S NOTE !!

hello, my lovelies! thank you for reading!
lmk what you think!!

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

word count ; 2.3k