Too Late (BakuDeku)

Too Late

Bakugou Katsuki

"What were you like as a kid, pro hero DynaMight?" I laughed and slowly sipped my coffee, setting it on the table in front of me.

"Well, I actually wasn't the nicest person. I was a real pain in the ass, to be honest." I laughed, nervously scratching the back of my head, feeling my new undercut. I heard the interviewer laugh along with the audience. "I had a big ego, never took advice, always thought I was the boss." The crowd laughed once again, some whispers here and there.

"What changed, if you don't mind me asking?" Silence. Everyone wanted to hear my answer, I knew they did. I did too. I picked up my coffee, staring into the dark liquid.

"Well, caring about someone can really change you." I heard more whispers, but the interviewer stayed quiet. He wanted to know more. "My... A childhood friend of mine." I swallowed, feeling a soft smile tug at my lips. "We were really close back in high school." I nodded along to my own sentence, looking at the interviewer.

"Really? Do you know what he's up to today? Is he also a hero?" I sipped my coffee, placing it back on the coffee table. I leaned back on the sofa, thinking about his question.

"When he was a kid he dreamed of becoming the number one hero. And I swear, he had the biggest All Might collection I had ever seen. But that's all he ever talked about, was being the number one hero." I pushed up my glasses, thinking about the boy with green hair.

"Ah, so he is a hero! How cool that you share the same dream." I swallowed again, glancing behind the stage. I saw Kirishima standing there with a concerted look on his face. He signed to me, asking if I still wanted to go on. I blinked twice, meaning yes.

"A couple days after our summer vacation in our first year of U.A., there was a villain attack." I heard whispers and a few gasps. "Luckily no one had any serious injuries. But, my friend, he... He was killed by one of the villains." I could feel the sadness all over my face, but I tried to smile. 

Deku would want me to smile.

"Oh my... I'm sorry to hear that." The interviewer looked at the camera then back at me. "Well, off that sore subject..." He frantically searched his notes, trying to find something else to ask me. "What about... Ah! Find anyone that you're romantically interested in?" 

"Ah, well..." I looked over at Kirishima again, thinking of what I should say. "It's been seven years since my friend was killed... And, I'm still trying to find someone else to love. But, when you care about someone that much, it's hard to just forget about them." I spoke truth in my answer, hoping this would make him stop talking.

I smiled when I saw him smile at the camera.

"Well folks, that concludes this interview with DynaMight. We'll be right back after the commercials." He continued to smile until one of the camera men gave him a signal that the camera was off.

"Listen, pro hero DynaMight, I'm really-" I held my hand up to him as I drank the rest of my coffee. I gently set my cup down and stood up, stretching my back. I smiled and stuck my hand out towards him.

"Don't worry about it, Saku. I'm happy to be here." He gently shook my hand, nodding to himself. "I'm leaving now, hope the rest of the show goes okay." I smiled and walked away.

As soon as I was behind stage, Kirishima gave me a big hug. I hugged back tightly, really needing the reassurance.

"You did great out there." He smiled at me, turning to walk out. I gently grabbed his hand and walked with him. "I feel like he was one of the nicer people to interview heroes. He even apologized when he thought he went too far."

"Yeah, he didn't though." We stepped outside, the sunset blinding me temporarily. I raised my hand and covered the sun, looking around for Kirishima's car. "It's kind of nice to talk about him. You know? In a nice way, a way that he would want to be remembered." Kirishima and I got into his car, both of us buckling our seat belts. 

"I used to hate when people would be scared to even say his name... For a couple of years, it was almost like he didn't exist at all." I spoke quietly, looking out my window.

After Deku was killed by Shigaraki, I broke down. I stopped eating, stayed up later, and even got angrier than I was before. I trained constantly and barely took any breaks. Of course everyone was worried about me, but I never listened. I only lashed out on people, even people that I cared about.

I was in a state of depression for a really long time. But being angry and depressed got me no where. Eventually I started to think rationally, accepted that he was gone. Accepted that I would have to move on. I graduated from U.A., became a pro hero, and even raised funds for his memorial. 

A lot of citizens only recognize him from the sports festival, but the people that he saved knew he was much more than that. I knew he was more than that.

Many of the people in our class were also devastated, as well as the teachers. Eraserhead didn't come to school for a full week. And when he did come back, he still seemed more depressed than he was before. All Might, god, he was a mess for a long time. 

The public even started to worry because he stopped showing his face in public for a long time. While Eraserhead still teaches at U.A., All Might doesn't. When he Deku died, he took it hard. Probably just as I hard as I did. Eventually he stopped coming to the school.

Then, about four years ago, he was involved in a really bad car accident. His body was already weak, so the doctors didn't expect him to make it long. And he didn't. He passed two days later.

Of course the world was sad, depressed, and almost lost their last bit of hope. Luckily pro heroes kept up with their work until a lot of graduates from U.A., including me, became pro heroes later that year.

"How about I cook some orange chicken and rice tonight?" I heard Kirishima say, making me hum in agreement. 

"That sounds really good." 

Kirishima drove into his parking spot near our apartment. He parked and shut off the car, grabbing his keys as he got out. I got out too, following him up to the apartment.

A couple of hours later, we were snuggled on the couch with our bowls of orange chicken and rice. Kirishima picked some random movie on TV and tossed the remote aside.

We talked about our days, what's been going on for us, how Red Riot and and DynaMight were doing, just casual talk. Once we were done with our meals, we set our bowls down on the coffee table in front of us.

Kirishima leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips while holding the side of my face. I lightly grabbed his waist, kissing him back. 

Losing Deku was one of the hardest things I will ever go through. I did love him, I do. He will always have a special place in my heart... But not moving on was harder than trying to move on. So, even though I still care deeply for Deku, I decided to give Kirishima a chance. It's nothing about him that I don't find attractive, I just don't want to jump into something that I might not be ready for.

Deku taught me what love is. He's the first person that I've ever thought about romantically and sexually for. And while Kirishima may not be my first for many different things, he's here. 

No matter how much I pushed everyone away, he kept coming back. His kindness was and still is important to me. He made me want to be kind again.

I felt like love was real.

I smiled at Kirishima, pulling away from him as he rested his head against my shoulder.

And if I've learned nothing in this lifetime, if you care about them, show them. If you want them, let them know. And if you love them, tell them.

Tell them before it's too late.