Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
- 📜 -
Chapter 12: The Journey Goes On
"... then you gotta add 4y to y, making it 5y..."
Scribbles echoed around the small bedroom following those words. The blinds were closed, but orangey rays of the sunset still managed to sneak in; decorating the room a soft tinge of orange. Following a trail of eraser dust on the floor, you'd reach a tabletop where a young woman busied herself with her algebra homework, the tabletop having double the amount of eraser dust on the floor.
Settled on the table, was a clock, ticking quietly, showcasing the words: Wednesday, 8: 38 pm. Right beside it, was a phone.
L/n Y/n grumbled under her breath irritably, reaching a hand up to pick at her hair, when she came to a screeching halt, halfway in the math equation. A small sigh came from her phone, where she was facetiming her best friend, Bakugou Katsuki, also 18-years-old.
"Lemme guess, you're stuck," he said, a hint of amusement lacing his words. L/n replied with a faceplant onto her table, muttering a string of incoherent words, giving up.
Bakugou heaved out what seemed to be a mix of a chuckle and a groan. They've been at this for almost an hour now, still L/n has yet gotten herself stuck in another math equation similiar to the ones she's done before.
It was an understatement to say she's bad at math.
Bakugou glanced at the picture L/n had sent to him of the question. Numbers and possible ways L/n could've used as well as mistakes she could have made floated about, then he clicked.
"Did you take 4y and add 2y instead of multiplying it? Also check if you put a bracket around 2y - ¾."
L/n lifted her face from the table, ignoring the stray strands of hair that fell down onto her face, half-heartedly staring at the very worn out pice of paper, where she had rewritten the question more times than she could recall.
"Yeah?"
Bakugou nodded, scribbling out on a piece of paper, before raising it up to his phone, carefully explaining the steps to her; L/n did as she was told and got the answer right away, so much to her glee that she thought she could've cried. Her best friend felt the urge to both roll his eyes and squeeze her into a hug, as cringey as the thought was. She really still had the heart of a child, for an almost-adult.
As that was the last of her homework, the colleen moved the huge stack of assignments away from her desk and onto a chair, before sprawling her arms onto the table, resting her head on them.
Bakugou felt his palms heat up - fuck, there it is again, he groaned internally, exasperated. That weirdass feeling whenever he was alone with L/n, it's happening again. He cursed softly, balling up his hands into fists. Dammit Y/n, say something before I burst!
"Hey, Katsuki," Bakugou heaved a sigh of relief. "I miss you."
He felt his brain stop for a moment. Where was this coming from? No, shit, why was he suddenly unable to react? Geez, screw it.
"Yeah... me too," he tried to cover up the last part with a cough, earning a 'LOL' look from L/n, much to his irritation.
"Not sure when you're coming back though, huh?" he hurriedly brought up. "Are you seriously staying in Kagoshima permanently? It's been two years."
This topic again... Deep down, he knew damn well the chances of her coming back are really slim. Three years? That's way too long. She's probably going to stay there, get a job, marry and maybe have a family. A frown formed. For some reason, the thought pains him.
L/n gave a hesitant reply, just like how she'd answer this same question many times before. "Sorry, I don't know...
He clicked his tongue, annoyed. What was I expecting... she did say it was for an indefinite time. Dammit!
L/n, knowing that he must have been disappointed, whether he wanted to admit it or not, opened her mouth to reassure him she would visit when she had time. She was only a minute late; her dad knocked on her door, calling for her -
"Y/n! It's dinnertime."
L/n felt her eyes roll back, frustrated. He just couldn't be a minute slower. "I'll come down in a minute!" She called, Bakugou's attention brought away from the dreaded topic they were about to venture into. As her father's footsteps grew distant, L/n turned to her phone, grabbing it and switching off video camera -
"I'll call you back, promise," she told him, and hung up.
She tottered out of her room, turning left into the dining room, where an unusual tension washed over her instantaneously. Her childish dad was, weirdly enough, quiet; her mom, who had always looked tired, looked even more exhausted compared to most days.
The family sat down and began with their dinner in meek silence. L/n, using one hand to grab her chopsticks, busied her other hand with calling Bakugou back, as promised. She'd decided she would ask her parents about what's wrong later; she'd put up with the tension.
"Y/n," her mom finally spoke, though her voice was shaky and nervous. "We have something to talk to you about."
L/n downed a cup of water, "Yeah, what is it?"
"We're moving back to Musutafu."
That very moment, Bakugou answered the call, and was immediately met with the sound of L/n choking abruptly. He instantly panicked, blurting out a curse word, much to her parents' shock.
Chaos ensued.
L/n, after hurriedly soothing her aching throat with more water, turned to her parents, eyes wider than saucer plates. "We're moving back to Musutafu?!" she exclaimed, nearly squeaking.
Bakugou, after hearing all the commotion through the phone, was even more shocked than her. "What?!"
Her parents quickly realized she was on call with her ticking-timebomb-of-a-friend, and proceeded to calmly explain -
"Well, I kind of got fired from my job," her father sheepishly started, earning a flabbergasted look from L/n, though he was quick to cover it up. "But I got another job offer that needs us to move all the way back to Musutafu." He gave her an awkward smile, interlocking his fingers together.
L/n stared some more, she could barely find her voice.
"Okay, but where are we going to stay? When we move back? Our house was sold, wasn't it? Do we rent a house?"
"Oh, uhm," Bakugou cleared his throat, catching the family's attention. "I kind of had the old hag buy it. Just in case you all came back because of some shitty reason, or whatever."
L/n's face was practically glowing at this point, tears threatening to spill. Compete with the sun? She'd win.
"When... are we leaving...?" Her voice barely a whisper, cracking and thick. Her parents exchanged a look of relief, as though the weight of a stone had just been lifted from their chests.
Her mom turned to face L/n, her voice coming out as the sweetest melody L/n thought she'd ever heard -
"Tomorrow morning."
Tears sprang as she made a mad grab for her phone, "Did you hear that, Katsuki...? I'm coming home!" To answer her, there was undoubtly, a very muffled 'FUCK YEAH' from the other end.
