The swing continued to rock gently beneath you, creaking just enough to remind you that the night hadn't ended, that time hadn't stopped in this small, quiet corner of the world.
The whiskey sat half-forgotten in your hand, warming your throat but not nearly as much as Bakugou's arm around your back. His thumb brushed small circles just above your waist, absent, instinctive. You wondered if he even realized he was doing it.
"I keep thinking," you murmured into the space between you, "about how close we came to losing everything again. One wrong move, one slower reaction and..."
Bakugou's voice rumbled low beside you. "But we didn't."
You turned your face, cheek brushing the shoulder of his hoodie. "But we could have. And I'm not... I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you again. Not ever."
His fingers stilled against your back. His whole body did, really. For a second, it felt like the world held its breath.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said, rough and low, the edge of something unspoken in his tone.
"You get that, right? I'd tear the world apart before I left you behind."
Your throat tightened. You'd heard promises before. You'd heard vows made in panic and love and desperation. But this didn't feel like a vow. It felt like truth. Like a part of him, cut open and raw, was being laid out just for you.
You shifted slightly, knees folding beneath you on the swing, turning to face him fully. Your body ached with every movement, but none of it mattered. Not when his eyes found yours, and you saw something there, unmasked, unwavering. Not when the glow of the city cast soft shadows across his face, his jaw still smudged with soot, hair wind-tossed and wild.
"Katsuki," you whispered. He blinked slowly, hands now resting on your hips like he was grounding himself.
"I used to be afraid that loving you would burn me alive," you said, voice trembling with honesty.
"But after everything... after tonight... I'm starting to think that maybe you're the only thing that's ever really held me together." He exhaled sharply, like you'd just punched the air out of his lungs.
His hands tightened, drawing you a fraction closer. His forehead leaned into yours, breath mingling in the space between. You could smell the smoke still clinging to his skin, the iron of dried blood, and underneath it all was just him. Real and steady.
"You think I don't feel the same?" he said, voice almost a low whisper.
"You think watching you throw yourself into danger over and over doesn't kill me? I've watched you die once, and I swear to god, I can't—" He stopped himself, jaw clenched.
You tilted your chin up just enough for your lips to brush his. A whisper, barely there but it was enough. He kissed you like the storm he was, unforgiving, full of power, of everything he couldn't say with words.
His hands came up to cradle your face, thumbs rough against your cheeks, mouth urgent and desperate. And you met him with everything you had left in you, all the pieces that had broken and healed and broken again. All the hope you didn't know was still alive inside you.
You gasped softly as the kiss deepened, pulling your body closer into his lap, legs straddling his thighs now, the swing swaying beneath you both. His arms wrapped fully around your waist, anchoring you to him like you were the only thing keeping him from unraveling too.
Your fingers threaded into his hair, tugging gently. He groaned against your mouth, teeth catching your bottom lip, not in a cruel way, just him, hungry and raw.

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❝Stars Aligned❞ » Katsuki Bakugou x Fem!Reader
FanfictionA new student enrolled into UA, one with abilities she cannot begin to fathom, abilities she never knew of and cannot control. As dangers lurk at every corner, the villains seeking the powerful quirk she possesses, she is just trying to get by and...