|| She's Perfect || BNHA x OP! Reader ||

55.1 - The Strongest Thing, E. K.

The stars were brighter than they had any right to be, considering everything we'd been through. I sat on the roof of the dorms, legs pulled to my chest, the night's breeze cooling the sweat still lingering from late-night training. Even now, after the war, the dorm curfew, the security walls, and the silence that always followed a hard-fought peace—it still didn't feel real. Like any second now, it could all fall apart again.

But tonight, the sky was quiet.

I didn't expect him to find me. Not that I was hiding.

"[F/N]?" a familiar voice called softly.

I looked back, and there he was—messy hair and a sleepy hoodie, his presence instantly making my chest feel lighter.

"Kirishima," I said, smiling before I could help it. "You're up late."

He rubbed the back of his neck, a little sheepish. "Could say the same for you. Thought I saw someone come up here. Didn't want you to freeze or anything."

I laughed quietly. "You thought I'd freeze?"

He grinned. "Hey, it's not impossible. Hero-in-training or not, we're still human."

He walked over and sat beside me, close but not too close, that respectful distance he always kept unless invited otherwise. That was the thing about Kirishima—he never pushed. Not even when others did.

"You okay?" he asked after a moment. His voice was gentle, a little husky from sleep, but serious.

I hesitated, eyes drifting to the sky. "I don't know. I think I've been... pretending to be okay. Just to keep things moving. To be strong for everyone."

"Even now?" he asked. "With me?"

The question caught me off guard. I turned toward him, surprised at how earnest he looked. Like he already knew the answer and just wanted to hear me say it.

My shoulders sagged. "Yeah. Even now."

Kirishima leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "You don't have to be perfect, you know."

I blinked. "I know."

"I mean it. Not just as a hero. As a person. You've been through hell, and you still put everyone before yourself. That's amazing... but it's okay to lean on someone sometimes."

That struck deeper than I wanted it to.

I'd spent so long trying to live up to the version of me that everyone expected—the girl All Might raised, the classmate people looked to for leadership, the one with a quirk so powerful it scared even me. But Kirishima never treated me like a title or a symbol. He just treated me like... me.

"You always say stuff like that," I whispered. "Things that make it hard to breathe."

He looked startled. "Wait, did I—? I didn't mean to upset you—"

"No," I interrupted, smiling sadly. "You didn't upset me. You just made me realize something I've been trying to avoid."

He fell silent, watching me with those warm, honest eyes. Not prying. Just listening.

I drew in a breath. "That night, during the League's attack... when we thought we'd lost Bakugo... I remember looking around at everyone—seeing how devastated they were. You, Iida, Shoto, Momo, Izuku... I thought about what it would feel like if any of you were gone."

Kirishima nodded slowly. "Yeah... that was rough."

"But when I thought about you," I said, voice softening, "it was different. It wasn't just fear. It was panic. Like the world would stop turning."

His eyes widened, just slightly.

"I don't think I ever said it out loud—not even to myself," I continued, "but I've always felt safer when you're around. Not because you're strong. Not because of your quirk. But because you show up. You always show up. You never run away. Even when it's hard, even when you're scared, you stay."

He looked away for a second, maybe overwhelmed, maybe trying not to show how much that meant.

"And when I'm with you," I added, voice shaking now, "I don't feel like I have to be perfect."

Silence settled between us, but not the heavy kind. It was filled with something raw. Real.

"I think I love you," I whispered.

It was the first time I'd ever said it.

And it was terrifying.

But then Kirishima turned back to me, and he wasn't smiling like he always did.

He was serious.

Serious in a way I rarely saw.

"You mean that?" he asked.

I nodded. "I do."

He let out a breath—half a laugh, half a gasp—like he'd been holding it for years.

"Damn," he said.

"Is that a good 'damn'?" I asked, heart pounding.

He looked at me then, eyes bright and full of something that nearly knocked the air out of my lungs.

"Yeah," he said. "That's the best damn I've ever felt."

And then he moved closer.

Not too fast.

Just enough.

"[F/N], I've liked you for so long, I don't even remember when it started," he said. "Maybe it was the first time you smiled at me like I wasn't just another loud guy. Or when you stood up for me when I doubted myself. Or maybe it was when you laughed at one of my terrible puns during lunch and made it sound like the funniest thing in the world."

I laughed, tears brimming.

"I wanted to tell you so many times," he admitted, "but I didn't want to put pressure on you. You already had so much going on. I didn't want to be another thing you had to carry, and yet I let it slip anyway."

"Kirishima—"

"But hearing you say that?" he interrupted gently. "That I make you feel like you don't have to be perfect? That's all I ever wanted. To be someone you could be real with."

He leaned in, forehead resting lightly against mine.

"I love you too," he whispered.

And just like that, everything in me that had been knotted tight for months... finally let go.

We kissed. Soft. Sure. Like something we'd both been waiting to fall into for a long, long time.

When we finally pulled back, his thumb brushed my cheek.

"I promise," he said, "no matter what comes next—villains, exams, media scandals, whatever—I'm with you. Always."

I smiled through my tears. "You already were."

He leaned back, pulling me into his side, his arm wrapped around my shoulder as I curled against him. We sat like that for a while, watching the stars.

There was no music.

No confetti.

No epic battle.

Just two people, sitting quietly on a rooftop after everything, finally figuring out how to be honest.

And it felt more powerful than anything we'd fought for.

Because the truth was, I didn't need fireworks.

I didn't need perfection.

I just needed him.

Eijiro Kirishima.

Unbreakable, loyal, gentle-hearted Kirishima.

And he chose me back.