Up in Smoke (Soulmate AU)

Soulmate or Not.

Well shit.

This was a nightmare. How does this even happen? A love triangle? Really? Didn't this sort of thing only happen in books? Girl with troubled past struggling between her hot-headed Adonis soulmate and her heartthrob good guy of a best friend. How does a person even find themselves in a situation like this? This was impossible!

Ugh. She remembered the sense of dread she felt on her plane ride here to this side of the coast. The way her body physically jolted up in her sleep ~ only to find that her wrist clock had dropped a full two years in the span of only a few minutes. It wasn't like she didn't want a soulmate or anything. She genuinely liked the idea, she really did. It's just... it was all so sudden. Like she had rushed something she shouldn't have without even knowing. She tried not to let it phase her. I mean, if this person was so meant for her, then he or she could understand that she had other priorities in mind before letting her world revolve around a single person. She'd come here to start a new leaf. To become the hero she had always dreamed of being ~ defeating the odds and watching the Viper empire burn into cinders. It would be the biggest middle finger of the century. She'd become number one, make history as the first female top hero and root that fucker's kingdom like the Jimsonweed it was. That was her main focus, her biggest priority. And nothing ~ no one was going to get in the way of that. Soulmate or not.

Soulmate or not. The irony in that was cruel. Don't get her wrong, she still had her drive and resolve. She was going to win - to overcome because that's what heroes do. They survive, like she has all her life. She still had a goal set in mind with no intention of wavering. But that didn't mean that this situation was in any way less bothersome.

The factors seemed clear at a one-dimensional perspective. I mean, Izuku was obviously the better of the two, right? Bakugou was a raging asshole. A colossal headed loud mouth jerk with an ego so big it had sprouted legs and started calling him "daddy." There was nothing to him but his stupid gorgeous face and his Greek God of a body. Izuku was better, kinder, he cared about people. Had a much brighter outlook on things - a broader one. He was a determined hero with the personality for it. Not to mention a sweet face you wouldn't mind sitting on. Izuku was the right choice. The easiest choice. This was a no brainer.

But it wasn't.

It wasn't because she knew there was more to this than that ~ more to Bakugou than that.

Sure, okay, he was a bit of an asshole but still, he was more than just an asshole. He had every right to have an ego that big. He was so talented, so determined. He half-assed nothing and expected the same from those close to him, even if they were fighting against him. She remembered his winning fight at the sports festival. She couldn't hear it all but she could put it together. Todoroki flaked at the last second and gave Bakugou the win. He had put his all into that attack and Todoroki just... folded. That wasn't fair. He had every right to be angry. Hell, she'd be angry. That wasn't a win ~ That was a scoot and he was right to feel like he didn't deserve it. That was admirable. His honor. Something not every man had nor kept as dear as he did. As much as she hated to admit it, he was everything she thought a hero should be. 

But was he everything she thought a soulmate should be?

No, that was unfair. Holding this unfilled cut out of a person up to an expectation before even meeting the person themselves. That was selfish. She was selfish. It was a setup for disappointment from the start that she had only brought upon herself. She shouldn't have punished him for that. That wasn't his fault.

She could remember the hurt in his voice, the absolute resentment.

"You said that. You said that the day I fucking met you. I wasn't what you were expecting. ~ Is he, (Y/N)? Was he what you were expecting?! Fucking Deku?!"

 

Maybe she was more of an asshole than he was.

 

Bakugou was a victim in this situation. And that was because of her. Because of her selfishness. Because maybe she was a lot like her father. And that made her sick to her stomach. He didn't deserve the way she treated him nor the standard she set him in as a partner. If only she could go back, do things differently. At least let him make a case for himself before comparing him to that bastard of a human being. Maybe things would be different. Maybe this wouldn't have been a problem to begin with.

But it is. And here she was. Choosing between the sun and the moon. Jupiter and Venus. For the one I am destined or for the one I adore ~ Freedom or prophecy?

Soulmate or not?

This was fucked.

~

She went to school the next day with two lips still pressed against hers. A feeling of dread tossing around her in her insides as she tucked herself behind the door of her locker.

What am I gonna do if I run into either of them? What am I gonna say? Bakugou's still waiting for an answer and as far as Izuku knows, we're just best friends who kiss now. This is so fucked. What the hell am I going to do?

She was going to be late if she didn't get to class soon she noticed. The hallway had thinned nearly empty and the first bell had rung a few seconds ago. At least there was a small chance of running into-

"(Y/N)?"

She nearly squealed when she shut her locker, her greenette companion stationed behind the door. Is this just what happens at this school? Standing behind a locker door not saying a damn thing until the owner shuts it and shits themselves?

"Oh, Izuku." She let out a short sigh. "You scared me. ~ Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Heh, I could ask you the same thing." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something - Or rather,"

Red sneakers shuffling against granite floors, she tried not to flinch as a scarred hand reached for the underside of her chin, gentle fingers holding onto her jaw as he leaned in. His breath smelled like peppermint but his lips tasted like bubble gum.

It was a sweet kiss - sugary. Like apple pastries or sweetmilk. Butterflies chewing at the dread that buckled in her belly, she almost forgot where she was until her back brushed up against her locker; making a subtle hiss against her school shirt. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he pulled away.

He was still pretty close to her face when he gave her a low chuckle, her pelvis deeply appreciated it. " 'Suppose that's my payback for last night? You sorta left me hanging there."

"Oh uh- Yeah, sorry...about that."

"No worries." He brushed his nose against hers. "Warn me next time though, would you?" This confidence was going to kill her.

She nodded, her bottom lip tucked behind her top teeth. He made sure to take a mental picture of that. That expression was a keeper.

Patting her shoulder as he stepped away, he gestured her toward the door. "To class then?"

She squeezed her books against her chest as she stepped forward, trying hard to keep herself from fumbling. "Yep, yeah, to class." The hand that settled against her lower back almost made her burn through her books.

God, She thought. This was going to be hard.