In the Small Moments

At 25 years old, Izuku Midoriya has built a quiet, fulfilling life for himself as a kindergarten teacher. He spends his days surrounded by laughter, sticky fingers, and endless questions from curious little minds. It's a far cry from high school, where he was just another quiet kid trying to get through the day-especially with Katsuki Bakugo making his life a little harder than necessary. But that was years ago. He's long since moved past it.

Katsuki Bakugo, now a rising-star chef, doesn't spend much time thinking about the past. He's got a restaurant to run, a reputation to build, and no patience for distractions. But when Kirishima and Mina ask him to pick up their five-year-old son from school one afternoon, the last person he expects to see waiting at the classroom door is Midoriya.

They weren't friends in high school. They barely spoke outside of the occasional insult or glare. But suddenly, they're seeing each other every day, brought together by a kid who won't stop talking about how cool his teacher is. At first, Bakugo's irritated. Then, he's intrigued. Because the Midoriya standing in front of him now-the one who doesn't flinch at his gruff attitude, who holds his own in conversation, who smiles without hesitation-is nothing like the kid he used to know.

And Izuku? He doesn't know what to make of this older, calmer-but still frustratingly blunt-version of Katsuki Bakugo.

What starts as awkward small talk at school pickup soon turns into reluctant familiarity, then quiet respect, and maybe-just maybe-something more.

After all, neither of them expected to cross paths again. But life has a funny way of throwing people back together when they least expect it.