Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Consistency is needed in this time of his life. With the impactful first year and busy second year, consistency is the only thing keeping Eijirou sane before he’s inevitably tossed into Working Hero World.

With a simple schedule like Train, eat, school, occasional internship, and goofing around until he passes out, there’s no reason to mess up a mostly perfect schedule.

Expect here he is, fucking up his schedule by hiding his room like a coward. Again. For the third day in the row. Eijirou didn’t have much sanity left anyways.

He doesn’t know what time it is but based on these past few days, it’s most likely a few minutes before his alarm goes off at 5am.

He rolls over to grab his phone, lightly tapping the smartphone to see the time he had left to ponder the thoughts that he avoided during school.

‘4:53’ flashes on his face as he looked at his home screen. It was a picture of the Bakusquad hanging out with their current recruitment, Uraraka. As much as Bakugou hated the name when Ashido and Kaminari mentioned last year... it just sorta stuck. Sorta like how Uraraka is stuck to the Bakusquad now.

She was always close to Ashido and vibed enough with Bakugou to join the group in their shenanigans. She finally accepted the invitations to join the group at the beginning of year 3.

Apparently through the grape creature (where does he get his sources from?!) that Uraraka isn’t on good terms with Midoriya AND Iida? Eijirou doesn’t like to believe gossip spreaded by Mineta but the obvious sad glances by Midoriya and Iida proves that there’s some truth to the short boy’s whisper.

Though Eijirou liked to believe that Uraraka just couldn’t get enough of the group.

The squad celebrated the new edition by hanging out in Bakugou’s room where this picture took place. It’s was a surprise selfie picture from Kaminari. While his face taking up half of the screen, the other half is filled with everyone else laughing at the typical Bakurage.

The screen dimmed slightly and before Eijirou realized what he was doing, he had unlocked his phone and went into the gallery to gaze at the picture without the numbers getting in the way.

Eijirou thought that he kept the picture on his home screen to look at Bakugou’s face. There’s something hilarious yet mesmerizing about Bakugou’s face before he fully goes into Bakurage. Whether it be his thick dark eyebrows scrunches up or how he chews on his bottom lip before bursting out in his usually aggressive language…

It’s no wonder he tries to push Bakugou into his rage fit daily. Though it doesn’t explain Kaminari’s reasoning. But Eijirou doesn’t try to think too hard about that…

Eijirou groaned and locked his phone. Gentle place somewhere along the bed, he lay his head against his hands and stared at his ceiling.

Somewhere between winter break 2 years ago to Bakugou’s 18th birthday, Eijirou slammed head first into his feelings for the explosive porcupine. And instead of freaking out about his feelings like any sane person who has a crush on their best friend would, he just went with the flow.

Eijirou didn’t see a harm with it. It wasn’t like he was actually going to ask Bakugou out. This is the same Bakugou who has declared, on multiple occasions, that relationships are a ‘shitty distraction from his goal of being number 1 hero’. Eijirou can see his reasoning even though the wording was kind of harsh...

Besides these feelings motivate him enough to get up to train with that angry ball of fire. Nothing like ignoring explosive feelings by blocking literal explosions. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with the gleam in Bakugou’s eye that excites him or the calm collected side that others hardly get to experience. It especially didn’t--

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

Eijirou looked at his phone to stop the alarm, realizing now that it’s 5:10.

‘Strange…’ he thought as he began to lift himself up. ‘It’s usually set to 5am.’

Enough time to laze around in the bed before barely making it to his training session with Bakugou. And Uraraka.

She joined their training session around the start of the school year. In which she completely threw off their dynamic and in a great- no amazing way. Uraraka was able to provide what each boy felt their training sessions was lacking.

For Bakugou, he was missing an extra challenge. It seemed like she constantly surprise the blond with new techniques and sneak attacks. Coupled with Eijirou, they have been actually able to win some of their sparring sessions against the explosive teen.

Bakugou was right when he states that there’s nothing fragile about her. Her round sparkling eyes can get downright scary when she’s determined, it sometimes rival Bakugou’s intense look when he fights. Her chubby cheeks, while cute, are one of her greatest strengths. Although she was squishy, there was a firmness that even Eijirou can attest to. He’s been slammed to the ground enough times by her in their no quirks session. She use her cuteness as a way to undermine her opponents before sneaking in her final blow. Eijirou puts his focusing on her strengths and combat abilities to aid him in ignoring his feelings for the spikey haired teen.

The atmosphere has gotten a lot more lively with her there. Conversation tends to flow well with Uraraka around. Not that he had trouble speaking with Bakugou (even when the teen isn’t in the mood to chat)! It’s just easier when the other person is just as chatty as he is. Bonus points when he’s not (the only one) being yelled at 5am by the explosive teen.

Yep, that’s the only reason way she makes their sparring sessions amazing. Only to distract him from Bakugou as well as be a good friend. And a good sparring partner when Bakugou is in his moods.

Eijirou glanced back at his home screen and scrolling through his gallery again. There’s loads of photo with Bakugou raging that he could pick as the face to wake up to in the morning. But this is the only picture of her in his phone.

PING!

And speak of the angel, Eijirou received a message from Uraraka.

Ura: ‘Will u be joining us?’ *sent at 5:17*

Maybe if he didn’t reply, he could fake that he had simply overslept and didn’t hear his alarm go off.

Me: ‘Ill be running kinda late’

Me: ‘yall can start without me!’

And… it sent. He sent this to her. Not even a whole minute later.

Apparently his guilt had other things in mind. Why else would he text her back immediately… probably because he lost his sanity after breaking his schedule.

Yeah, that explains it.

Eijirou glared at the offending hand before casting the phone away as he began to prepare himself. Although he’s unsure if he’s preparing himself for training, Bakugou, or the awkwardness that’s going to happen as he gets there. Maybe preparing for all three is better.

He had prepared himself for a brawl. He made sure to provide multiple awkward excuses as to why he didn’t attend the previous days. But what he stumbled into wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

It seemed like they were waiting around for him, which made his heart flutter a little faster than usual. And instead of informing them that he was here so that they can begin the training, he decided to watch them for a bit.

‘Only to see how they interact without him in the between,’ Eijirou tried to convince himself. Yeah, that’s the only reason for this borderline creepy observation.

They were on the floor, facing away from him. Shoulders touching, it seems like they were watching a video on Bakugou’s phone. Which doesn’t seem out of the ordinary, Kaminari tends to send her memes that she can’t view on her own phone. So she usually looks at them for Eijirou’s phone. It’s a pleasant sight to see her chocolate eyes shine up at the inside jokes from the quick video.

After a few seconds, she tapped Bakugou on the shoulder and he paused the video. As soon as he turned his head in her direction, she leaned in quickly and gave him a peck on the lips.

On the lips…

Uraraka kissed Bakugou

on the lips…

Oh.

Well, that answered his question on how they interact without him in the way…

But that didn’t stop the nausea from building up in his stomach like it did whenever Uraraka floats him. He sorta wish she would touch him now, only so that he could float off of the scene he infringed upon.

The blond gave Uraraka a smile before turning back to the phone. Bakugou didn’t even act shocked that she had kissed him. It was like they had done this multiple times.

Did this happen when he decided to skip on the previous sessions? Or has the been happening behind the scene the whole time and Eijirou has been too deep into his crush that he hasn’t been paying attention?

Bakugou told Eijirou that he didn’t plan on having romance distracting him from being number 1. And Eijirou believed it!

To be completely truthful, Eijirou had suspected that Bakugou was aromantic or at least on the ace spectrum. The genuine look of content on Bakugou’s face convince Eijirou that the blond just might not be Aromantic.

He shouldn’t had witness this scene. It was supposed to be a private moment between those two and Eijirou was intruding on it. He probably has been since she joined in on their training session…

This was probably what he was avoiding. Maybe he subconsciously knew this was happening and his brain tried to spare him for this scene. He should just walk away now and save himself from anymore hurt. So Eijirou does the exact opposite and started walking towards them.

Maybe he’s feeling remorseful for skipping training or it could even be the need to confront them on why they felt the need to hide this from him.

“Kiri, I know you said that you wanted us to go on without you…” Uraraka started once she realized that he was nearby. Bakugou had already put his phone up and began to pick himself up off the ground. “But I convinced Bakugou that we couldn’t start without you!”

That kiss suggest otherwise…

“If I had known this was the make out spot, I woulda came a lot later.” Teasing came easy for Eijirou. So it made sense for him to focus on teasing…

The alternative was too painful to deal with outside his room.

Uraraka face started to turn red and started flailing her arms, “Um, wh-what?? I don’t… like? Huh?!”

It’s clear that she’s the only one who’s concerned about it because Bakugou didn’t respond to the taunt. “There’s no time to focus on distractions. We’ve got training to do.”

And with that, Bakugou rush to Eijirou with a right hook. Instinctively, he harden his arm to block the blow.

Yeah, sparring session was manageable.

Something had to be.

Chapter Text

Today’s the day.

Err, more like tomorrow was the day. The Bakugou Wedding day, to be exact.

Today’s the last day before Katsuki and Ochako are officially off the market. The last day that he could hold on to his secret.

His feelings.

His little glimmer of hope.

Because when they say the two special words and seal everything off with a kiss, he wants to be able to truly feel happiness for both of them. Like how a TRUE best friend is supposed to feel.

How the best MAN is supposed to feel.

That’s why he’s up very early in the morning, getting the party situated with Mina and Hanta. Partially because he wanted to be the manliest best man he could be. But mostly because Eijirou (and Hanta) wanted to check out the bar and make sure that it’s good enough for half of his former classmates to drink and celebrate, even though Mina insist that it truly is. But what’s good enough for Mina (and the majority of the Bakusquad), was moreso hectic for the rest of the party-goers.

Plus it’s been 2 weeks since he’s seen Hanta physically and about a month for Mina. The white-collar aspects of being a Pro-hero were more time consuming than they appeared. Actually all aspects of being a pro-hero does that but it only enforced the need to connect with his friends as much as possible.

Hanta and Mina made sure to have the gang interact as much as possible. Spamming everyone as much as possible on social media, occasional calls if the schedules aligned, and bi-weekly movie night. Those two made sure that the one thing that could prevent movie night was internet connection. So it truly doesn’t surprise the Sturdy Hero that the two were using this wedding as a chance to do as much as they can before the group separates again.

Denki’s more of the participating type than the planning and organizing type. That’s why he’s back at Eijirou’s apartment knocked out but they assigned him the duty of distracting the couple as the rest of them get the party set.

Mina and Hanta filled the air with chatter on the way to the bar. Each offered a chance for Eijirou to join in the conversation but he didn’t feel like chatting too much right now. He saw the disappointment and concern from the tug of their lips and the furrowed brows. Brushing off their looks, he glanced around at the street.

He kind of felt bad about distancing himself from them but he needed a break from his typical ‘ecstatic’ self. He doesn’t regularly need this break but the closer it got to their wedding day, the more often he desired it. It would often happen at night, so that he could waste precious sleep time contemplating but he hasn’t had the time to sleep too often since everybody’s been temporarily shacking up at his place.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, they both sighed and continued having a conversation. They knew that he would join them once he was ready, he was a bit of a chatty dude.

…

He was ready to chat now.

“Hey Mina, are you sure this bar would be able to hold all of us?” Thankfully, the bar was a good distance from his place. It was a bit over 20 minute walk and they were almost there. Which was great for him because that meant it didn’t have to drag the trio when they got extremely plastered. Though he was a big skeptical of the size of the establishment

“I know that it’s able to hold more than your apartment could,” she shrugged, tossing shade towards his humble home. To think that he even invited her to stay at his place. “Didn’t you bugged to stay at my tiny abode?”

“I did,” She sung out to him. “Cozy is 7 people chilling out at your place. 15 plus in there-- with alcohol I remind you? Would be nothing short of a disaster, I should know. I could count on Shoji’s hands the amount of times I’ve been invited to a kickback and ruined those people’s homes.” Eijirou wasn’t informed about most of her party adventure but from what Denki told him, they were as bad as she’s making it out to be.

“Besides, us chilling at your place would be just like when we used to have sleepover in Katsuki’s dorm.” Both Hanta and Eijirou smirked, while Mina cackled, at the memories.

They started a tradition during their final year that on almost every 15th of the month (some months had to be on a different day lest he catch on) and it always started off as a simple request, such as:

-“Hey, can you look over my answers?” or

-“I need to speak to you about something” and Denki’s personal favorite

-“Bakugou! Bakugou! Bakugou! Bakugou!” while simultaneously banging on his door

And all would end with the gang bursted into the room with their pillows and sheets. Katsuki would started to fuss but eventually gave up and flopped back into bed.

The stuff that they could get away with during their sleepover astounded him because as luck would have it, Katsuki was a very hard sleeper. Unless, of course, somebody happened to touch him. This experiment was something that Denki learned the hard way. On multiple occasions. He always pushed his luck to see how far he could get mess with Katsuki before being ‘buzzed’ for the rest of the sleepover.

“Yeah but this time instead of messing with Katsuki in his sleep, we’ll be bugging you.” Hanta sent his dazzling smile Eijirou’s way. The red head shook his head and laughed off taller man’s comment.

“Bold of you to assume that I’m going to be sleeping tonight,” Hanta snifled a snort and nodded.

“That makes sense with the nerves being a wreck and all,” The way he stated that made Eijirou feel like he was a worrywort. “You’ve been putting your all into this since they announced their engagement a while back.”

“Yeah,” the pink girl jumped in. “It’s almost as if you’re the one getting married to Ochako. You’ve been putting more energy into this than Katsuki.”

Eijirou blushed at Mina’s taunt. Well, it was his bro duties to make sure that everything goes well. This was a major milestone in their lives and a reflection of how the rest of their live will pan out. He wouldn’t forgive himself if things went horribly with his assistance.

Perfection and fear of failure were the reasons for his dedication. Nothing else could be viable reasons. Anymore.

“As beautiful as Ochako is and how much I would love to marry her,” Mina’s intake made him rush out the second half of his statement. “I’m just doing my part as best man.” He smoothly explained. Well as smooth as one can rush out a justification. Which wasn’t that smooth due to the doubt presented on her pink face.

“Which is to make sure that Katsuki doesn’t convince her to run off and get hitched at some casino.”

They all knew that Katsuki wasn’t really interested in having a wedding. He’s a very impatient man and thinks the buildup to the marriage is both a waste of money and time. Something that his frugal girlfriend agreed with. But both of their families had wanted to a wedding. It’s the least that he can do for his parents and future in laws.

With that being said, no way in hell the Bakusquad was gonna allow their families to plan the wedding. Not because they thought the parents were incompetent (Katsuki disagrees with that notion) but because having the wedding is the only thing the family agreed upon. If the families had control over the wedding, everything would still be in the beginning stage.

The Bakugous, well the matriarch, wanted to go all out with a wedding. Her husband was down for whatever as long as he had some help out with the clothes, which he was given full permission. The Urarakas were on the opposite side of the spectrum. They wanted the wedding to have a minimalist approach and budget friendly. Needless to say, the wedding would have gotten blown up by Katsuki himself.

The explosive expert fussed to them that their friends have control over the wedding. He knew that they love the planning aspect of the party just as much as participating in it. So when he brought it up to the group, he left them to do whatever they want with Ochako’s help every once in a while. Besides the food, he needed control over the food.

Obviously, Ochako’s main concern would be the cost of everything, which Mina has assured her that they’ll stick within budget. AKA they went over Ochako’s budget limit and decided not to tell her until after the wedding. She’ll thank them later for the wonderful party and ceremony.

“It’s nice to know our fellow Tsundere believes in us enough not to fuck up his wedding.”

“I mean why would any of us fuck up this important day? It’s a special day for the Bakusquad. This is one of the few times where all of us will be together for a great occasion: Our Katsuki is about to have the best day of his life.” Hanta did an over-dramatic gasp and wiped a fake tear from his eyes.

“And now that he and Ochako started the wedding trend, we gotta vote for who’s going to be the next one to get married.” Hanta gleefully expressed as he caught his reflection with a nearby window of a store.

Eijirou knew that marriage wasn’t in his future. At least in the near future. This type of lifestyle hasn’t really been in his sights since the start of U.A., he’s got more important things to worry about: ‘Villians, Friends, and the Top 10’

Those are the only thing he can worry about now.

“To be honest, Eiji…” Now Mina’s honestly wasn’t something Eijirou should deal with unless he was doused in alcohol.

She’s a very passionate person which was why he looked up to her and admire her. But she knew how to hit him where it hurts and hard. She did it the day that they graduate and when Katsuki and Ochako announced their engagement. He took a deep breath and prepared to hear her honesty. “I wasn’t expecting Katsuki to be the first one to get married. I didn’t expect him to get married at all. Like who could be attracted to a great ball of anger? But then I started to see how much relax and calm he got--well for him-- with you near helping him out with his social skills.”

Eijirou felt a pull in his stomach, he wasn’t ready to hear the rest of what she’s got to say. “Are you saying Ochako didn’t help out with his social skills?” He joked and looked to Hanta for help. Sadly, styling his new haircut was a more important task than saving Eijirou from Mina’s words.

“Nice counter but the point I’m trying to make it is,” She stopped walking and took a deep breath, “I always thought it was gonna be you who he got with.”

Well, he was right in preparing himself for this because they’ve had this talk about and they don’t usually end well. Rarely they ended with tears and snuggles, however the confrontations often end with him avoiding her. But he can’t avoid talking to her tonight and tomorrow, he needs her help with the party and Ochako when he won’t be able to communicate with her on the day of the wedding.

That sneaky Pinky! She planned this. She knew this would be the perfect time to get away with this. Eijirou suspected that she was the first one who suspected his feelings and one of the only ones who knew about the true nature of his sexuality.

He had came out to the class a few months before graduation and everybody was mostly receptive to it. Mineta made a passing comment about how could one not be attracted to tits and ass before Denki reminded the grape that guys in fact do have tits and ass. The blond even jokingly mentioned to check out Katsuki before being chased down and subsequently blasted to his buzzed state.

“Hell,” She whispered in his ear. Had he been in that deep of thought for her to be able to sneak up against his ear? “You probably could have married Ochako with how you stare at her and flirt with her.”

Flirt with her? Eijirou doesn’t recall doing such things. Well, maybe he could admit that he kinda sorta sometimes make a passing glance toward the gravity user direction.

…

Fine.

He needed to admit this to himself. He looked at that old home screen too many times his final year of school. He told himself that it was because of the Bakurage, which was somewhat true but the fact that Ochako looked so lovely in that photo. It was the only one at the time that was in his gallery that captured her whole entire face. Wide eyes closed as she was laughing at the angry boy next to her in the photo. Chestnut hair framed her face as it bounced along with her laughter. However that was the only photo he sometimes stared at.

Okay.

He also has a few of his favorites that he skimmed through on her instagram. He wouldn’t screenshot photos that she didn’t give him herself. No that’ll be creepy. Good thing she sometimes text him some sneaky photos of Katsuki and herself. His fingers often shook in excitement whenever he viewed the newest photo she sent him. He often had to cool himself down as he reward her with generic emojis because he knew she probably does that with other members of the squad. Though he just couldn’t help but think that she sent them specifically for him and on some days, it helped to believe those thoughts.

“Eijirou, I know I shouldn’t be having a heart to heart in front of Hanta while out in public but I just needed to get it off my chest before everything was official. I didn’t want you to be avoiding me when you needed someone to speak to the most!” She tugged on Eijirou’s right arm to force him to keep walking.

He hadn’t even recognized that he stopped moving. Hanta jogged back up to them. It shouldn’t take 2 hours to fix those tiny black bangs. He knew that the lanky man was probably only playing with his hair for about 3 minutes top but to the red head, the heart to heart felt much longer than that.

He knew he shouldn’t get wound up about what she was saying. She hadn’t even said much, it was just how she phrased it. It made his analyze his previous behavior, that maybe he should have pushed more. He definitely could have pushed more. Be more strong-willed. Been more manly. He probably could be the one getting married to Katsuki or even Ochako, even both if they were into it. He honestly wasn’t picky (even though he should start trying to be), but he knew they were. They wouldn’t want anything the likes of him. Albeit from what Mina said Ochako was receptive to his ‘flirting’.

But still, there’s no way that he could have flirted with her. Katsuki’s a very jealous individual. There’s no way that explosive ball of anger would let somebody stare at Uraraka, let alone flirt with her. Well, at least without consequences.

There was some mention about going to speak to the shop owner but Eijirou was still in deep thought. He’s been doing that a lot lately near them. He always got this way when it’s about his feelings towards the soon to be married newlyweds. The good news about this was since the wedding was happening tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to do this anymore.

He just can’t do this anymore.

Daydreaming, lamenting, hoping...

Before, there had been a chance that they would separated as horrible as that sounds to see if that possibility would happen…

But now, it would just be wrong (Like the idea wasn’t messed up while they were dating but that’s besides the point).

A large hand lightly grabbed his shoulder followed by the owner’s cheerful voice. “Where do you think your going, best man? The bar is right here.”

He looked around to see that it was Mina that had went inside of the building while Hanta was taped to him. He should at least try to save face.

While he can’t fake this situation in front of Mina because she’s an nosy romantic, he can at least block Hanta’s knowledge about this predicament. He wouldn’t know what to do if everybody in the Bakusquad, apart from the couple, knew about this dilemma. He doesn’t want to think about Denki’s words from a two years prior.

“Sorry, Hanta. Like Mina said, I’ve been putting my all into this wedding…” With closed his eyes, he flashed the tape hero his award winning grin. “I guess since Katsuki doesn’t want to put in the energy like the husband to be would. I kinda took over in that position.”

Eijirou believed he faked it well enough. He already has Mina has his back and Denki’s words echoing in the back in his mind. Another person shouldn’t have to make a fuss about him.

He was fine.

Honestly.

“Yeah, you always seem to have the best intentions towards him.” A serious look was present in the taller man’s face.

“Trying to get him to join in class activities, being his translator, and even risking your career to save him--” EIjirou cut his speech as soon as he discovered where it was leading too. Hanta was also gonna make a fuss about his feelings toward Katsuki. He didn’t expect for his friends to be this observant.

“Was my feelings really that obvious to everybody?” If Eijirou had known, he probably would have went to the squad for advice. Rather to conceal his feelings…

“Yep, completely obvious. Everybody knew about your feelings toward Katsuki besides him and Ochako. Well except for Denki but he was too busy trying to make a pass at our local aux cord. And you knew how that went,” He groaned while rolling his eyes, annoyance brought on by the memories.

Eijirou, thankfully, wasn’t apart of the schemes that Denki planned back then. He just knew that the attempts didn’t too smoothly. Since him and Eijirou were the only ones who were single within their group.

Well, there was a time where he and Denki were both in a relationship...

But they don’t speak on that anymore.

“Your feelings for her however, only us in the squad knew about it. Though Jirou and some of the girls had suspected. Mina didn’t let it spill. As much of a trouble maker she is, she knew that if your feelings towards her got out… that it would cause a lot of controversy. In more ways than one,” Hanta gave him a pointed look. Yeah, he knew exactly what he meant.

While most students at UA didn’t really care about who was attracted to what, there was still some biases about bisexuality. Mina had experience quite often their final year.

That might explain why he initially denied his attraction towards the gravity manipulator.

“This convo ain’t about your sexuality though.” Hanta made sure to have eye contact with him, enforcing what he’s said. “But you gotta some fun at the party! Let loose and drink up because your involvement in this wedding seems like a way to make up for having feelings.”

Wow, when he phrased it like that…

It couldn’t be anything closer to the truth.

Eijirou hadn’t even realize that was what he was doing and for Hanta to define it as simplistically as he did was…

Sad.

Eijirou almost didn’t hear what the tape hero had said next, “There’s nothing wrong with the feelings that you had back then-- that you have now. You thought you took the right steps and there’s nothing you can do to change the past.” Hanta grabbed his other shoulder and leaned in eye level.

“While that guilt has helped tremendously with the wedding, you gotta stop putting your feelings on the backburner! You didn’t do anything bad. For having feelings while another is in a relationship. You are a good friend and the bestest best man. You deserve to be happy, with or without a partner.  Thrive in whatever way you wanna live, but not by guilt. That’s not how you should live life.” He released both of his shoulders, wrapping his arm over Eijirou’s shoulder as he guided them to the entrance of the bar.

“In the words of a wise hero, ‘it’s not manly’.” Hanta winked at him before opening the door, as if he was waiting for the ‘wise hero’ to enter the establishment. He waited patiently for a response from Eijirou. After a few seconds of no response, the tape hero teased out a reaction: “Come on Eiji, we lettin all the bugs in.”

While Mina could read him like a book, her words were a bit harsh in situations such as this. Katsuki can lift his spirits with his bold yet simple observation but there’s no way he could involved with these problems. Hanta stated things with such an emphasis made Eijirou wondered why he didn’t divulge more to the Tape Hero. As he walked into the bar, he made a mental note to come to confide in Hanta more often. He felt a lot better even though he spoke very little, the weight that was lifted off of his chest made him feel elated.

He sat in the bar stool as Hanta observed the interior of the bar. Hanta’s right about this and Eijirou knows it. The guilt might be barring down on him and him giving his all into the wedding probably isn’t the most healthiest thing. The manly thing to do would be to clear the air to them. Maybe he shouldn’t be holding it in anymore.

Mina came up with the Shop Owner as the owner presented them with a light beverage.

That way he could start this new era on a clear note, as much as he doesn’t want too.

----

Eijirou hasn’t had any one on one with Ochako in a while. The last moment he could recount had been when they went to taste the desserts. The gang wouldn’t let Katsuki be the caterer for his own wedding. They weren’t that cruel, as much as he insisted that ‘he could handle it’ and he won’t ‘wuss out from a challenge’. Besides they didn’t feel like having heartburn for a few days after the wedding from all the spiciness.

So the three of them went on the quest to find a caterer who can hold up to Katsuki’s high standards yet not kill the others via hot peppers. In the middle of the tasting, Katsuki got called into work on his day off. They had to continue on without him because this was one of the few times that Eijirou and Ochako would be there to make decisions together. Which was a hell of a lot better than one consulting the other through phone or text. Fortunately, Katsuki left at the start of tasting the desserts and he could trust their decision with that category. Sweets weren’t really his thing, they were more for the everybody else.

That evening went well, they spent the whole time giggling and feeding the other lemon pies and brownies. And as a reward for finding the caterer who could blend Katsuki’s elitist taste with Ochako sweet tooth, they ate some mochi at a nearby shop.

“It’s almost as if you’re the one getting married to Ochako.”

But the energy between then and now were a stark contrast. One can guess that it had to do with the alcohol.

Katsuki wasn’t the one to indulge in alcohol. He didn’t do it in high school when Denki sneaked in a wine bottle, he didn’t do it when it was legal for him to drink, and he didn’t indulge in it now. He saw no use for it but he doesn’t stop the other from participating in it either. So that makes him automatically in charge of making sure that the squad didn’t lose absolute control over themselves. Despite how he didn’t want to go through the process of a wedding, he doesn’t want one of Ochako’s bridesmaid and all of his groomsmen to be hospitalized over some stupidity.

That’s why he left Eijirou, the only one who was lightly buzzed, and Ochako, who hasn’t touched her first glass yet, together. And the energy between the two were, for a lack of better word, awkward?

He didn’t know what was the cause of it.

“As beautiful as Ochako is and how much I would love to marry her”

Was she having last minute jitters? Was he having last minute jitters? Well, yeah but wasn’t the alcohol supposed to fix it?

Then why the hell did he feel worse?!

This brought him back to when he first discovered his feelings for Katsuki. The feeling of the blood as it rushed to his cheeks, the sudden temperature increase, and shaky hands. He wasn’t sure if his heart doing backflips were an effect from the alcohol.

It felt silent even in a room crowded full of their former classmates, who are especially rowdy with the addition of wine and beer. With the air becoming unbearable, he decided fill it with talking. Hopefully she’ll join along but if not, it was better than being drown in thoughts that haunted him.

“So, you’re getting married tomorrow?” With all the topics that Eijirou could talk and expand upon, he brought up the wedding.

She hummed as she started playing with her drink, Pinky Haze. It was a fruity cocktail that Mina recommended for her. It’s probably a good idea that she didn’t drink it. That was the drink that the bar owner gave him and Hanta. The beverage reminded him a lot of Mina: Short, pink, potent, and unpredictable. That was probably why the owner named it after her.

Potent and Unpredictable, Mina was the reason why Katsuki had to run off to go and collect them. Who knew what adventure she’s got Denki and Hanta into to. And that was only after 3 glasses of the Pinky Haze. Eijirou feared what would happen if Ochako decided to take a sip of the cocktail.

It was strange how all of this shaped out. Not the Bakusquad wilding out, that was expected of the rowdy bunch. But the fact that they actually grew up and are living out their dreams. First they were 15 years old and trying to survive the false expellment on the first day and now they truly felt like adults and  were doing adult like things. Like getting married for example, that was like a big accomplishment that a lot of people hope for.

Like the girl next to him was going to get married! To the spikey pomeranian out of all people. And the same spikey pomeranian had actually tamed himself enough to find somebody who’s willing to spend the rest of their life with him? Eijirou still hasn’t fully grasped it and he helped out in almost every aspect of the wedding over the past year. Did this feel real to her?

“No, not really.” She shrugged before taking a sip of her water. Had he been talking out loud without realizing it? Was this one of the side effects of drinking too much beer? But it was only one cup. Mina always complained that he didn’t throw down as much as others. Might be because he’s a lightweight.

“Wow, kudos to knowing how much is your limit.” Heat rushed to his face and there was a trickling urge to scratch his neck.

“Heh, thanks. But if I can’t tell the difference between inner mono-loguing and-and just regular conversation then I don’t think I know my limit.” He inhaled quickly and exhaled slowly, proud of himself for making that one whole breath. The downside is that he had to say everything very quickly.

‘Look, Eijirou, you got to focus and do things-’

“Slow-ly,” He sighed before opening his eyes (when had he closed them?!) and take a glance at the bride to be. She was grinning at him. Her chocolate eyes, somewhat distant, glowed in contrast to the harsh vibrant colors of the bar scene. Her already pink cheeks seem to be a tinge bit pinker than usual, though he’s going to chalk that up to the lights in the building.

He’s just thankful that tense atmosphere from earlier was gone. He just needed to focus and not embarrass himself in front of her. Anymore.

“Maybe you’re right about your limit. But you seem to be handling it better than most. Just look at the rest of our classmates.” She swirled around a bit faster than needed to check out their colleagues. His eyes always followed her, whenever she went.

Wow, she was right.

His main issue had been not being able to separate his physical voice from his inner voice. At least he could look at head on without wobbling (too much). Bonus point for not having extreme curiosities and acting out on them. He’s like 95% sure that’s Hagakure trying to get a feel on Mineta’s sticky balls. The hairy balls. Ball’s on his head. Balls.

“Heh, Balls.” A loud ‘pffft’ took his attention away from the scene and back to Ochako. When their eyes connected, the giggling that started soon transformed into outrageous laughter.

He known that she was a giggly person but the alcohol multiplied the joy. She began to snort in between her sets of laughter and the laugh he had tried to stifle broke out. The happiness that she experienced started to affect him and he wasn’t disappointed by the fact.

It took around 3 minutes before the laughter had subsided, though there was a giggle here and there. He ordered some water to balance out the influencing drinks. It couldn’t believe that this was the same stiff, awkward woman less than 5 minutes ago. It might be partially on the fact that she’s getting married but he still couldn’t grasp that there was tension between them. It doesn’t happen that often. The last time he had experience a similar effect with her was a few months after graduation whenever he tried to ask about the events that happened between her, Midoriya, and Iida.

It’s partially because he was curious about it. It was something that the Bakusquad didn’t questioned when she first joined because they respected her and didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. The only other people who had insight on the situation were apart of Midoriya’s close circle of friends: Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Asui. And just like how Hanta, Denki, and Mina has kept his secrets safe from everybody, Midoriya’s group did the same for that situation.

It’s been almost 4 years since that conversation and she dismissed it with “He said, She said” before switching the conversation into something else. He figured it was something that was still uncomfortable to her even though she had made amends with Midoriya and Iida. So he pushed it aside and hasn’t asked about it since, still Eijirou’s thought about the fallout from time to time.

Eijirou wondered if she would give some information about what happened between Winter Break second year and the start of third year. He wondered about what it was that Midoriya and Iida did to cause to split up the group? What motivated her to join the Bakusquad that year? Would Midoriya and Ochako still be together, if that split up hadn’t happened? Would she had been a Midoriya instead of becoming a Katsuki? Or would fate had lead them back to this moment anyways?

Was Eijirou always destined for Heartbreak?

“You thought you took the right steps and there’s nothing you can do to change the past.”

There was nothing he can do to change it but it didn’t stop from thinking about it.

That’s why he was fine with wondering about the ‘what ifs’ at home in late night of the hour. But the influence of the alcohol has made him bolder (if not stupider). So instead of bottling it in like he normally would, he blurted out: “Who knew, first year, that you would marry Katsuki ‘Lord Explosion Murder’ Katsuki? I would’ve guess that it would have been Midoriya?”

There was silence. It spreaded for a while and he suddenly sobered up after the lack of response. He kind of wished his eyes were as brave as his mouth because when he started the conversation, he looked away from her. Fear that he would chicken out of asking her. With the deafening silence returning, a new fear had crept on him: That he ruined their moment yet again by bringing up the past.

He finally decided to face her face. Swishing his head a little too harshly back in her direction, he first locked onto her fierce dark brown eyes. They seemed slightly dazed but had an intensity to them, like she’s been staring at him for a while. Like she couldn’t reveal it unless she had his undivided attention.

She’s definitely has his attention, she’s had his attention for a few years now. And he’s only somewhat ashamed to admit it to himself. Again, for the millionth time today.

His felt the blood rush to his face and felt the need to see if her physique demanded as much attention as her face. Forearm leaned on the table as her left hand squished her chubby cheek. So cute.

She looked very relaxed for somebody who got asked what happened with her ex a few hours before her wedding day. She squished the Pinky Haze around before taking a long sip, maintaining eye contact with Eijirou before he had a chance to look away. Again.

Fuck, he shouldn’t have let her drink that.

“You know, the first year Ochako could have only hoped for that.” The light chuckle that escaped her mouth didn’t reach her eyes. “Second year Ochako actually believed that was gonna happen..”

Her index finger delicately tapping against her drinking glace provided the only sound between the two of them. Eijirou held his breath in as Ochako closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. After what seemed like hours, she finally opened them and lifted her face off of her hand. The look in her eyes didn’t hint sadness or frustration but indifference. “But the fall out that happened the winter before our final year proved that I dreamed just a bit too hard.”

She looked at Eijirou but not at him. Like she was looking through him and spaced off back to that time. Oh no, he had upset her. This wasn’t a good idea at all but when has he ever had a good idea when he was drunk. Worst of all, he couldn’t blame this scenario off of Denki. This was of his own curiosity and selfishness.

“You are a good friend and the bestest best man.”

Would Hanta truly believe that if he saw the state that he put Ochako in? The least he can do was try to apologize for this mess.

“Hey, Im like-like really sorry. I shouldn’t ‘ave brought up that typa stuff from the past, specially on a day like this. Like you-you’re about to get married to Hot McSplodey stuff and I’m over here makin’ you feel worse.”  

Great, he apologized and explained himself even though he probably shouldn’t have called her future husband ‘Hot McSplodey stuff’. So now she can forgive him and switch the conversation back to something more lively, right?

Wrong. Because his mouth wouldn’t stop moving.

“What kind of good friend am I? Not a very good one. Not really manly either. Hurting your feelings like that. I don’t deserve to like you, let alone be your friend. I would just get up and leave and never show my face again but like... leaving you alone isn’t manly either. Even though I know you can take care of yourself. Because you’re the beautiful, strong, amazing Uravity who don’t need no Eijirou to take care of her.”

The conversation couldn’t switch back to something normal because Eijirou felt the need to explain himself further and dig himself deeper into this whole of embarrassment. He doesn’t know what was worse, the fact that he spoke about himself at third person or ‘beautiful strong amazing woman. He couldn’t believe that he complimented her like that. He’s always had something nice to say about her but he tried to make sure that the words wouldn’t suggest anything else. He didn’t want to get blast off by Katsuki.

Her laughed ringed in his ears, it lured him out of his thoughts. He was taken aback by how she looked. No longer was she leaning on the table, but slumped on top of it. Thankfully, she placed her drink closer to him as to not spill. Her thick hair covered the majority of her face, except her cheesy smile as she continued with her hearty laughter. Unlike last time she laughed, he doesn’t know what the reasoning was. Did a funny moment happened in the middle of his ramblings? He looked around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary or if there were others who were laughing just as hard as she was.

‘All I did was try to apologize before repeatedly sticking my foot in my mouth. I don’t understand what could have caused this amount of joy from--’

Oh, she was laughing at him. A smirk surfaced on his face before he could stop it from showing. She’s apart of the bakusquad, of course she would laugh at his embarrassment. He also sorta admitted his feelings for her and that’s what he wanted. Sadly he was going to regret how the confession came out later.

He shook his head at her as her laughter was calming down back to a more normal level. Although, she wasn’t back to a normal position since she was still mostly on the table. Just inching her drink back towards her. After scooting her drink back toward her, she started to gently raise off of the table and fluffed her hair back into place. Aware that his eyes were on her, she maintained eye contact with him as she finished off the last few drops.

He knew shouldn’t be this glad that he’s watched her every moment. She just flopped on the tablet and slithered back up to drink some more. That scene shouldn’t have riled him up…

“You probably could have married Ochako with how you stare at her and flirt with her.”

So he studied her often and sometimes made contact during those inspections, but they’ve never had a scene moment like this. It’s usually:

-She’d something cute.

-He’d stare at her.

-She continued to do said cute thing.

-He blushed and realized how much harder it was to breath.

-On Rare occasions: She would make eye contact back for a few seconds while he froze in fear

-Something would happen (i.e. microwave beep, fire alarm, phone call, somebody knocking on the door) that cut off the moment.

So what made caused this study to be different from the previous ones? Maybe it was the introduction to alcohol or perhaps it could be the fact that there wasn’t a break the moment.

Now he truly understood what Mina had meant earlier today. He couldn’t deny that statement any longer.

‘If your feelings towards her got out… that it would cause a lot of controversy.’

But something stood out to him: why had Katsuki allowed this? Granted that Ochako was her own person and she hasn’t done anything that would suggest infidelity but most of these moment happened while the explosion expert was near. This could have been put to a stop on either side but nothing has happened to him yet. Where was the consequences that Eijirou had expected?

A phone to the face wasn’t what he had expected but it was a blessing to not think about his confusion over Ochako’s compliance and Katsuki’s unresponsiveness towards his attraction. It looked like Midoriya’s social media account.

“It’s okay, Eiji. We’re good,” She enforced while glossing through Midoriya’s gallery. All unique photos depicting where he’s been, cool items he obtained, and surprised selfies of different friends.

She stopped at a photo from earlier in the year. It was a surprise photo of her, Iida, Todoroki, and Midoriya. Well it was a surprised photo for Iida and Todoroki, Ochako saw the camera at the last minute which explained the slight blur around her.

“See, everything is better now. It wasn’t serious enough to break a three year friendship. Deku apologized and that’s all that truly matters,” she leaned most of her weight on the left side of Eijirou’s body, giving up on holding her own weight. The fruity fragrance from the beverage was strong and lost his attention as soon as it was captured.

No no no. He shouldn’t be focusing on that.

“So would you be willing to tell me why the fall out had happened? It was a huge surprised to see that ship sink.” She snorted and nudged against him, “So am I a captain now?”

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna answer my question,” Not really but he’ll have to deal. “But don’t dodge it with another question.”

She huffed and flailed against him, most likely to get comfortable on his shoulder. Her thick locks of hair invaded his face. He slowly comb it out of his space.

“Ugh, fine.” She lifted her head off of his shoulder and yawned. They have been at this place for a few hour and things have thankfully slowed down. Though there were no signs of the rest of the Bakusquad, so it hasn’t fully slowed down yet. Thankfully, the couple agreed for the ceremony to be in the evening, as Ochako wasn’t a morning bird and the bakusquad would be too wasted to function in the morning for the wedding.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to function at all for the wedding, but all he had to do now was be there for them. He should be able to do that, right?

“The fall out was a long time coming to be truthful,” she took a deep breath and waved the bartender down to get some water. “Everything felt perfect but it was all a lie. Deku was faced with stress about his Internship, his mom (who was sick at the time), school work, and me. He was probably pushing his luck already with the Internship, school, and me.” She started scrolling through his social media again.

“His mother was sick? Wow, that would do it to a person.” He examined the Midoriya family photo she found on his profile and nodded. “He looks exactly like her but I’m glad she’s doing well now.”  

“I guess he was so busy trying to do everything and please everybody that he didn’t realized the stress was piling up until he had to cut down on something. I guess he evaluated everything and realized that he didn’t feel the same as he did at the start of our relationship.” The bartender interrupted the conversation to give her the water she ordered. She smiled and took a sip.

Eijirou tried to remember how Midoriya was acting before they broke up and he didn’t seem out of the ordinary or like he had a bunch of stressful stuff surrounding him. It seemed like Ochako didn’t recognize it either.

“I can see why you would be mad at that. But that doesn’t explain why you basically ignored Midoriya and Iida til graduation? And where does Iida come into play at?”

“Well I wasn’t the confident woman who stands before you,” She gestured at herself and he had to stifle a laugh. He was hard not to imagine her as a confident woman, although he was too busy with the starting at UA and helping Katsuki to pay attention to anything else. So it was possible that she wasn’t confident about herself during that portion of their lives. “Don’t laugh, Im sure you weren’t the happy-go-lucky person you are now.”

Well she was right about that. There were times when he reverted back to the black haired boy in middle school.

“I got super jealous of a lot of girls who were very um, comfortable with Deku? Mei, Melissa, even Toga in one of her disguises! And I guess he didn’t want my self esteem and confidence to go down further,”  She sighed and scratched her head. Eijirou wondered if this was making her uncomfortable even though she insisted that it didn’t anymore.

“So he decided to that it would be better for me to be with Iida. Apparently he knew that Iida had feelings me, which was a surprise in itself! So...” She had continued to explain while he couldn’t believe what his ears had heard.

Midoriya couldn’t do the relationship anymore and instead of breaking up with her on a good note, he decided to set her up with Iida? Was Iida apart of this plan?

He had good intentions and all but he didn’t speak to her about this. At all.

How could he do this?

Eijirou cut her off in the explanation because he frankly heard enough. The situation had been settled and all members have moved past from it but like... that’s still messed up. “Like sick mother or not… he shouldn’t try to set you up with next best option. You deserved to speak your opinion and Iida shouldn’t have been treated like a consolation prize. That’s seriously rude and it like-”

“That’s exactly what I explained to him and Iida. What was worse about that situation was that Iida didn’t know about the set up at first. Deku kept planning events and end up living us by the end of it. It wasn’t until Iida came up and told me everything. Apparently he had put two and two together and came to tell me but at the time, I was so anger and like, wasn’t trying to think straight at all. So Iida suffered my rage as well.” Poor Iida, getting dragged into the situation all because he had feelings for Ochako.

“If I would have been in Midoriya’s position, I wouldn’t have let you go. At least not in that way…” He already somewhat confessed, maybe he doesn’t need to be so aggressive with his statement.

“I know Eiji. I always felt like you would be a very sweet and dedicated boyfriend by just looking at how much effort you put into the wedding. Not saying that Katsuki isn’t putting effort into this!” He felt his cheeks flushing all over again. Didn’t Mina say something almost identical to that?

‘You’ve been putting more energy into this than Katsuki.’

“I’m just doing my part as the best man and best bro to Katsuki,” He chuckled. “If we’d let him have his way, you would have already signed that papers and be off on your honeymoon.”

“Yeah, you do have a point. But enough about me and my life, what’s happened with that previous guy?” She leaned closer to him as a challenge. One that he didn’t want to back down but felt was best.

“Ugh, didn’t work out. He was nice and all but how can you have a relationship with somebody you barely saw.” Which wasn’t more Eijirou’s fault than anything, the downsides of being a Pro-hero.

He had to cancel a lot of dates due to work, which is something that his partner had gotten used to. But whenever he did have free time to spent with his partner, he spent it sleeping. Eijirou figured the guy wanted to connect in other ways besides sleeping and he couldn’t blame the civilian.

“Aw, well…” She tilted her head and placed her finger on her lip, very reminiscent of the Frog Hero and her maid of honor. “Oh, wasn’t there a person before him though? I remembered you mentioned him but after a few weeks, you didn’t mention them anymore?”

“Oh, wow your memory is great.” She murmured something about juicy information and he couldn’t help but shake his head at her.

“Well, the one before him had been another Pro Hero.” She gasped and started to open her mouth to ask questions. “Chill, we had agreed to keep it a secret so there wouldn’t be rumors spreading around about it. As you can see it was a great idea because we aren’t together…”

Eijirou didn’t intend on that sounding as bitter as it did. Whoops.

Well now she’s intrigued about that relationship. “So?” She sang out.

“It’s just, he still had unresolved feelings from a previous relationship.” Eijirou felt that, even though his unresolved feelings stemmed from unrequited love but still, he felt that. “So we talked about it and separated for a bit to discuss what we spoke about. But we’re still good friends!” Matter of fact, the pro hero had been invited to the wedding and was somewhere around here celebrating. Not like Ochako needed to know about that.

“Do I know him?” He raised his hand to capture the bartender’s attention.

“Don’t all pro-heroes know each other?” Good dodge, Eijirou.

“Sorta kinda, we hear of each other but we do not know each other.” She paused. “Well, unless you’re Deku then you know vast information about them and have an analysis of their fighting styles.”

“Yeah... that was super creepy of him,” the bartender came and Eijirou ordered the Pinky Haze. Ochako doesn’t seem to be reacting too badly from the alcohol, so he should have no problem. He felt mostly normal and she seemed to have sobered up a little after talking about Midoriya.

“But it’s over now and he’s moved on-”

“So what you’re saying is that he’s somebody who I know and that he’s recently got into a relationship. Okay,” That wasn’t what he said but he’ll let her assume. He won’t let her know that she’s only partially right. “I know what to listen out for in the latest gossip.”

“As I was saying before being rudely interrupted,” She stuck her tongue out at him. “ I’m alright with being single; a relationship isn’t really needed. It’s a distraction to my goals to reach the top 10.”

“That sounds kinda familiar,” She paused to retrieve both of their drinks and thank the bartender. “You’ve been near Katsuki too much.” She teased while taking a sip from the drink in her right hand.

“And you’ve been near Mina too much.” Eijirou teased and he snatched his drink out of her left hand.

“Let’s make a toast!” He was going to point out that they should’ve toasted before she took a swing but he didn’t really care.

“A toast to the manliest best man! You’ve helped out so much and you deserve only the best. Whether it’s getting married as well or getting into the top ten. I wish the best for you and to hopefully be by your side in those important moments like you’ve been in mine. And that goes double for Katsuki, even though he admit it.” He shouldn’t have let that affect him. But it did, her words made his face turn red.  The glass lightly shook in his hands and his heart kept hammering. With how thick his tongue felt, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to come up with anything to say to her. How could he say anything that would reflect what he felt in that moment?

“I hope you would be by my side as well,” Even though that could be taken in a platonic way, he was glad it wasn’t too hard to come up with the correct words to state what he meant. “Both you and your soon to be husband. I can’t imagine life without either of yall. And I promise to not fuck we have in any way possible. I wish nothing for the best in your marriage. Now that that’s settled, let’s drink some more before your husband shows up!”

“I’d drink to that.” She raised her drink and clinked against his glass before finishing it in one continuous gulp. She had been taking sips the whole time the drink has been in his head but this time she decided to drink it continuously until it was gone. By the time she was finished, she locked eyes with Eijirou and laughed. He could only take a guess at how his face looked (given how his body responded to that) but before he could give her a response, the bartender came back with seconds. The bartender insisted stuff about them being heroes and something about a bill or whatever.

Katsuki was going to be angry and Eijirou’s wallet would cry if it could see the damage being done but he didn’t really care about consequences at the moment. He sorta told her his feelings and his promise to move on and it was like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe he would feel even lighter if he could do the same with Katsuki but first, he needed more drinks. He wasn’t drunk enough to do that yet.

----

“I left you guys alone for less than a hour,” The husband-to-be bellowed, walking up towards Eijirou and Ochako, towing the rest of the Bakusquad behind him. “And I come back to this shit.”

The trio must have bumped into some trouble because they have some scratches and dirt spots on their clothes but they’re alive and that was the most important thing to him. Denki was in his dazed mood, so he must have used his quirk or pissed Katsuki off. He was leaning on Mina who was leaning on Hanta who was a few seconds away from face planting on the floor. He couldn’t wait to hear the play by play from them once they all have gained sobriety.

“We’re just making a toast to y’all bro.” Eijirou started that sentence looking at him but quickly slumped it back into the bar. It was kinda hard for him to hold his head up, let alone keep it stable enough to make eye contact with the blond man. “Wishing ya luck while havin’ a bit of fun.”

He heard a tch before the footsteps moved toward the girl collapsed next to him.

“She’s completely knocked out. That must of have been some fucking toast.” He must have glanced at the empty glasses surrounding them due to his following comment.

“Did you idiots do multiple toasts? Or was that all apart of the fun? I didn’t expect Ochako to be willing to spent this much money on ‘fun’.” His tone didn’t spell out disgust but it was headed toward berate. Bless him, Katsuki could have been an asshole and just shouted everything out but decided against it once he was near the two.

“Nah, only one toast.” Eijirou belched and turned his head so he could have a somewhat normal conversation with sober guy. As much as one can from a semi drunk dude. “Just because this ain’t your definition of fun doesn’t mean shit. And I might have told her that today was ladies get in free.”

“Wow you’ve gotten bold and smart with the influence of alcohol. If it wasn’t illegal to be drunk at work, I would send some to your job to help your agency out.” Did Eijirou sense a teasing tone from Katsuki or was that the alcohol making him think that? He’s going to assume that it was a teasing tone.

“Hardy ha. You can buy one right now and keep this party goin’.” What in hell was he thinking? He can barely keep his head up, why would he ask for another? He doesn’t even want one, he just sorta kinda wanted to keep talking to him because he feels him with warmth the alcohol couldn’t express.

“I think the fuck not, shitty drunk. I don’t agree nor like the taste of alcohol but I won’t stop you fuckers from doing what you want. But when you’re passed out and wasted, it’s time to stop.” He grumbled about how he should’ve gotten here quicker.

“‘M not knocked out…” Why hasn’t he rubbed his head against cold wood before? It felt so cold yet inviting. Eijirou closed the eye resting on the wood while observing the couple next to him.

Katsuki made his infamous ‘tch’ sound and gave Ochako a light shake, she doesn’t budge. “You can’t say the same for her though, which means this party is officially over.” He gently leaned her back into his arms and she curled into his chest. After a few seconds, light snoring can be heard from her.

Eijirou groaned before attempting to get up by using his wobbly arms to raise his upper half off of the bar. It failed and he slumped back onto the bar.

THUD

The shaken yet sturdy hero shrieked and jumped up from the bar, a bit more delayed than how he would typically react. He wobbled back a little bit, attempting to see what made the bar pronounced the sound. That’s when he felt a long boney touch his lower back, he froze and slowly inched around once the object removed itself off of him. Leaving him face to face with the husband to be.

Eijirou had to guess that the long boney object had been his leg because his arms were currently preoccupied with his future wife. That doesn’t stop his shaky knees from wobbling and his palms from sweating. Eijirou did a light twirl that could be mistaken for a penguin waddle and faced Katsuki. Twirls are manly. His best friend then gestured to the trio who were barely standing. “Go and join the sleepy fuckers behind me.”

His feet started to carry him to the group of barely standing members but two thoughts (that sounded almost identical to Hanta and Mina’s voice respectively) were in the forefront of his mind:

‘Thrive in whatever way you wanna live, but not by guilt.’

‘Tell him, tell him, tell him.’

That’s why, despite the tingling sensations he felt on his feet, on the palm of his hands, and on the tip of his tongue, he convinced himself to turn back and come face to face with the explosive man. “I want to-to tell ya somethin’ that I told Ocha. That I want y’all to be-by my side for the good times n bad, that-that I treasure both of ya so much and I would try my best to not tah fuck up what we-all have.”

Well there it was, his feelings were out in the open. Albeit he had stuttered a bit and slurred his words more due to how fast he was speaking. They spilled out a hell of a lot quicker than with Ochako, probably because they were festering a little while before she came into the picture. But most likely because the fear of getting tongue tied were more likely to happen if he stalled like he had with her. If Eijirou had beat around the bush with Katsuki, he would have just booked it instead. He didn’t realize how uncomfortable it would be to confess to a sober person compared to someone who was just as out of it as he was.

But the freedom that he felt earlier with Hanta came back full fledged at that moment. Despite whatever Katuski’s response was going to be, he felt like he’d been hit with Ochako’s quirk. Yeah, the nausea was there in the background (and his insides felt like they were being torn out) but that weighty feeling-that guilt was finally lifted and he felt as if he was floating in the air.

Katsuki squinted his eyes at him for a good minute as if taking in what Eijirou’s declaration of friendship. His eyes widen for a quick minute before they relaxed and he shook his head.

“You idiot, you didn’t have to state what we already knew. Besides, we know you won’t fuck shit up. Now take your ass over there with the rest of them.”

“It’s nice to know our fellow Tsundere believes in us enough not to fuck up his wedding.”

As Eijirou turned away, he swore that there was a slight smile upon the spikey haired man’s face. Despite the gymnastics that was going on in his stomach, He kind of felt like a best friend

“ I started to see how much relax and calm he got--well for him-- with you near”

Instead of dwelling too hard about it, he walked towards the trio sleeping on top of another. He leaned up on Denki just before the leader of this choo-choo train began to move the course of this trip.

He tilted his head to get a better glance at the couple ahead of Hanta. It looked as though Ochako was awake because her arms now wrapped around her fiance’s neck and he leaned down to whisper something to her.

“I always thought it was gonna be you who he got with.”

He felt a drop in his stomach and gripped Denki’s graphic shirt in his hand. The electric user stumbled a bit before twisting his head and making eye contact with Eijirou. The blond raised a brow towards the guy leaning up against him. “You kay, Kir?”

He felt his heart race as Katsuki made a glance back at them, to make sure everything was fine. Even though he had turned away, the fighting didn’t stop in his chest.

“There’s nothing wrong with the feelings that you had back then-- that you have now.”

“Yeah, I’m just swell.”

“‘Member awhile ago, you said- gonna move on…” Denki muttered, noticing something was amiss from the red head. While Eijirou was positive that the blond was mostly out of it, he was still able to remember the argument they had years ago. The last time they were alone together...

“I know what I said and I did tell them y’know… how I felt and that I was going to move on..” He could tell that the electric user felt at ease with his comment, as his shoulders loosen up and he gave Eijirou a big smile.

“You deserve to be happy, with or without a partner.” The guilt had lifted but did he feel happy?

No… not yet. Would he be able to function at the wedding? Yes. Would he be happy in the somewhat near future? Absolutely. And knowing that is enough for now.

And with that, he returned a grin to Denki. Once he was satisfied, the electric user went back to laying against Mina’s shoulders. Snoring from the man was soon heard.

He promised that he’ll move on. He’s told them both (in his own weird way) and they’d listen. He wasn’t about to go back on his word.

He refused to do that.