"I replay our conversation in my head all the time."

i. The boy with a heart.

In spite of his cocky arrogance, you and Bakugou both knew how dependent he was on you, even when the two of you were just children. You were the only person who could keep his anger in check and bring out the sweeter sides of him that were usually locked away from others. He couldn't deny that you made him a better person, and that's exactly why he wasn't willing to let you go.

He was the stereotypical, overprotective boyfriend and you loved him for that. It wasn't as though he lacked any faith in you. In fact, he trusted you more than any other person on the planet. The reason Bakugou insisted on knowing where you were at every moment of the day was that he feared for your safety. He vowed to you that he would always protect you and be at your side no matter what. You promised that you'd let him.

ii. The first broken promise.

A year passed since you first started a romantic relationship with Bakugou when you were offered to study abroad in the states. Only a fool would decline such an appealing offer and you were no fool.

Bakugou was understanding of the difficult decision you made to leave him, but that didn't necessarily mean he approved. He was heartbroken that you would be leaving him, yet he refused to be the reason you failed to pursue your dreams. He would wait out the time in hopes of seeing you again, no matter how painful it might be for him.

iii. It was only supposed to be a year.

At least, that's what you told him.

"There's no need to worry about me, Katsuki! I'll only be gone for a year," you reassured him quickly before your smile began to falter. "In the meantime, if you find someone else while I'm away, I won't hold it against you if-"

"You're more stupid than you look if you actually expect me to find someone better than you," he said gruffly, staring down at the grass below him.

This was your special place in the park; the spot where you first met Bakugou as children. Now it was your place where you could escape to just be alone with him and nature. It would forever be your favorite place to be - not even the school you were soon to be attending in the states could beat it.

Pulling him closer to you, you kissed him. The cherry blossom tree hovering above the two of you swayed back and forth due to the wind and dozens of the small flowers floated around the two of you. It was a kiss to be cherished for years to come; a kiss showing how much longing you and he felt for each other.

"I love you, [name]," he whispered once the two of you finally broke for air, his hands cupping your cheeks.

"I love you, too."

iv. The painful wait.

After you first left, you kept in touch with Bakugou several times a day. It wasn't until a few months in that the messages became less and less frequent until they became nonexistent.

Bakugou became nothing more than a shell of his former self. He wasn't as hot-headed as he usually was nor was he as eccentric. The only time he left his room was to visit his spot with you in the park in hopes of seeing you. You were never there.

Logically speaking, he knew he needed to move on - that his obsession with you was pointless. Even so, he could never bring himself to stop thinking about you for even a second. As painful as it was, you were the only thing ever on his mind.

v. The second broken promise.

A year had passed yet you never came back to Japan.

At that point, his faith in ever seeing you again had dwindled down to almost nothing. Despite this, he grasped tightly onto whatever hope he had left and refused to let go. Bakugou wasn't prepared to let go of you.

The pain he felt was that of losing a limb. How could he not? It may not have been physical, but you were a part of him. No one could simply cut off an arm and go throughout life normally with the loss of something so important. This is exactly how he felt.

Even the loss of a limb wasn't as scary to him as losing the person he loved most.

vi. Loss of hope.

Three years had passed and you still never returned without a single word to him.

Bakugou may have been older, but the pain still lingered. There he laid in the spring under the very same cherry blossom tree just staring up at the sky. Memories of each and every conversation he had with you played through his mind on loop. He replayed every 'I love you' ever spoken between the two of you, cherishing each one.

A large gust of wind blew by and propelled a single cherry blossom flower through the air and down the hill. He subconsciously followed it with his eyes, remaining in a trance-like state until he noticed where the flower landed.

There it was, resting peacefully on top of the open palm of a beautiful, yet familiar girl. The [hair color] hair was longer than before and she was slightly taller from when he last laid eyes on her, but there was no doubt in who it was standing before him: you.

vii. Awakening of the heart.

He scrambled to his feet and stared at you with his mouth agape, fearful that he was only imagining it. It wasn't until his bright red hues locked onto your [eye color] eyes that he knew for a fact that wasn't just imagining it. It truly was you.

So many emotions passed through him at once. First shock, then anger until it slowly dissolved into pure joy. You opened your mouth to say something, anything, but you couldn't. You had not one excuse for your absence, albeit he wasn't looking for one.

Before you could so much as utter a single word, he ran up to you and wrapped his arms around you, spinning you around without a single care in the world. Tears glimmered in your eyes as you tried your hardest not to break down right then and there. After all that time, you had almost forgotten how much you loved this man standing in front of you and that was unforgivable.

"Honestly, [name]," he grunted as he put you down on your feet, quickly wiping his tears away before you could see. "Even now, you're so much work. All you do is put me through hell and back."

You smiled, relishing in that attitude of his that you missed so much. You buried your face in his chest, leaving damp spots on the fabric of his shirt from your tears of joy. He carefully brushed your tears away when you looked up at him with a toothy grin present on your face.

"I love you too, Katsuki."