It wasn't the first time you'd awoken by Katsuki's side, but it still made your chest squeeze all the same.

Sunlight trickled in through the blinds, illuminating his peaceful sleeping expression. Every now and then you could hear a soft, gentle snore, proof that he was resting soundly. You felt yourself smile, and then you shivered, realizing that Katsuki's body heat and the messily strewn blanket were the only things provided your unclothed frame with any warmth. Your chest was pressed flush against his own; from this close, you could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart as it drummed in tune with yours.

You inhaled softly and began pulling away, careful not to make too much noise and wake him up. There wasn't much you had planned for today, but the sun seemed to be shining a fair amount, so you figured you might go out for a bit, just for a change of pace. There'd been so much training lately, you were in the mood to take a leisurely stroll and maybe browse for some new clothes.

Speaking of clothes, you flushed inwardly when you spied your uniform, thrown onto the floor in a messy pile. Memories of the evening prior flitted before your eyes. A blush rippled down your spine.

"...mmn."

There was movement in the bed, and you looked back over your shoulder to see that Katsuki was in the process of squinting his eyes open. He let out a soft groan, propping himself up by his elbows.

"G-Good morning," you smiled, realizing all too late that you were still very much naked. After last night, he was certainly no stranger to your body, but you couldn't help but still feel a bit flustered.

"Morning, babe." Katsuki yawned loudly, lips eventually pulling up into a smile. "I'm so damn lucky, getting to wake up to you first thing."

You blushed deeply. More and more images were resurfacing now, making your heart race. You began to step off the bed to collect your uniform, but a hand jerked you backwards. You squealed as Katsuki wrapped his arms around your waist and squeezed you tight.

"I have to get dressed," you protested, feeling your embarrassment creep up on you again. Katsuki chuckled into your ear, one of his hands wandering down to squeeze the plush of your thigh.

"You don't have to do anything. We've got today off. Stay in bed longer."

"I know, but I was going to—"

You let out another squeal as Katsuki flipped you over onto your back and pinned you down against the mattress. He grinned shrewdly, crimson eyes raking over your frame. The pink dusting his cheeks and his expression said it all.

"W-We're not doing that again," you huffed out.

"Awe," he sighed, visibly disappointed, "why not?"

"Because we just did it last night!"

"So? There's no rule that says we can only do it once."

"You know what I mean...! It's too soon, and I gotta go—!"

He chuckled again and brought his lips to your own. You half-pouted, wanting to protest but already sinking back into the kiss. It was easy to tell that he was stalling, and even though being snuggled up against him like this was awfully inviting, you knew it couldn't go on forever.

"Okay, okay," you mumbled, lightly pushing his body off. "I really want to get dressed now, Katsuki-kun. We can't stay in bed all morning. Aren't you the one who always calls me lazy whenever I sleep in?"

He laughed, amused. "You're not going anywhere."

"Am, too."

"Are not."

"Am, too."

"Are not."

You sighed wearily. "I'm sure no one would believe me if I told them how clingy you were..."

This seemed to get his attention. "Who's clingy?!" he snapped. "The fuck is wrong with me wanting to hug you?"

"You can hug me later. Now—" Moving nimbly, you slid off the bed and collected your clothing into a heap. Katsuki clicked his tongue, as if the notion of you getting dressed was incredibly unpleasant.

"The hell are you in such a hurry to leave for?"

"I'm not in a hurry, I just think it'd be a shame if I wasted the day. I wanna go out and do something—something that's not training, or other school-related stuff. You know, just take a breather."

Katsuki watched with flushed cheeks as you began slipping on your bra. You bit back your fluster and hurriedly turned away from him while you put on the rest of your clothing.

"Hey," he called. "Why'd you turn around?"

"Because it's embarrassing the way you keep staring at me."

"Hm. Suit yourself." You heard him chuckle lowly. "I can see your ass pretty clearly from this angle, though."

"You—!"

"Don't worry, I'm not complaining."

Now blotchy-faced and frazzled, you finished putting on the rest of your uniform and dusted your skirt off, moving for the door. Katsuki practically shot up from the bed. He was like one of those puppies that got all anxious when their owner left.

"Wait, you're seriously leaving?" he asked, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice.

You sighed and looked back over your shoulder. "Didn't I say I was going out for a bit?"

"You're actually doing that? Like, for real?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Who with?" Katsuki crossed his arms and assumed a frown. "Which fucker's going with you?"

"I have no plans, I was just gonna go for a walk and maybe buy myself some food, or clothes."

"Kay, I'm coming then."

You wanted to splutter out a protest, but he was already leaping off the bed and putting together an outfit of his own. He could be so needy at times, it really didn't line up with his character. But this was good, too. Seeing the way he wanted to spend time with you was something you never thought you'd get from him.

"We'll leave after breakfast," he hummed, already assuming full control over your plans. "Go get changed into something more comfortable and then we're meeting back in the communal area."

You smiled and nodded in agreement. As you slunk out of his room and headed for your own, you nearly bumped shoulders with a groggy, still half-asleep Kirishima. You mumbled a hasty apology and skirted down the hallway.

Kirishima blinked. "Huh? Why's [Name]-chan coming from Bakugou's room... and still wearing her uniform from yesterday?"

He scratched his head for a few moments, cheeks eventually erupting into countless shades of vermilion.

"Oh."

—

Even though you'd been intending to have the day to yourself, you were actually pretty happy Katsuki had decided to tag along. You'd been out together before, of course—the mall, the pool—but it was nice to have another date after everything that had happened. Since moving into the dorms, you and your classmates were being monitored pretty heavily for safety purposes, so getting away for a bit was a nice change of pace.

"I'm hungry," you mumbled absent-mindedly, earning a soft mutter from the blonde beside you.

"[Name], you just ate breakfast."

"I know, but when there's all this yummy food around me, I'm bound to start craving something."

You'd passed by a few stands already—ice cream, crêpes, mini powdered donuts—all of which were making your mouth water. The two of you were just planning on enjoying a leisurely stroll through the park, but Katsuki must've foreseen this, and was currently in the process of grumbling while pulling out his wallet.

He rolled his eyes. "You only get one of them, so pick wisely."

"Okay, then... crêpes! No, no—donuts! Wait, actually, I want ice cream, too."

"Did you not fucking hear what I just said?!"

You chortled as Katsuki flicked you on the forehead, eventually deciding the buy crêpes for the both of you. He moved to get in line and you spotted an unoccupied bench where you could sit down and enjoy your treat for later. You made your way over but stopped in place, eyes falling upon familiar silver locks.

"Hana-san!" you greeted, waving to her from the distance. Her expression lit up as she saw you calling to her, and she made her way over. You'd only ever seen her in her hero costume, so it was a breath of fresh air meeting her when she was just dressed as a civilian. Her hair was of course fastened into a braid, like always, and she had on a loose, flowy white top and a dark blue skirt. She was carrying shopping bags, by the looks of it.

"Hello, [Name]-chan! It's so lovely getting to run into you here!" She smiled brightly and wrapped you in a big hug. "How've you been? The provisional licensing exam was just yesterday, no?"

You nodded happily. "Yep, it was. I passed. I'm officially able to go out and work as a hero."

"That's amazing! I'm so proud of you! Though, of course, I never had any doubts in the first place." She adjusted the bags draped across her right arm, and the fabric of her loose garment slipped off her shoulder for a moment. You squinted a bit. It was dark, ink-like writing.

"Thank you, um..." You coughed, berating yourself for staring. "Sorry, I didn't know you had a tattoo."

"Hm? Oh." Hana craned her neck towards her right shoulder. "It's a soulmate mark, actually. I don't think I could ever stand to have a needle pierce my skin for that long."

Your eyes widened, and you didn't quite manage to suppress the soft gasp that left your lips. It was the first time you'd ever met someone who had a marking like yours. To think that it would be someone you already knew, of all things...

"It's quite uncommon," Hana smiled, "that much I realize. A lot of people are taken aback when they see mine for the first time, so I can understand why you'd be surprised."

"No, it's just..." You pressed your lips together, "I-I have one, too..."

"Oh!" Hana's hazel eyes widened, and then she was laughing. "Wow, really? You're only the third person I've ever known to have one besides me! Ha-ha, what a small world! Statistically speaking, cases like ours are incredibly rare, but here I am, finding out that one of my interns has one as well!"

You nodded hastily. "Mine's on my hip. Uh, wow, it's just—I'm really shocked to know that someone else has a marking like mine, so... could I ask your opinion on something? I understand if you don't want to answer."

"Of course, dear." She smiled gently. "What did you want to know?"

Instead of replying through words, you pulled up the edge of your shirt and revealed the blurry, illegible writing scrawled across your left hip. Hana blinked slowly, pursed her lips, and then looked you in the eyes.

"Is it fading?" she asked.

You shook your head. "No. It was fading—it disappeared altogether, and I was terrified of what might happen to me and my soulmate, but then this came in. I can't read the writing, since it's not clear enough yet, but slowly... something's appearing there. And I'm just confused about this all. Really, I've been dealing with this confusion for a long time, so I thought it'd be waste not asking you about it, now that I finally know someone else who has one like me."

You stared up at her hopefully. Your relationship was Katsuki was strong, incredibly so, but all this time, you'd never been granted the opportunity to confide in someone who understood your situation. Whatever the answer may be, you knew it wouldn't change anything. You and Katsuki would continue fighting for each other. But if she could maybe give you something to work with, then you were sure that—

"The truth is, this happened to me a while ago."

Hana smiled, watching the way your eyes widened. You weren't even sure you'd heard her properly. Happened to her, as in...?

"My soulmate and I met years ago," she started. "When I was in my last year of high-school, so no more than about one or two years older than you are right now. We met, said our first words to one another, and realized right off the bat how horribly incompatible we were."

You stiffened. "I-I'm sorry...?"

"Well," she mused, "maybe that wasn't quite accurate, but it was how we felt in the moment, at least. To be honest, I was a very different person when I was younger. I guess... I was more emotionally unstable? I was the type to get riled up a little too easily, and whenever I felt embarrassed or insecure, I'd lash out at people without wanting to. My partner saw that in me and must not have felt I was all that desirable. It didn't help that he was also a bit of a flirt and dating someone else at the time. Regardless, we met in our last year of high-school, and neither was particularly drawn to the other, so we just didn't make anything of it. We remained fairly civil, but there wasn't much we knew of each other, and when graduation came, he moved to study at a university overseas."

"Overseas?" you blinked. "But then, how did you...?"

"He came back, of course, but that wasn't till years later. During that time, I experienced what you're describing—that my soulmate mark disappeared. He was practically on the other side of the world at the time, so I had no idea what had happened to him; if he passed away, if our bond disappeared, or anything. It wasn't until he came back, that my writing began to re-appear. He'd finished with his studies, and was working in the area, just like me." Hana smiled fondly at the memory. "We actually got to know each other this time. At first, it was just reminiscing over high-school, but then we actually started learning more about the other. We put in the time, the effort, and the connection was there. At some point—I'm not sure exactly when—but a new mark settled in place of my old one. If I recall, his first words to me were rather rude, and the impression I got of him was that he was frivolous and shallow. But after spending time with him... I don't know. Something just changed, for the better. I think I began to value his actions, his words, and everything he did or said became meaningful to me. The new mark I got were his words, of course, but they were different. Something I valued. Something that made me happy."

That's...

"I still can't really begin to explain it," she admitted. "These occurrences are so rare and vary from person to person, so there's little we can base our assumptions off of. But, still... I think relying on the soulmate term could turn out to be a trap. At the end of the day, when the time was right, I ended up with the person I cared for. If it's meant to be, it'll just be."

Your [e/c] orbs stared at the scarcely-visible patch of writing on Hana's shoulder. You couldn't see what it said, not fully, but you had a feeling it didn't really matter. She was right, after all. A genuine connection with someone couldn't be forced, or rushed, or faked. It couldn't be doctored or predicted, either. It just was.

It just was, in the same way that you and Katsuki just were.

"Thank you, Hana-san." You clutched at the edge of your shirt, small tears welling to the corners of your eyes. "I think I really needed to hear that. I've always had a bad habit of trying to plan for the future, instead of just living and enjoying the present. My soulmate—I mean, my boyfriend and I... we've been scared because of this, for a long time, but hearing you say that gives me hope. It really does."

"Oi, [Name], I got your damn crêpe so get your ass over here! Who the hell are you even talking to?"

You chuckled lightly, looking back over your shoulder to find that Katsuki had emerged from the lineup and was clutching a warm pastry in each hand. Hana smiled and adjusted her bags once more.

"Is that him?"

"Y-Yes. He's got a harsh tongue, I know, but he's a really good guy..."

"I've no doubt he is." She gently patted your shoulder. "Have some faith in yourself, my dear. If it feels right, then it's probably for a reason."

"Thank you. I think so, too."

Smiling once more, she waved you off and began heading her own way. "It was very nice running into you, [Name]-chan. There'll be more internship opportunities in the future, and I hope you'll consider working alongside me again."

"Of course," you smiled, "I would love to."

She left just as Katsuki strode up to your side, brows furrowed into a knot. "So who was that supposed to be?"

"Hana-san. Remember, the pro hero I interned with?"

"Oh, yeah. The healer-bitch."

"For the millionth time, she's not a—"

"Yeah, yeah. Here, eat your damn crêpe," he gruffed out, shoving it into your hands. "That lineup was so fucking long I almost died of old age. How many assholes buy this sugary crap anyways?"

"But Katsuki-kun," you laughed, "you bought one for yourself, too."

"I did it in solidarity! I hate sweet shit like this!"

"Mhm." You took a quick bite, licking excess whipped cream off your lips. The apples of your cheeks flushed. "Hey, Katsuki-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I really care for you. Just wanted to say that."

You resumed nibbling at your pastry. Katsuki let out a quiet scoff, eventually hooking an arm around your own.

"You damn better."