You and Shinsou had both been trying to adjust to college life ever since graduating from U.A. last year—but it was anything but easy. If anything, you felt like you were slowly losing your grip. The two of you had been admitted into different prestigious universities on two completely different sides of Musutafu. After years of seeing him every single day at U.A., the shift to once a week—or sometimes only once every two—felt unbearable. The distance carved into your relationship like a wound that never had time to heal.

And Shinsou was even busier than most, caught in the demanding hands of mentors Aizawa-sensei had personally recommended. His training piled atop his academics left him stretched thin, and you left waiting. Calls went unanswered. Messages stayed unopened. He was never much of a texter, but at least back then you could see and feel him close by—his quiet presence, his steady eyes. Now, silence was all you seemed to receive.

Three months blurred together. This wasn’t what you imagined college life would be. You were supposed to be laughing in cafés with new friends, losing track of time at parties, weaving through lecture halls with a sense of freedom. Instead, all you remembered was the ache in your chest as you hunched over your desk, running your hands through your hair, sleepless and raw from the gnawing loneliness of loving someone who suddenly felt like a ghost.

Eventually, the weight of it all broke you. Never in a thousand lifetimes did you think you’d give up on Shinsou—the boy who’d held your hand through battles, the one whose quiet devotion always spoke louder than words, after everything you've both gone through together. But you hadn’t come this far just to crumble, not after working so hard for your place here at your university. You needed rest. Reassurance. Love. And you weren’t getting any of it.

Your heart pounding, you texted him late one night with trembling fingers. “Hitoshi, it’s over.” The words stared back at you, harsh and final. And yet your hands shook as you typed again, tears smudging your vision. “I can’t take this anymore. I'm done nagging and bothering you. I’m sorry.”

You tossed your phone aside like it burned, collapsing into bed, trying to bury yourself beneath the storm inside you. But just as the silence threatened to consume you, your phone chimed. One message.

“Come down baby. I’m outside. I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”

Your heart sank to your stomach. You didn’t even think—just pulled on a cardigan, stumbling down the stairs, your pulse racing.

And then you saw him. Shinsou, leaning against his car, hands shoved in his pockets wearing that big leather jacket you loved, and a grey scarf you gave him one christmas. He looked up at you, tired violet eyes locking onto yours, and in that moment you realized just how much you’d missed him. More than you’d even let yourself admit.