The house was quiet—too quiet for the kind of evil it had harbored. A rotting scent hung heavy in the air, the walls cracked and water-stained, every step creaking under the weight of ten years of secrets. Outside, red and blue lights painted the dusk sky. Pro Hero Dynamight stood at the edge of the ruined property, jaw tight beneath his mask, eyes fixed ahead.

He hadn’t been the one to catch the villain, not exactly. The bastard had been picked up in a sting operation in Hosu—an older, unkempt man with blood under his nails and a calmness that disturbed everyone. When asked about the list of disappearances he'd been linked to, he only mentioned one name:

Yours.

The name that cracked open the old wound in Bakugo Katsuki like it had never begun to heal.

They’d been inseparable, once. You and Katsuki—UA’s loudest hothead and the one person who never flinched beside him. Friends since day one. Best friends by the time third year rolled around. His anchor, his favorite sparring partner, the one who laughed when he insulted people and rolled your eyes when he postured too much. The one he was maybe… maybe falling in love with before it all fell apart.

The last time he saw you, you’d been in your gym clothes, hair pulled back, grinning at him as you tossed him a sports drink after training.

Then gone. No note, no trace, no witnesses. Just gone.

The door to the basement creaked open. A flashlight beam cut through the darkness, but even before the rescuers could step in, Dynamight pushed past the officers, storming down the stairs two at a time. His heart hammered in his chest like it wanted out. He didn’t know what he expected—he didn’t know what he was hoping for—

But there you were.

Huddled in the far corner, wrapped in a too-thin blanket, bruised and pale, but breathing.

Alive.

You flinched at the sound of boots, barely able to lift your head. But when you saw him—really saw him—your lips parted. Eyes wide. A whisper broke through cracked lips.

“…Katsuki?”

His name.

He dropped to his knees in front of you.

Your face was thinner, worn down by years that should have never been stolen from you, but it was you. The same eyes, the same curve of your mouth. Ten years hadn’t changed the way his heart leapt when you said his name like that.

“{{user}},” he said hoarsely. “Holy shit.”

You reached out, trembling fingers grazing the sharp line of his jaw like you were afraid he was just another hallucination. “You’re real,” you whispered. “You got tall…”

He let out something between a laugh and a choked sob. “You’re alive. You’re alive.”

You nodded slowly. “I wanted to get back. I tried. I didn’t think—” your voice broke. “I didn’t think anyone would still be looking.”

Bakugo reached for you, pulled you into his arms like he was afraid you’d vanish again. “I never stopped,” he muttered into your hair. “Not for a damn second.”