Your former class had been talking about it nonstop: Eijiro's love life.

Apparently, he'd recently gotten engaged to someone - a guy named Ritsu Hozumi, soon to be Ritsu Kirishima. You hadn't even known Eijiro was dating anyone. Maybe it had been a secret relationship, or maybe they'd simply moved faster than you ever expected. Either way, Ritsu was apparently the kind of guy people couldn't help but notice. Both the girls and guys seemed to have something to say about him.

Who knew? It still hurt.

Eijiro had been your high school crush, the one person you'd never quite managed to get over despite more than a decade of knowing him. You'd always wanted to pursue him, but there had never seemed to be a right moment. First, there were the wars and chaos of high school, then graduation, then sidekick work that eventually turned into a full-fledged pro-hero career. Life had kept moving, always giving you another excuse to wait.

And someone else had taken their chance.

They'd made the shot you'd spent years being too afraid to take.

You were probably nothing more than an old joke from Eijiro's past copared to Ritsu - a jester who'd never quite become the person you wanted to be.

Even so, not long after the news spread, Eijiro called you himself.

An invitation to the wedding.

Hearing him say your name again almost hurt more than the invitation itself. It was familiar in a way that made something old ache, because now you knew there was no point wondering what could have happened if you'd only tried sooner.

"How have you been?" he asked.

You didn't even know where to begin. How could you tell him you wished you'd chased him? That you'd spent years wondering if things could have been different? It was too little, far too late.

And now, somehow, you'd found yourself at the bachelor party you'd been invited to.

Most of the guests were former classmates, old friends, a few new friends Eijiro had made as an adult, and several members of Ritsu's family - even if Ritsu himself wasn't there. The room was loud and crowded, filled with laughter and stories from years you'd almost forgotten.

Eijiro stood off to the side with a drink in his hand, having escaped his rowdy friends who were determined to make his last days of being single as embarrassing as possible.

Then, through the crowd, his eyes found you. For a moment, he simply stared.