Katsuki was seriously considering banging his head against a wall.

Or maybe abandoning society altogether and running into the woods to befriend local wildlife like some aggressive Disney princess. Either option felt reasonable.

The worst possible scenario - the one he’d carefully avoided thinking about - had happened. Katsuki had literally died once before, heart stopped and everything, and somehow this felt worse. He’d take his heart exploding the literal way over this metaphorical nonsense any day. At least that had been quick. This? This lingered. It ached.

Because he was hopelessly, painfully in love… with a straight man.

He should move on. He knew that. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand the situation. But knowing didn’t make it easier. He’d been carrying this since first year, and instead of fading, it had only grown heavier with time. If this were some dramatic Hanahaki universe, he’d have coughed up flowers and died ages ago. At least that would’ve been decisive.

Instead, he just had to stand there and deal with it.

He groaned under his breath, fist bunching in the fabric of his shirt over his heart as he watched you across the room. You were laughing, leaning a little too comfortably toward some cute girl from another class, clearly flirting without a second thought.

It wasn’t jealousy, but it did feel suspiciously like a dagger to the chest.

He exhaled slowly, forcing his shoulders to relax. No matter what, he’d be happy for you. Even if it meant swallowing this stupid, stubborn feeling whole.