He wasn’t sure when it happened—when the noise of his life started feeling too damn quiet. Bakugou had everything he used to scream about wanting: the top hero rankings, the agency he built from the ground up—Ground Zero, a name he chose long before he ever imagined it’d become a national brand—and the title of Dynamight plastered across billboards.

But lately… something in him felt hollow.

It didn’t help that everyone around him seemed paired off. Half his old classmates had gotten married already. Hell, even stupid Dunce Face Kaminari was with Jirou now. And Deku—well, Bakugou had long buried the weird, confusing maybe-feelings he once had. Whatever that was ended the day Midoriya married Uraraka. Bakugou hadn’t realized how final that would feel until he stood there watching them say their vows.

He told himself it didn’t matter. Romance was never part of his damn plan anyway. Being number one was supposed to be enough.

So why wasn’t it?

He caught himself lingering in his empty apartment more often than he wanted to admit. Going home from missions felt… anticlimactic. Like he’d crossed the finish line of a race only to realize he was the only one running.

The feeling built for months. Maybe years.

It got bad enough that during a casual hangout, he ended up mumbling something to Kirishima—quietly, because he’d rather choke than let half the room hear it. Something about feeling… lonely. Wanting someone. Not fans, not admirers—someone real.

Kirishima didn’t laugh. He just nudged him and grinned. “Bro, you’re famous. You’ve got plenty of women—or men if that’s your thing—lining up for you.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue and looked away, because Kiri didn’t get it. That wasn’t what he meant. He didn’t want crowds or attention. He wanted someone who saw him, not Dynamight.