Their time at UA was drawing to a close and their final graduation was looming over their heads. It was then that Mr. Aizawa decided to drop some life advice.

"This isn't related to your grades, but it still needs to be said." He drawled, looking as bored and dry-eyed as ever. The class shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Mr. Aizawa hadn't become any easier to read in three years.

"As you know, the top heroes are treated like celebrities. Some take advantage of this, with merchandise, media appearances, promotions, that sort of thing in order to supplement their income when hero work is low. However, this means that your private life is no longer private. Things like your interests and relationships become public knowledge, which unfortunately includes villains."

He scanned the room. The class was listening intently, seeming uneasy.

"For this reason, many heroes choose to remain single. There's no rule saying that heroes can't marry or take lovers," Mineta made a strangled sound. "but it's an unfortunate truth that villains will exploit every weakness they can find in a hero, which can make the people dear to you become targets. Just something to be aware of if you weren't already."

With that, he returned to teaching math. Kirishima didn't hear a single word he said.

At lunch, Mina slid into the seat beside him and gave him a concerned look.

"You ok Kiri?" She asked, "You seem down."

Kirishima's face broke reflexively into a big smile.

"I'm fine," he assured her, "Just been pulling a lot of all-nighters, you know?" She nodded knowingly and patted his arm.

"Don't overdo it ok? You'll end up getting burnt out and that's no good."

Liar, liar, liar his conscience murmured to him.

He wasn't getting enough sleep, but schoolwork was only part of the problem. It was the end of an era. He'd do his best to keep in close contact with his friends of course, but it wouldn't be the same. It couldn't be; they'd be competitors, fighting for placements with the best agencies, moving to wherever the jobs were. As for who would take the spot of number one hero, it seemed like a four-way tossup between Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki.

Not him. Despite the hours of extra training, the long nights poring over books, the days of pushing himself to such exhaustion he could barely move he just wasn't able to surpass this year's Big Three.

He was happy for them, he really, truly was. All three of them deserved every bit of acclaim they received, it was just…frustrating sometimes. Bakugou would keep rising higher and Kirishima was worrying that he'd already peaked. What did he still lack after all this time? He was a solid student, but he never managed to excel at anything. Not like Bakugou.

His heart was racing when he raised a hand to knock on Bakugou's door. He'd spent the last two hours looking in the mirror and practicing what he was going to say. But he knew it didn't really matter; this was going to be horrible no matter what.

Bakugou picked up that something was wrong right away, and he stepped aside without a word.

"Hey 'Suki, can we talk?" Kirishima asked. His eyes were downcast, looking at Bakugou's socked feet rather than his face. Bakugou was wearing the smiley-face socks that he'd bought for him last Christmas as a joke. Kirishima's heart clenched. God, how was he going to get through this? But it was for the best, right?

"What's wrong with you? Sit down."

It took him a moment to steel his nerves again. It had been a mistake to try and do this here; this room had been so bare when they first moved in, and now it was full of memories. A picture from one of their hiking trips smiled at him from the night table.

"I've been thinking. I'm really, really proud of you. We're going to graduate, and you've got the world at your feet. All the best agencies will be after you and I bet you'll be the number one hero in no time." He took a shaky breath,

"You deserve it, and you shouldn't let anything hold you back so, I think we should end this."

He couldn't bear to look Bakugou in the eye, he just needed to say his piece and get the hell out of there.

"I've been trying. I've been trying so damn hard, but I can't keep up with you. And after what Mr. Aizawa said today, I can't stand the idea of being used to shackle you. And-,"

"Shut up." Bakugou snarled, cutting him off. "Shut the fuck up right now Shitty Hair or I swear I'm going to punch you."

"Katsuki, I-,"

"I said shut up! You are such a selfish motherfucker, I can't believe what I'm hearing! Why the hell are you pretending to be a weakling all of a sudden? If villains wanted to use you against me, they'd have to defeat you first. Good fucking luck with that!" His voice kept steadily rising to the point where he was practically shouting. He grabbed Kirishima's shoulders and forced him to face him. His palms sizzled, burning through the fabric of Kirishima's shirt.

"I don't know who the hell told you that you're a deadweight, but I'm going to fucking kill them. Now listen up, 'cause I'm only going to say this once: if being the number one hero means losing you, I don't fucking want it. Got that!?"

Kirishima blinked, unable to hold back the tears sliding silently down his cheeks. Bakugou's face was still screwed up in anger, but there were tears in his eyes too.

Bakugou's head dropped forward and his hands fell away, as though all the anger had drained away from him. In three years, Kirishima had never seen Bakugou look so defeated. His next words came out in a broken whisper that ripped Kirishima's heart right out of his chest.

"Don't leave me...please Eiji."

And just like that, Kirishima's resolve evaporated into thin air. He'd been thinking about this all wrong. Society was so caught up in keeping score, constantly pitting heroes against each other. Saving people and heroic acts were treated like tick marks on a scoreboard. It wasn't enough to just do your best and save as many people as possible, it was about winning and losing. But why?

He pulled Katsuki against him, holding him as tightly as he could with his shaking arms. The other boy melted into his embrace, fitting perfectly.

"Ok," He whispered thickly, kissing Bakugou's hair, "You're stuck with me." Bakugou wordlessly pressed his face into Kirishima's shoulder, squeezing his middle to the point of near suffocation.

So, what if he never made the number one hero spot? So, what if he was written off by society as a mediocre hero and eventually forgotten? Glory, winning, acclaim, none of it mattered to him anymore.

He was Bakugou's hero, and that was more than enough.