"I'm sorry I called you ugly at first. You're actually very beautiful, Katsuki." Koge gave him a soft smile, running her hand along the smooth form of his tail. Sitting half in the water, the vibrant scales shimmered in the light of the setting sun. Resting on his stomach with his head on folded arms, Bakugou watched her, the end of his tail shifting about unconsciously in happiness from her touch. They had been like this for hours now since he changed, sitting on the beach in the shallow waters, unable to find it within themselves to part. When the tip of the sun touched the horizon is when they had promised to finally give in, and much to their dismay, that time was quickly approaching.

Bakugou gave a small scoff at the comment, rolling over onto his side, facing her with an arm propping up his head. "Damn right. I look even better underwater. You'll need to bring some goggles with you next time so you can see. Put that on your packing list." Placing his free hand on her leg, he slowly and tenderly ran it up her thigh, soaking in the feeling of her skin while he could. Koge's focus was still on his tail, lightly touching an older scar that was from a tussle he had with a shark. The thought of how badly he must have been injured to get that scar tugged at her heart, but she knew better than to think lowly of him in such a way. He wasn't weak.

"I'll remember that for sure. I'd love to get to swim around with you better than what I can. If you weren't around, I would have straight up drowned earlier." Taking her hand back to herself, Koge took a moment to put her wet hair up into a messy bun, tired of it sticking to her back. "You laughing at me didn't help, either!"

Snickering, Bakugou scooted closer to her, resting his chin on her thigh. "It looked funny. But don't go out that far again without me around. I'd rather not find you floating around face down or at the bottom of the reef." A small sigh escaped his lips as Koge stroked his hair gently, running her fingers through the semi dried blonde spikes. "I'm gonna miss that…"

"Miss what?"

"You playing with my hair. I like it more than I ever thought I would…" His voice trailed off as he stared out at the sunset, finding that they maybe only had another ten minutes before it vanished beneath the horizon. The silence that fell between them was heavy, and Koge refused to look up at the sun as he was. She thought that, just maybe, if she avoided looking at it the time would just never come. Time was subjective, after all. But, the sun's orbit was not. It was definitive, and no matter how much she refused to look, it would set. And he would be gone.

"Come out a bit deeper with me?"

His voice caught her attention, his crimson gaze soft enough to send her heart racing. With a nod, Koge followed him out into deeper water, stopping when it reached her chest. Bobbing in the water in front of her, Bakugou used gentle persuasion to urge her up against him, her arms wrapping around his neck and legs around his waist. His body was no longer warm like she had grown used to, but that mattered little at this point. Keeping her body pressed tightly into his, she kissed him softly, fighting back the hoard of tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes.

She couldn't let them fall just yet. She had promised him not to shed a single tear until he was gone, and Koge had kept that promise for the entire day, spending it with him like she would have any other. It was odd to her, how much this entire situation made her want to just bawl her eyes out. That's how she knew her feelings for him were real, that her wanting to be with him wasn't superficial. Because, in her day to day life, she never cried. Someone could cuss in her face, call her names and belittle her to the lowest degree, and her eyes would never even tear up. But the thought of him leaving absolutely crushed her, to the point where she was unsure how she was even going to pull herself back together.

When the affection faded, Bakugou rested his forehead against hers, observing her face with a level of concentration that she couldn't quite understand. Though, she didn't have time to question him as he reached up to his neck, gripping both of his prized necklaces and pulling them up over his head.

"Wha-?" Koge looked at them curiously, releasing him as he held them out towards her.

"These aren't just for me to flaunt around to show that I'm a badass. It's… something that we do, to try to attract a woman. If you could come to my home, you would see it. We wear things we make ourselves, show off our physical accomplishments and try to just… prove ourselves. That we'd make a good mate." As if nervous about what he was doing, Bakugou swallowed hard. "We offer them to the person we choose… After connecting on an emotional level and all that mushy shit. If they accept them, then that's it… You can mate."

Koge glanced from the necklaces up to Bakugou's face and back again, able to see the blush ravaging his cheeks as he struggled to spit out what he wanted. "Well," she started, carefully caressing the necklaces in her hands. "We did it a little backwards, didn't we?" With a scoff, Bakugou released the necklaces once he was sure she had a good hold on them, watching as she carefully placed them around her neck.

"Shut up. I… shorted them for you, too. So they wouldn't go down to your stomach or anything…" The blush that was on his cheeks somehow intensified as Koge looked back up at him, her soft smile and acceptance of his offer obviously affecting him more than what he was willing to admit. Placing her hands on his cheeks, Koge moved back in closer to him, kissing him sweetly before smiling against his lips.

"Thank you, Katsuki… I accept them. And I will never let them out of my sight. I'm… sorry I don't have anything to give you."

Bakugou shook his head, moving some of her wet hair out of her face. "I'm not supposed to take anything from you. Just your word that you'd be faithful to me."

Deciding to tease him a little, Koge tilted her head to the side, looking up and scrunching her face a bit in thought. "Hmmm, seriously? You mean I can't have extra boyfriends on the side? What a bummer!" She burst out into giggles as he squeezed her sides, tickling her in punishment for her sarcasm.

"That's right! No one else!"

"Okay, okay! Stop tickling me, I'll drown!"

When Bakugou finally stopped torturing her, Koge's eyes instinctively looked back over his shoulder, watching as the last bit of the sun vanished behind the waters edge. The happiness she felt drained out of her like she had been unplugged, disconnected from the thing that gave her life. How could she possibly let-

"How am I going to let you go?" Bakugou's voice was low and tainted with frustration, pressing his forehead into hers with his eyes shut tightly. Swallowing the lump that had grown in her throat as the tears began to fight their way out, Koge stroked his cheek gently, looking up into his eyes when he finally looked down at her.

"You're not letting me go, Katsuki. I'm coming back here, same time next year. You know the day, right? April…?"

Bakugou gave a short cough to clear his throat, as if some emotions were making it difficult for him to speak. "April fourteenth."

"That's right. I will be here on that day. You saw me buy the plane tickets. It's a done deal."

"I'll be here. Though I can't promise there may not be… extra visitors this time." Bakugou grumbled at the thought of being followed by family or friends, though Koge quickly pulled his attention back to her with another kiss. "Oh, that's okay, Katsuki," She ruffled his hair playfully, forcing a huff from him as he hid his face into the curve of her neck. "I'd love to meet your family and friends. I mean, I'm sure they'll be curious about me."

"They're just annoying idiots…" His voice trailed off again as the topic faded, focusing his attention on her neck. Soft, sweet kisses traveled up across her skin, making Koge shiver as his hands gripped her hips tightly. It was hard for her to not get aroused by such intimate affection, and though Koge tried her best to hide it, a pleasured sigh left her lips when his reached right below her ear. With a frustrated groan, Bakugou hugged her body to his tightly, once again hiding his face into the curve of her neck. "Don't do that, Utsuro, I can't take it. It's hard enough for me to stay calm with you clinging to me like this all day."

"I'm sorry, Katsuki. I just… I'll miss that feeling, of being so close to you."

"Just close your eyes and dream of me, then. And before you know it, it'll be real."

His hands carefully prying her off of him was something that Koge wished she'd never have to feel, but she didn't fight back, lowering her feet back onto the sandbar to stand on her own. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he turned her around to face the beach, giving her skin a soft kiss before speaking quietly in her ear. "Walk back to the beach and don't turn around. Not until you reach the house… Because I can't look back, either."

After a simple, small nod, Koge turned her head to look at him, catching his lips in one more passionate kiss. "Okay, Katsuki… I love you."

"I love you, too, Koge. Now get out of here. I'll see you in no time." With a gentle push, he urged her forward as he moved back, vanishing beneath the water without another word. Now physically trembling at the loss of his touch, Koge sucked in a huge breath, forcing herself forward on weak limbs. Unconsciously, she found herself listening for him, for any inkling that he was still present. Her body expected his touch and her ears prayed for the rough sound of his voice. But instead, all she was met with was the sounds of the waves and her own hiccups as the tears finally broke through.

…

"You really do love that boy, don't you?"

Koge was brought back to reality by the sound of her grandmothers voice, pulling her eyes from the ocean view to look down at the elderly woman. Somehow, Koge had found herself in a trance, standing out on the deck as she scanned the moonlit water for any sign of her lover. If not for the interruption, she was sure that her entire night would have been spent in that spot.

"Yeah… I do." Koge answered quietly, fiddling with the necklaces.

Kiki moved her wheelchair a bit closer, smiling up at her granddaughter. "Why don't you ask him to go with you then?"

"Ah… that's not possible. By the water is where he belongs…"

"Well don't fret, my dear. You'll see him again soon enough." Kiki took her hand, patting it gently. "He's quite special. An odd boy, but I can see how happy he makes you. I haven't seen you cry since you were a little baby, Koge." With trembling hand, Kiki lifted a handkerchief towards her, which Koge accepted gladly.

After wiping her sore eyes, Koge nodded. "That's true… he does make me happy. I can't wait to see him next year."

"That's it, my darling, just think on the positive things! Now, why don't you come spend the rest of your trip with me. That silly boy all but stole you away!"

"That sounds like a good idea."