Welcome to the final installment of the Heart Series! Whether you're read everything or are just joining us now, thank you for spending some time with my story.

I seriously wasn't planning this final installment until the 11th hour because I don't believe that what happens in this story is required for happiness or relationship validation, but these words came anyway. Thank you for being with me on this journey. Whether you've been here since the beginning, or are only joining for this moment, thank you, and I hope you enjoy your time here.

With All My Heart

Shouto slid the crisp fabric of his dress shirt over his shoulders. The tan buttons slipped silently through the precisely stitched buttonholes. He'd set aside a silver tie to compliment the icy blue of the dress shirt, and he was actually looking forward to putting it on. He wasn't sure when they'd started dressing up for family dinners, but the tradition had taken stiff formal clothes—clothes that had at one time felt like a prison and reminded Shouto of his father—and changed the meaning of them.

Not every family dinner was a formal occasion. They rotated between casual wear, traditional formal wear, and western formal wear. They'd also held Halloween costume and ugly sweater themed family dinners. It was silly, and more effort than Shouto would have ever thought to make on his own, but he loved it.

Shouto's mother and Inko-san had grown quite close over the years, and Fuyumi, for reasons Shouto still didn't understand, was rather fond of seeing Mitsuki-san and Masaru-san. Even Natsuo came from Kyoto and made regular appearances. Ten months ago Natsuo had started to bring a girl with him, Emica-san. He was happier than Shouto had ever seen him. Maybe he would propose soon. Shouto had never imagined having a family this big, especially not one that felt like home.

What had begun as Inko-san's determined gratitude for Shouto using his quirk to help heal Bakugou from the worst injury of his pro hero career, had become something cherished and sacred. It wasn't Inko-san's meddling that had begun, or even cemented, Shouto's relationship with Izuku and Katsuki; that had grown out of a soulmate bond Shouto had written off as one way and useless, until it wasn't.

Shouto pressed his forearm to his chest and attached the first of a pair of snowflake cufflinks. Mitsuki-san had given them to him three or four years ago for his birthday. Shouto hadn't had the easiest time bonding with her, because of the thoughtless ways she'd hurt her son in the past. She still wasn't perfect, but none of them were. Shouto had watched Mitsuki-san's slow evolution brought about by uncomfortable work, first in her own therapy and anger management, then shared family counseling with Katsuki. Change was never easy, but she was trying, and Katsuki seemed all the happier for it. It was enough.

"Are you fucking coming, Icy Hot?"

Shouto smiled, and marveled for a moment how easily the expression, however reserved, settled over his face. Seven something years of soulmate-bonded bliss had made its mark.

"I'll be ready in two minutes!" Shouto promised, lifting his voice so that it would carry out to the living room where Katsuki had been shouting from. Normally Katsuki would send Izuku to check on Shouto, because he never left the kitchen in the last hours before a family dinner when it was their turn to host. It was unusual for Katsuki to fall behind in food preparations, but he must have needed Izuku with him for extra help just now.

With long practiced movements, Shouto secured his belt and smoothed his hands across his outfit, checking for anything out of place. A splash of white in a place it normally wasn't caught Shouto's attention and he leaned closer to the mirror. He turned his head this way and that and even lifted his fingers to examine the hair on the edge of his left temple. It wasn't a trick of the light; his red hair was just starting to lose some of its color. Was 32 too early to go grey? Well, white technically.

It didn't matter. It's not like Shouto had any point of reference given the hair color most predominant in his mother and siblings. If he would eventually match them, so much the better.

Shouto pulled on the silver silk vest that matched the styles Izuku and Katsuki had chosen in order to forego bulkier suit jackets. He was still closing the final button when he walked into the living room.

"Okay, I'm—oh."

The living room was lit with an array of candles and lanterns which gave the room a soft, intimate glow.

"What do you think?" Izuku stepped up beside Shouto. The deep emerald green of his vest and tie against the black background if his dress shirt matched the vibrant color of Izuku's eyes.

"It's beautiful. What's the—" Shouto paused and narrowed his eyes. Izuku was fidgeting. Not as much as he might have done when he was younger, but there was an uneasiness to the way he held himself. "Are you alright?" Shouto's arms closed around Izuku's waist and pulled him closer.

Izuku blinked up at him. Were his eyes a little more wet than normal? Shouto caressed the side of Izuku's face, only slightly reassured when Izuku nuzzled against his palm the same way he always did. "Do you have a migraine? Is that why you set up the lights this way?"

"I'm fine, Sho," Izuku promised.

Shouto knew Izuku wouldn't lie to him, not about something as important as his health, but there had to be something Shouto was missing. Izuku's color was off; he was more pale than usual, giving his freckles a washed-out pallor.

"Don't panic, Icy-Hot. He's just nervous about the gift we have for you."

Bakugou was standing beside them now, a handsome visage in his red dress shirt, black tie, and matching black vest.

"Gift?" Shouto could feel his eyebrows pushing together. He glanced between Izuku and Katsuki. "You have a gift for me? Why?"

"We, um…" Izuku swallowed and Shouto swore he could feel scarred fingers trembling slightly against his back. "Yes, we have something for you." Izuku's smile trembled, but he didn't look sad... Maybe he was just overwhelmed? As much as they all loved family dinners, the prep work could be lengthy. Izuku's ribs shuddered against Shouto's hand on a shaking exhale. "I really hope you'll accept it."

Katsuki's large, calloused hand close around Deku's shoulder and squeezed. "Take a fucking breath, Deku. You're going to make him think we're mad at him."

"You're the only one of us that's done this before, Kacchan!"

Smiling, regardless of his husband's sudden ire, Katsuki lifted a small rectangular package wrapped with iridescent green paper and a tightly tied yellow bow. He placed the gift into Shouto's hands. Katsuki's fingers lingered against Shouto's skin, leaving tingles in their wake. "Open it."

Shouto glanced between his lovers, before turning his attention to the package in his hands. A small tag in the upper left-hand corner read:

To Shouto

It's not our love story,

but we hope you like it.

The hearts were obviously Izuku's addition. Shouto smoothed his fingers across the wrapping and glanced up again. "What's the occasion?"

"Just open the package, dumbass!" The dusting of color on Katsuki's cheeks gave him away entirely. Izuku wasn't the only one who was nervous. That was interesting. Very few things ever made Katsuki nervous.

Intrigued, Shouto slipped his fingers under a fold in the wrapping and tore it free from the tape. He caught a glimpse of his present through the opening. It was a book. That had been Shouto's first guess, given the feel of the spine and hardcover through the wrapping paper. A loose grip and a shimmy slid the book directly into Shouto's palm.

The edges of each page were lined with delicate gold trim. The artwork on the cover was enchanting and captivating, much like the story housed in the pages it surrounded. This book was a special edition of Shouto's favorite love story. It was foolish to be sentimental about something so sappy, but this story had been a favorite long before Izuku and Katsuki defied Shouto's wildest expectations and invited him to date them both. Now the themes of second chances resonated with joyful memories instead of poignant reflection.

"Thank you." Shouto traced the images on the cover with the tips of his fingers. Warmth and affection bloomed deep inside his chest and nestled close to the vibrant cords of his soulmate bond with the men in front of him.

Youthful indiscretion and a self-inflicted burn had robbed Shouto the pleasure of seeing Izuku's and Katsuki's names on his wrist, but he'd never mourned that fact. He saw his name on their wrists every day. The familiar kanji pressed close to the kanji of Katsuki's name on Izuku's wrist and equally close to the kanji of Izuku's name on Katsuki's wrist. It had been years since Shouto bothered to so much as concentrate on the bonds he could feel, alive and healthy despite his lack of a soulmate mark. Why focus inward, when he didn't want to miss a moment of the life he was able to share with his lovers?

"This is beautiful," Shouto continued. His fingers traced the edges of the cover. There was something pressed between pages that prevented the book from closing completely. "I—" Shouto stopped when he opened the book and saw the ring tied to the book's ribbon bookmark. Breath stuttered in Shouto's chest and his heart knocked hard against his ribs. "Why…" He couldn't assume anything. Especially not about this. It was too important. "Why did you put one of your wedding rings here?"

"We didn't." Izuku held up his left hand and Katsuki joined him. Their platinum bands with delicate etching along the outside were still in place.

The ring in the book, held in place with a delicate blue ribbon which was anchored in the binding, was a perfect match. "I…" Shouto swallowed and coughed. The air in the room was suddenly so dry and warm. "I don't understand?" Shouto was almost afraid to look up, afraid to discover this was a joke or—

"We're trying to ask you to fucking marry us!" A deep red blush splashed bright across Katsuki's face and down his neck.

The air punched out of Shouto's lungs in one sharp, "Oh…"

Izuku lifted Shouto's free hand, the one not supporting the book, and held it in both of his. "We didn't want to overwhelm you by doing this when everyone was here," he explained. Izuku's thumb traced a smooth and steady line back and forth across the back of Shouto's hand. He glanced and Katsuki the caught Shouto's gaze again. "I didn't picture you as part of my love story when you first confessed." A self-deprecating smile flashed across Izuku's features. "I've never been so happy to be wrong." The fingers around Shouto's hand squeezed gently. "We want you as part of our love story forever, Sho. Will you marry, me?"

"We know it's not officially legal or, whatever," Bakugou cupped Shouto's cheek with his hand and a series of pleasant tingles rippled through every vertebra of Shouto's spine. "But that doesn't matter. You matter Sho, and we don't give a fuck who knows." He gulped air and licked his lips. "Will you marry me?"

The image before Shouto rippled and blurred before he could blink the moisture away from his vision. He nodded. "Yes." His eyes danced between Izuku's and Katsuki's faces. "Yes, please. I would love to marry you both." The last words barely escaped into the air as both Izuku and Katsuki pressed closer, sandwiching the book and the ring between them. Katsuki's lips found his first, then Izuku's, and Shouto lost track after that, swept up in a powerful rush of sensation and feeling.

"Oh my, God." One of them had broken away for air, had spoken, but Shouto couldn't tell who, or even if it had been him. He clung to the fabric of Izuku and Katsuki's shirts dizzy and almost disbelieving. This could be a dream if not for the weight of his lovers against him or the sting of salt against his cheeks.

Katsuki's thumb brushed aside a wet track of tears. "I thought Deku was supposed to be the crybaby."

"Kacchan!" The scolding came with a smile so bright it held no sharpness at all.

Shouto's heart swelled until it felt like it could float away. "I love you both, so much."

"Let's do this right, then." Katsuki lifted Shouto's left hand and held it while Izuku plucked the ring free and slid it home onto Shouto's ring finger. It fit into place like a key in a lock. In that moment Shouto knew whatever struggles he had faced before, or would face in the future, they were all worth it.

Well everyone, this is it. These are the last words I have on this love story. Maybe forever, or maybe just for now. I hope to publish an original work or two one day, but fanfiction will always be my first love, and I'll never let it go. (Good thing I'm poly, I guess?)

As you might have guessed I'm not a fast writer. I have a challenging and demanding full-time job, which was one of the reasons I wrote this story in its entirety before publishing the first words on AO3. I wrote the first words of Marks on My Heart in May 2020 and the last in late August 2020. (These one-shots came slightly after that).

I don't know when I will be in a position to publish because I want to have several stories prepared in advance before I start, but if you are curious, and want to hear more from me you can find me on social media under the name Gale Bruckner or galebrucknerwrites on Instagram.

Not ready to let this OT3 go? Neither am I, honestly. Which is why I've decided to accept prompt ideas in the comments. Are there life or relationship events you'd like to see these three tackle? Put them in the comments! Desire a specific type of fluff or other scenarios? Put them in the comments! Want to see other BNHA pairings or stories not specifically related to the My Heart series? Put those in the comments too! If I receive enough prompts I could start a collection of drabbles or another series. It really depends on where inspiration takes me. ^_^

I can't promise I will write every one of them and, as cited above, I'm not a very fast writer, but I would love to bring some of your story ideas to life. 3

One more thing before I sign off: The love story I was thinking of when I wrote this one-shot was Persuasion, by Jane Austin. I didn't name the title when Shouto opened his gift, because I wanted to leave it open to interpretation. However, if you enjoyed the Heart Series, you will LOVE Persuasion. It's a story about second chances in love, when all hope seems lost, and, I promise, it ends happily.

Whether this was our only time crossing paths, or if you see my work in the future, thank you for being here. Stay safe out there! ^_^