Despite his bad boy reputation, Bakugou hated nightclubs. He hated everything about them. The pounding music and flashing lights. The Smell of sweat and cheap cologne mingling together in the most nausea inducing mixture. And most of all, he hated the feeling of strange bodies pressed against his own.

He swore as he waded through the crowd, the drink in his hand sloshing and nearly spilling over.

"Watch where the fuck you're going" he snarled, glaring at the couple that had bumped into him.

As soon as they arrived, he had beelined it to the bar in search of a drink. Something that would make his thoughts stay quiet for once. Something he desperately needed. Kirishima had disappeared in search of Momo and the group of people she had invited. And from what he had been told it was a few of their former classmates and some people from her agency. Some coworkers she had been attempting to get close to in hopes of a promotion or an offer to join their team, all to no avail.

He wove through the crowd, nursing the drink as he went. The cool sting of liquor slid down his throat, the feeling seeping through his body like ice and fire all at once. The burn felt good. Too good.

It was why he had sought out solace in alcohol. In drowning out his problems. Making her leave his imagination. Her laugh, her smile, her perfume that seemed to cling to the inside of his nose after all this time.

Dammit.

It wasn't working fast enough. He gulped the rest down, setting it on the tray of a passing waitress, who scowled and opened her mouth to say something. He held up his hand to stop her.

"You know, that costume is way inaccurate. Eraserhead's scarf was grey, not blue" he offered, rolling his eyes as he walked away. The hero themed club he had been dragged to definitely didn't disappoint when it came to branding. Reruns of old fights played on tv screens everywhere. The staff was dressed like pro heroes, new and old. He had seen Several Eraserheads, PresentMics, All Mights, Endeavors, and Hawks.

Fucking stupid.

Most of the costumes looked like cheap knock-offs anyways. Like Halloween costumes or lingerie with felt pieces stitched onto it.

His eyes wandered in search of Kirishima, or another cocktail. His red hair was like a damn neon sign, standing out from across the room like a sore thumb. He stood with his back to Bakugou, his arm around Momo's shoulder. They were laughing about something. He watched with a combination of jealousy and annoyance as her hand slid to rest in his back pocket. Jealousy because that could have been him and Nami tonight if she hadn't cheated. And annoyance that he had to be with the world's most obnoxious couple.

Uraraka, Todoroki, Tenya, Kaminari, Mina and Jirou sat with them as well. He knew a bit about their lives from what he had seen on the news and on the cover of tabloids he saw in the supermarket checkout line. Uraraka had started dating some guy she had met on a rescue operation, Todoroki had decided to avoid agencies and work alone. Tenya was still Tenya. Mina was still single and had a very active social life from the amount of photos he had come across of her on the walk of shame. And Kaminari and Jirou were married, their first child on the way. Jirou's hand was on her swollen stomach, her wedding ring glinting in the strobe lights.

Damn all of them for being fucking happy. At least somewhat.

Two girls sat at the table with them. One a blonde with blue eyes in a tight spandex suit, the other with short dark hair and dark eyes in a dress that looked two sizes too big for her.

"Hey! Bakugou!" Momo smiled at him as he approached, a combination of apprehension and nostalgia pooling in his gut. Out of all the people he had ever been to school with, Momo was in the top ten most tolerable. Smart, beautiful, kind. And she had left him the fuck alone. She hadn't paid much attention to his tantrums or his outbursts. She didn't cave whenever he tried to get his way. And for that the girl had earned his respect and approval of her relationship with his best friend.

"Hey" he grunted, sliding onto an empty barstool.

"This is Kaya" she waved, the blonde offering him a fake grin before going back to her phone. "And this is Hara" The dark haired girl acknowledged him, her attention quickly snatched away by Tenya, who was talking a mild a minute about some gear he had recently gotten the funding for. Everyone else had gone back to their own conversations.

He was alone again. Go figure.

"How are you doing tonight?" Uraraka leaned towards him, careful to keep her voice quiet. He knew the meaning behind her words and the slow simmer of loneliness reappeared.

"I'm okay. Thanks for asking" he mumbled, Since they had faced off in the sports festival, Uraraka had also become one of the people he deemed worthy of his respect and trust. He had confided in her on the rare occasion they bumped into each other. He knew his secrets would be safe with her.

"I saw the news. That's rough"

"Yeah. I don't know where the fuck they got that story about her being pregnant. Such bullshit" he rolled his eyes and took the glass of wine she offered him from the bottle sitting in the middle of the table.

"Deku should be here soon" she commented and took a sip of the red liquid. "He hasn't left the house much recently and I'm shocked we could even convince him to come out tonight. He's been awful" she cringed. Normally, he would appreciate her honesty and willingness to tell him things. But the thought of his former friend and the things he had gone through created a foreign tugging in his chest.

He had gone to All Might's funeral. However, he hadn't stayed very long. He was terrible at comforting people. He had sat in the back row with his head down, hoping no one would see him and rope him into sitting closer. He had left halfway through Deku's speech. Seeing him choke on his own words, stumbling through it before tears had finally spilled down his cheeks. He could see the other man suffocating. He could see in his eyes just how much he was hurting. But he had places to be. So, he had gone without so much as a hello. And he had regretted it since.

"Hey!" his head snapped up at the familiar voice. His heart thudded against his ribcage. He looked the same. The same dusting of freckles, the same green mop of curls. The same scars running along his skin like cobwebs. He looked the exact same. Except for the dark shadows cast over his features and the droop to the corners of his mouth. He looked broken. He looked sad.

"Hey! I thought you got lost!" Kirishima grinned and pulled the smaller male into a hug.

"No. Not lost. Just some traffic" Midoriya blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

He fell silent after that, allowing Kirishima and Momo to take over. He only offered an answer or comment when he was prompted, and otherwise kept his head down. He didn't look at Bakugou once. He didn't even acknowledge that he was sitting in his vicinity.

Fucking rude.

"I'm going to the bar, anyone want anything?" Kaya spoke, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

"I'll go with you" Deku answered much to everyone's surprise.

"I could use a drink" he stood up, following behind the blonde.

"He still doesn't seem like himself" Kirishima huffed. The air hung thick around the group like fog. Each thinking about how happy Midoriya had once been to simply be alive. But now they were watching a shell of the person he used to be. It was unsettling.

"How dense are you fuckers?" the snarl in Bakugou's throat rumbled through his clenched teeth. All eyes were on him, something he definitely hadn't been planning on.

"It's been what? Seven months? And you expect him to just get over the death of the person that believed in him the most? We didn't believe in him that much. His own family didn't believe in him like All Might did. He proved all of us wrong for years. He exceeded All Might expectations every single time. And now he's gone. Do you know how shitty that feels? He wasn't just a fanboy anymore. Those two were closer than Deku and his own fucking father. So don't act so shocked that he's still moping" he spat, taking a swig from the wine glass. The moments after he finished his rant were tense, each member chewing on the facts he had just given them. He didn't know why he had felt the need to defend Midoriya's feelings. Maybe because he was going through the exact same thing on a smaller scale.

"Why's everyone look so sad for?" Kaya jostled back into her spot, a straw between her plump lips.

"Where's Midoriya?"

"Oh, he went off somewhere by himself. He just said he wanted some air. I was going to go with him but he said to come back here instead" she shrugged.

"He shouldn't be by himself right now" Bakugou's hand shot out to hold Uraraka in place. She shot a glance back at him, her eyebrow raised.

"Let me go talk to him."