"NO, NOT THERE, DUNCE FACE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!?" Bakugou's booming voice could have even rivaled Present Mic's at this moment.
"Okay, okay! I'm trying, man! You need to take a chill pill…" Kaminari mumbled the last statement, but Bakugou had still heard him. He growled at the electric boy, causing him to flinch and work faster.
His other classmates as well as several students from the Support Course had sheepish smiles with large sweat drops on their temples. They had now all moved into the third-year dorms and it was the day before the first day of classes.
It was also the day that Ayano would finally return to U.A.
Currently, they were setting up decorations in the lounge in preparation for her 'Welcome back!' party.
"To think that this is the same guy from a year ago…" Sero remarked as he put up another streamer.
Mina nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Last year he didn't even think about throwing a celebration and going on a last date with Aya-chan. Now he's basically a slave driver!"
"It's a good thing we all like Sasaki, too. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd help him with that attitude of his!" Fujiyoshi muttered.
Midoriya laughed awkwardly. "I'm sure Kacchan is just nervous about Aya-chan coming back. He wants everything to be perfect for her."
"HEY! IF YOU'VE GOT TIME TO RUN YOUR MOUTHS, THEN YOU'VE GOT TIME TO SET UP!" Bakugou interrupted their conversation, causing several of his classmates to groan. Nonetheless, they relented to his demands, continuing to set up for the party.
When they had finished, Bakugou made the rounds to inspect every nook and cranny. He was in the middle of yelling at Kirishima to reorganize something insignificant when he suddenly froze.
He heard the sound of a car door slamming shut.
She's here.
"EVERYBODY INTO POSITION! NOW!" He yelled as everyone scrambled to their place. The lounge became dead silent, everyone tensing and holding their breaths as they heard the doorknob turn.
As Ayano walked in, everyone shouted for joy and unloaded their party poppers, launching confetti into the air.
Bakugou was going to shout with the rest of them but once again, he was frozen. As soon as he saw her, his breath left him and it was as if his vision was blurred with Ayano being the only person in focus.
Just like when she left, she returned with only a simple duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Her style was the same as it had always been. Comfort and practicality over anything else. On her right wrist was his gift in as good of a condition as when he first gave it to her. Her hair was now long enough to end just at the middle of her shoulder blades.
As everyone blew confetti everywhere, Ayano gently smiled and bowed her head in appreciation.
God, did he miss that smile.
As everyone crowded around her, Ayano relayed her gratitude while setting down her bag. Noticing that a certain someone was not among the crowd, she looked up to find him. The second she saw him across the room, she froze. Everyone around her seemed to fade into the background, Bakugou being the only one in focus.
He looked largely the same as a year ago, although he seemed to be a bit more built. Surely, his time working under Endeavor required him to strengthen his body. Had he grown a little taller? It was hard to tell from this distance, but she most certainly saw his intense gaze.
God, did she miss those piercing eyes.
They bore right into her, sending chills down her spine. Seeing that fierce look through videos was one thing, but experiencing it in person was another thing entirely.
They continued to stare at each other, unmoving. Noticing this, their classmates snickered and giggled. A group went behind each of them and abruptly pushed them towards each other. "Come on, you lovebirds! You just gonna stand around looking at each other all day?"
Bakugou was about to shout in protest when him and Ayano forcefully bumped into each other. He looked down at her as she looked up at him. Neither of them knew what to say, just letting their bodies move on instinct.
He bent down as she stretched up, their lips sealing together as wolf whistles and cat calls came from their classmates around them.
Rather than ignoring them, it was as if the couple hadn't even heard them.
As the two of them separated, they both released a shaky sigh. Even though the kiss wasn't as passionate as they've had before, it seemed to hold much more impact, taking their breath away.
Before they got too excited, more party poppers were used around them, releasing a flurry of confetti. Their classmates crowded them, passing around plates of food and eagerly catching up with Ayano.
Some asked her about the wonders of I-Island and she obliged while others took the chance to tease Bakugou by telling her of his 'lovesick days.' Those people were promptly met with hard hits to the head from the boy.
Ayano regaled them of her stories on I-Island, telling them of who she worked with and the kinds of facilities there. Although Bakugou would have much rather had her all to himself, he couldn't deny how happy he was seeing Ayano's enthusiasm as she recalled her time on I-Island.
The light that shone in her eyes was absolutely blinding.
As the night continued, the party died down and everyone returned to their own rooms. Ayano found that the living arrangements were mostly the same from their first year with her being on the fourth floor with Uraraka, Mina, Shouji, Kirishima, and Bakugou. Just as it was back then, the third-year dorms were split with the girls on one side of the floor and the boys on the other.
Ayano and Bakugou walked hand in hand toward her new room. As she opened the door, she was met with a rather familiar sight. Before she had arrived, her belongings were already shipped from her home in large boxes. The furniture was the same as from a year ago.
Before she could even really observe the state of her room, Bakugou had instantly dropped her bag on the floor and shut the door behind him. He roughly pulled her towards him, her back hitting his chest as his arms wrapped tightly around her.
He squeezed her closer as his head dropped to have his forehead lay on her shoulder. "Finally…" He whispered. Ayano closed her eyes and smiled, savoring the moment as she leant back into his warmth.
"I missed you…" They both whispered in unison.
Ayano turned around to face him and their lips met in an unrestrained kiss with nobody watching. Bakugou pulled her flush against him as one arm wrapped around her waist and the other threaded through her long hair.
"I heard…you became…a part of…the new…Big Three…" Ayano spoke between kisses as her arms wove around his neck, her hands tugging at the hair on the back of his head.
"I…told you…I would…" Bakugou responded, causing the girl to smile wider into their kisses.
Pulling away to catch their breath, their foreheads leant against each other. "I heard about a lot of the stuff you did over there too." Bakugou said, smiling at her with pride.
She smirked at him. "From my mother or from your own research?" She questioned.
"Both." He answered. Ayano pulled away from him, much to his disappointment, but that didn't last for long as she took his hand to drag him into the room so that she could begin unpacking her things.
Wordlessly, he helped her unbox her tools. "I saw the news articles about your achievements and the competitions that you won. Your mom also came over that one time after they had visited you so she could give me the package that you left for me."
He paused. "I…thanks for that…the costume, I mean. It's been helpful…What are you doing?" He asked as he looked up at her, his train of thought being interrupted.
Ayano stared back at him with a pair of scissors in hand, ready to cut her hair. "I promised you that I would not cut my hair until I return. I have returned, so now I am cutting my hair." She explained in her regular impassive tone.
Bakugou chuckled. "You really waste no time with these things, huh?" It was just like her to do something like this. Comfort and practicality over anything else, right?
"Give me those." He demanded as he swiped the scissors from her. "I know you're just going to chop everything off without a second thought, so I'll do it."
Ayano turned around without question, but she didn't waste the opportunity to tease him a little. "Since when did you become a hair stylist? What, did you learn this when you interned with Best Jeanist? I do remember that wonderful hairstyle you came back with."
"We don't talk about that." The blond abruptly ended the conversation, playfully tugging at her hair in warning. The girl chuckled, deciding to spare him this one time. "Was the long hair really that annoying?" He asked.
"You have no idea…" She remarked with a sigh. "Your gift certainly helped though." She said as she raised her right wrist to show him the reddish-orange cloth. Bakugou simply smiled to himself, as he started to cut her hair.
They continued in silence with Bakugou snipping away and Ayano browsing through her phone. The silence was broken when she began to hum in thought. "…217 times, huh? That is quite a lot…" Bakugou raised a brow in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"It's how many times you listened to that voicemail I left you."
The comment made Bakugou's hand slip, causing him to accidentally slice off a large chunk of her hair. Ayano turned her head to look at him, her hand coming up to feel her now very uneven hair. "Well now, who's the one chopping off who's hair?" She laughed.
Bakugou stumbled back, the back of his hand shooting up to cover the large blush emerging on his cheeks. "Y-You…! How do you…!"
"I am the one who rigged your phone, remember?" She answered before he could even finish the question. She took the scissors from him, finishing the job because Bakugou clearly no longer could. "I could not receive any outside information to my phone because of the I-Island security measures, but now that I am back in Japan, I can see all the missed calls and everything that was sent to my phone while I was away."
Ayano cut her hair quickly while explaining, wasting no movements as she returned it to its original style. "So, you really did miss me then." She teased him as she set the scissors down.
Bakugou's blush grew as she walked towards him with that smirk of hers. "I...Of course I did…" He muttered. "And you didn't?" He accused her, trying to make this not so one-sided.
Her smirk didn't falter. "I never said that." She replied, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck to lean in for a kiss. Bakugou didn't hesitate to meet her.
"If anything, I have probably watched all those videos of you working for Endeavor even more than the amount of times you have listened to that voicemail. I am just glad that my parting message helped." She smiled at him.
"It did, but it was no replacement for you." Bakugou declared with absolute confidence. They smiled at each other as they leaned in for another kiss.
Suddenly, Bakugou pulled away, remembering something. "You didn't keep your other promise." He accused. At the tilt of Ayano's head, he elaborated. "In a lot of those articles and videos about you, there was this stupid bean pole with you."
The girl thought for a moment before it clicked in her head. "Ah, you mean Raymond." Bakugou scowled at that. "You even know his name?" His voice was clearly laced with disgust. The thought of another man trying to get close to Ayano sickened him.
"He was one of my classmates. We were often paired together for group projects and entered many of the same competitions." She blinked. "You're not really jealous about that, are you? That is hardly something within my control."
"So long as he knew his place." Bakugou growled. Ayano just shook her head. "You really are an idiot, BaKatsuki."
"Shut up." He said without any malice, pulling her in for another deep kiss. One of many that they would have that night.