"Eh, Germany!?"

"Ahhh, congrats! That's amazing!"

"So bourgeois!"

"Can we come visit you while you're there, Yaomomo?"

He first hears about it in whispers among the 1-A girls at their graduation party. Yaoyorozu's parents were gracious enough to host their entire class to celebrate, now that they're all on the cusp of becoming pro-heroes.

Apparently that's not the case for one of them. Apparently this party was also a going-away party, of sorts.

"Yaoyorozu, you're…studying abroad?"

He asks her after the party ends. He stays late to help clean up—but also because this is all a bit unexpected and a little more upsetting and he still doesn't know how to feel about it.

...Maybe he's just a bit hurt he's only hearing about this now. Hadn't the last three years proven they were closer than that? Why hadn't she mentioned it before?

She smiles back at him nervously. "Yeah."

"Why?" He didn't mean to sound rude, but she looks a bit taken aback.

"Mother and Father both did when they graduated high school," she says, looking at him curiously. "They thought it would be a good idea that I do the same. I've never lived in another country before."

He isn't sure how to respond.

"I see."

She chuckles. "Maybe you should consider it too, Todoroki."

His heart leaps in his chest but he manages to keep his voice even. "Going to Germany with you?"

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, face flushed. "No no—I meant living abroad in another country."

"Oh." That makes a lot more sense but he has to swallow his disappointment.

She smiles at him. "I think you'd be well-suited for living abroad. You're very good at adapting to your circumstances."

"…Thanks."

She's right in that aspect. As far as hero work goes, he's always been quick to alter his strategies to fit the situation at hand. It's something he knows well.

He doesn't know how well he'll adapt to not having her presence around anymore, though. It's not something he wants to think about.

"I'm really happy for you."

He says it like he means it. Tries to, anyway.

"Thanks, Todoroki."

There's a strange sadness in the way her eyebrows curve and her eyes look away from his. She's probably nervous. But she must also be excited to be going somewhere new; somewhere so far, far away...

He's happy for her. Really.

Really.

"How long are you planning to stay out there?"

She sighs.

"At least the three years it'll take me to get a degree. Beyond that…"

She shrugs.

"Who knows?"

He offered to drive them all to the airport. It was the chivalrous thing to do, and given that Iida is such a stickler for traffic laws when he's the one driving, Shouto figured they'd get there faster if he volunteered.

Yaoyorozu had seemed surprised when he offered them all a ride.

"You really don't need to do that, Todoroki, " she had said, face flushed, hands waving incessantly in front of her. "It's out of the way and I don't want to trouble you."

"I want to," he had responded plainly. Please.

Part of him wishes he had picked up Yaoyorozu first. To have that short bit of time in the car with her—just the two of them. But logically it doesn't make sense—she lives the furthest away from him, and closest to the airport.

So instead he's picking up Jirou first, and then Iida.

Jirou gets in the backseat passenger side when he arrives. He debates whether to tell her he's not a chauffeur, but supposes it's fine since it leaves the front seat open for someone else. Hopefully not Iida.

She yawns. He can't blame her. It's an ungodly hour of the morning and seeing Yaoyorozu off has proven to be a true sacrifice of sleep.

It's worth the sacrifice, though. Probably.

He doesn't say anything as they continue on to Iida's house. Iida, who had insisted on coming—fulfilling his duty as a Class President—or something along the lines of that.

"Y'know, I really thought you'd have said something by now, Half and Half."

Jirou breaks the silence, and he glances at her in the rear-view mirror. She's looking out the window, arms crossed and earphone jacks pressed up against the glass.

"What do you mean?"

The next time he glances up she's looking back at him in the mirror with narrowed eyes. They look slightly red and swollen. He doesn't comment on it but imagines she can't be handling Yaoyorozu's departure well, either.

Jirou sighs and returns her attention to the window.

"You really are oblivious, huh?"

They keep in contact after graduation. Yaoyorozu ends up alongside him at Endeavor's agency. And after partnering up on a variety of missions, and reminiscing on all their time spent together in high school—the late night talks and comfortable silences, study nights and tea breaks—he finally asks her to be his girlfriend.

She says yes.

.

.

.

That was how he thought things would play out. But now they're here at the airport terminal and she's about to leave.

He thinks back on Midoriya's words. The boy had called him the night before, his voice laced with concern.

"Are you…really okay with this, Todoroki?"

His heart feels too heavy for him to stand so he's been lying on his bed for...who knows how long at this point. His friend's voice sounds so earnest, and he is tired, so tired, yet somehow he finds the energy to put up a front.

"I'm fine." He says flatly.

Midoriya's not convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he breathes, finding it hard to muster the will to say anything further. There's silence on the other end.

"Ok, if you say so," Midoriya's voice responds uncertainly. He sounds like he's muttering something on the other end. Shouto can't tell if he's talking to himself or not, but he catches the last line because the boy states it loud and clear.

"Regret…is the worst feeling in the world."

She gives Iida a respectful bow, Jirou a tight hug, and finally stands in front of him, expectantly. Her eyes look a little misty, but he's not arrogant enough to assume it's directed solely at him.

He opens his mouth to say something, but words don't come out. There are a lot of things he could say right now, and none of them seem appropriate for the moment. These are words that should have been said weeks, months, even years ago.

Now, it's too late. Now, he thinks, they're better left unsaid.

"I'm…really going to miss having you around, you know."

"What am I going to do without you?"

"I need you…"

...No, that's not true. Need is a strong word. He wants her, but he's not about to let his own selfish desires get in the way of her plans.

"Do your best out there, Yaoyorozu."

He stands there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets and puts on his best half-smile, willing his body to stop trembling. He wants the weight of emotions coursing through him to just be gone. It is soul-crushing and he isn't sure how much longer he can keep up this calm facade.

"Thanks, Todoroki."

There's a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

A wistful glance into his eyes.

He chalks it up to her nervousness at the journey she's about to embark on.

But then again—

Why do her eyes linger on his as the intercom calling her to board sounds overhead?

...Why did she save her last good-bye for him?

One last smile as she turns around and starts walking towards the plane that will take her away from them all.

He knows he's being selfish by wanting what he does. For a moment, that desire threatens to make itself known.

"Don't go," he blurts out.

She stops. Her head whips around, ponytail bouncing, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What?"

Walking the three steps separating them, he throws his arms around the girl and she stiffens at the sudden contact.

"I want you here," he whispers into her ear. Her breath feels hot on the back of his neck.

"Todoroki, I—"

He says three more words.

He hears her breath hitch, and only then does her posture relax into his; arms molding into his back as if they belonged there. He breathes in the distinct scent of peach blossoms and relaxes into her arms as well.

He feels her smile on his skin as she whispers back.

"I love you, too."

That's not what happens.

He watches as she walks away, her luggage trailing behind her. Further, further, until he can barely see the familiar spikes of her ponytail. He keeps hoping she'll turn around to steal one more glance at him. To confirm that everything he's feeling right now and all that he's felt over the last three years isn't just in his own mind and heart.

.

.

.

.

.

.

She doesn't.

"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so." ~David Grayson

A/N: Vaguely drawn from my own HS experiences. There was obvious mutual attraction between a pair of my friends and one of them unexpectedly decided to study abroad. As a high schooler, this seemed like the end of the world. In reality, that's just how life works. People learn to adapt and move on.

As with all shippy one-shots I write, I look back on this and feel like it's overly dramatic. However, I'm aware that my high school self dramatized everything so maybe this isn't so far off.