The Tinker

Chapter 101 - Happy Endings

A drawing of the epilogue is available on my Instagram or Tumblr @pollypenname.

That was everything.

After only an hour or two, all of Y/N's belongings were packed into giant cardboard boxes. Thank god it was Katsuki helping her– he had to be one of the most efficient packers in the world. His no-nonsense approach and need for organization meant that each box was as full as it could be without breaking. In fact, there were only 5 of them, stacked neatly in her kitchen.

All that was left was her mattress that was now leaned up against the wall.

Y/N stared at her loft, which now felt bigger than it ever had. Her emotional attachment to the place was nearly nonexistent; she'd only lived there for a month or two before the incident with All For One. It was too small anyways.

"I... thought I had more shit than that."

Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the pile with her. "You did have a lot of shit, I just packed it well."

"You ever played Tetris?" Y/N quipped with a grin.

"Of course I've played Tetris. Everybody's played Tetris, dumbass."

"Bet you're good at it."

"I'm good at everything." Y/N didn't seem to hear him. She sat down on her knees and continued to stare at the boxes with an expression Katsuki couldn't quite read. He nudged her with his knee. "You alright?"

"Dunno. I think so." She ran a hand through her hair. "I kind of thought it'd be harder to leave."

Katsuki joined her on the floor, leaning against his knees with his elbows. "Whaddya mean?"

"I mean that this feels... I dunno, too easy?" She cocked her head to the side as if she was confused at her own words. "Like... I'm gonna miss my family, of course, but I think that's it. Is that wrong?"

There were a few beats of silence before Bakugou responded. Y/N turned to look at him, eagerly awaiting his answer.

"It's not wrong." He paused again. "Like you said, you'll miss your family, but... I dunno. You've got a lot of people waiting for you in Japan. A job... friends... an apartment..."

"A hero boyfriend," Y/N teased, elbowing him.

The corner of his mouth turned up a bit. "The fucking best hero boyfriend. So... it's fine if you're... not sad. I think it's more important that you're excited."

Y/N raised her eyebrows at him.

"What?" He snapped.

"That was very profound. Bravo."

He climbed to his feet and rolled his eyes. "God, you're the worst." He reached down to help her up.

Once they were both standing, his hands traced down her arms to her hands, slow and calculated. The action was surprisingly gentle– Y/N looked at him curiously, but he was only looking at where their hands met.

For a while he stood there, quiet, and Y/N let him. His fingers danced against hers and he seemed to just be... taking it in; feeling her hands, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. His eyes flickered to hers for only a second before they fell again. "Remember that day at the pool?"

That was a bit unexpected.

"Last year? At UA?"

Bakugou nodded. His eyes stayed on their hands as he spoke. "I thought you were going to kiss me. On top of that building, I was gonna throw your sorry ass into the water, you leaned in for like a second and I thought you were going to kiss me."