"ma, seriously?" katsuki asked as he saw his mother put down a table piece. "are you trying to make the l/n family feel totally worthless?"

"i want it to be nice." she replied. "and why aren't you dressed?"

"i'm going" he put his hands up in surrender and went to his room.

he wanted to look good for you but he didn't want you to think that he wanted to look good for you. it was a fine line. a very fine line.

"katsuki, they're here. come on down" his father yelled as the doorbell rang.

"alright! coming" he replied as he put on a red dress shirt.

ryosuke opened the door quite quickly and your family walked through the door with an assortment of baked desserts.

"hey, come on in." he said as he opened the door.

"come in, come in." masaru smiled.

"there goes the waistline" ryosuke chuckled when he saw the pies.

"i'm glad you could make it" the brunette said. "what's this?"

"it's homemade pie" your dad smiled as masaru took the dish out of his hands. "it's pecan and blueberry cheesecake. y/n also made a strawberry shortcake."

his mother walked into the doorway from the living room.

"welcome in!" she smiled and held out a hand for your mother to shake.

"hello mitsuki. how are you?" your mother shook her hand.

"we should've done this a long time ago. come on in" she said and walked toward the dining area.

your brother followed your father into the dining area and you were left alone with katsuki. you were wearing a nice floral patterned dress that fit you perfectly. he couldn't take his eyes off of you.

"hey" he said breaking the silence.

"hi"

there was a pause.

"you look nice" he said with a small hint of pink on his cheeks.

"i heard you and izuku making fun of my aunt in the library." you sighed. "and i don't want to speak to you. not now, not ever."

you turned around and reunited with your parents.

this was not how he wanted dinner to go.

"but what you're proposing would require a perpetual-motion machine, so it's not possible" he overheard the conversation you, your father, and his grandfather were having.

"well, if you had two opposite charged poles with a neutral conductor..." you started.

'perpetual motion'? there he was, dying inside, and they were talking about perpetual motion. and how did you know all about that stuff?

"come on, everybody. dinner's ready" he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his mothers voice.

"y/n? can i talk to you?" he tapped you on the shoulder.

you turned around.

"it was wrong what we said. i know it." he said.

"did you know it was wrong when you said it?" you asked.

"yeah. i wanted to punch him" a small smirk formed on his face but left quite quickly. "but we were in the library."

"so instead you just agreed with izuku and laughed."

"yeah."

"then that makes you a coward." you left the room and sat down next to your brother.

who called him a coward? no one. absolutely no one. no one had the guts to. except you.

he had to sit across from you for the entirety of dinner.

"i just want to say how wonderful it is to have you share a meal with us" his dad said with a smile. "may it be the first of many."

"we couldn't be happier" your dad replied. "we are just all so thrilled to be here."

there was a tension filled silence.

"y/n, you did a really nice job on your yard" his mother complimented.

"thanks" you smiled softly. "ryosuke was a big help"

he gave you a thumbs up.

"yeah i know." she laughed. "you got to tell me your secret. i can't get him to do a thing around here"

"mitsuki" masaru said softly.

"i was kidding" she smiled. "the neighbourhood is really coming to life and that new house is taking shape."

"which one?" her husband asked.

"you know, the one where they cut down that tree. it was blocking a lot of things."

you stopped eating.

katsuki wanted to say something. maybe how a lot of people liked that tree, but he didn't. he didn't want to go against his mother. it's not like he hasn't done it before but for y/n? a girl?

"some people thought that tree was the jewel of the neighbourhood" your father said softly.

"so, b/n. you're graduating soon right?" masaru asked to change the topic.

"yeah, thank god" he laughed.

"you don't like high school?" mitsuki questioned.

"it's alright. there's not much for me to do anymore. i have my hero licence already. i'm planning to open my own agency" he replied.

"ah, i see"

the more your brother talked about his hero work, the quieter his parents got. they tried to plaster on a smile on their faces, but underneath, they seemed a bit sad.

the rest of the evening was painless enough. though through it all, you didn't say a word to him. never even looked at him. until your family was about to leave.

you tapped him on the shoulder.

"i'm sorry i was so angry when we first came in. i think everybody had a good time" you said softly. "your parents were really nice to invite us. see you"

your apology made things worse for katsuki. he knew he wasn't forgiven. it was like he wasn't even important enough to hold a grudge against.

"i think they're a delightful family." masaru said as they started to clean the dining area. "their son was nothing like had expected."

"he was a very nice young man" ryosuke said while he put some plates into the sink.

"i didn't even know that he was in a hero course" mitsuki inputted.

as he laid in bed that night, he thought of how you called him a coward. but that didn't matter anymore. you were out of his life. or, more accurately, he was out of yours.

***

as you were getting dressed for the bakugo's dinner party, you found yourself staring at the painting your father had given you. you became furious all over again. katsuki had never been a friend to you, ever. he hadn't taken your side about the tree, he threw away your eggs, anf he made fun of you at your aunt's expense. what an asshole.

when your mother called that it was time to go,

"y/n! let's go, we're late!"

you went out into the hall with every intention of telling her that you weren't going to the bakugos. but your parents looked so happy and they'd gone through so much trouble over the pies and helping with your cake that you just couldn't.

but that didn't mean you had to be nice to katsuki.

"and i don't want to speak to you. not now, not ever"

it felt good to take charge. you felt strong, in control. you told katsuki how you felt, what you thought, and you were extremely determined to not talk to him for the rest of the evening.

but at dinner, it struck you that you were sharing a meal with a group of strangers. you'd lived across the street from the bakugos for years, but with the exception of ryosuke, you didn't know those people at all.

mrs. bakugo was a nice woman. she looked really young and her skin was glowing. but it seemed like there was something she was hiding underneath.

by the end of the evening, all you felt was detached, neutral. no fireworks, no leftover anger, no flutters, nothing.

"see you"

you went to bed that night feeling peaceful. you were grateful that you had the family you had. most importantly, it felt good to no longer care about katsuki bakugo.