This Means So Much To Me

this means so much to me

your voice tended to get lost in groups sometimes.

your friends were quite... loud, at times. rambunctious. it was difficult to be heard whenever you wanted to say something. you didn't blame them, not really. they were so energetic all the time that it was only inevitable that someone like you—soft-spoken and significantly quieter than them—would get drowned out in the face of their fast-paced enthusiasm.

to their credit, they didn't exclude you intentionally. they did remember your presence and they often did their best to get you to contribute to conversations. but, well, they didn't always.

not that you were particularly incensed about it. you were new to the group anyways, it was only natural that they would forget you were there from time to time.

overall, though, you thought yourself lucky to be able to settle in so easily with their friend group. they were very accommodating and nice—you couldn't recall a single moment where they made you feel like an imposter. they'd adopted you into their lives like you were a stray cat on the streets and you couldn't find it in yourself to be ungrateful.

currently, you were sitting in the apartment of ashido mina, having been invited to one of her get togethers for some of her classmates from her high school days. you were familiar with most—if not all—of them by now and had been warmly welcomed into her home to catch up with their exciting lives.

you sat quietly on the fuzzy pink ottoman ashido had and sipped at a drink she'd made for you that bubbled down your throat. around you, multiple conversations were occurring as people had sectioned off into little circles for the time being. you were partially included in one of the circles closest to you and listened on as kaminari denki chatted with a few others about one of the more recent missions he'd done.

"yeah, i didn't realize the villain had smashed my shooter until it was too late!" he sighed dramatically and shook his head. "i'd fully brought it up to nail him in the face, too! imagine my surprise when it didn't shoot out any of my disks! i was almost outta charge at that point, i was so desperate..."

"bummer, man." sero hanta grinned in that familiar way of his. "aren't you supposed to be a pro? how you get caught slacking like that, dude?"

"i don't know!!" kaminari almost wailed. "i almost got squashed by his quirk but lucky for me, ei was there—"

"i'd always take a hit for you, man!" kirishima eijirou said as he clapped his friend on the shoulder with a smile. "did you send your shooter to hatsume?"

"yeah, i dropped by her shop yesterday." kaminari then pouted slightly. "she almost beat me up for it. i told her i was sorry a million times!"

"oh!" you perked up slightly and opened your mouth to add in your own story. "that reminds me of when i—" but your voice got drowned out when kaminari started talking loudly about hatsume always messing with him, and you found yourself clamping your lips shut to avoid talking over him or getting overpowered.

you instead resigned yourself to taking another sip of your drink. and that was when you suddenly heard a low grunt to your right.

lounging on the loveseat ashido owned was bakugou katsuki, glass in hand as he stared at some random point to his left. he looked like he didn't want to be here—like he didn't care—but you knew it was all just for show. he tended, like you, to sit to the side and simply watch to the people around him. it sometimes gave you an odd sense of camaraderie with the man, even if you'd never had a proper conversation with him before.

his ruby eyes swiveled in your direction when you looked at him and he raised a singular pale eyebrow at you. "you were sayin'?" he said in a rough voice. "m'listenin'."

you stared at him like you were a goldfish—eyes wide and mouth agape—then smiled lightly and scooted closer so you could continue your story.

and you learned that bakugou katsuki paid attention to those around him. he paid attention, and he listened.

because he cared.

he picked up on little things that most people wouldn't, his sharp eyes quick to analyze and assess. he wasn't particularly fond of being the focus of a conversation and rarely put himself in that position. he did add his two cents when people expected him to—when they looked at him for his input on a certain thing or when they teased him to get him to say something, anything. but he much preferred to be on the outside looking in. after all, it was quiet there.

he was tuned—even if it didn't seem like it—to his friends' emotions. he was the foundation that they could stand on, the glue that kept them together. he wasn't good with words, but he was good at sitting and listening. and contrary to what others believed, he didn't mind it, either.

he occasionally gave solid advice, too. advice you never knew you needed to hear.

"don't be afraid t'speak up," he grunted at you one day when it was just the two of you. "your words matter." you matter, went unsaid.

you used to think he would get annoyed easily at having to listen to people ramble all the time. but he didn't—not when it was someone he trusted, someone he was close to. it was just another thing you hadn't expected from loud, explosive bakugou katsuki. another thing you kept note of and stored away in a little box to keep.

and as you chatted with him happily, watching him listen to you attentively as though every word you said was important, you couldn't help but to smile at him warmly.