"So you're returning to your house this weekend?"
"Yes, I have to prepare for a costume party I'm attending tomorrow"
Iida and Yaoyorozu frequently found themselves the last two people in class. Being the class representatives, the duo usually stayed behind to clean up while everyone else returned to the dorms.
"I wouldn't peg you as the type to go to costume parties, Iida…"
Iida answered with a small chuckle "I'm not, but it's Camie's cousin's party and according to her, her extended family has been dying to meet me."
Yaoyorozu gave her a friend a warm smile "I'm so happy that you two seem to have such a great relationship"
"Dating is quite the experience, especially when your significant other is as wonderful as Camie" Iida was known to gush about her around his classmates who found it sweet coming from such a professional and serious teen. Well, everyone except bakugou; who found it annoying. Even though he was the one who set the two up in the first place. "Maybe you should think of getting in the dating scene, Yaoyorozu…"
"Me? I'm afraid I haven't thought of dating anyone…"
"Really? You're quite beautiful, Yaoyorozu. I assume a lot of our peers have an attraction towards you."
Yaoyorozu let out a small laugh "I don't think having the attention of Kaminari and Mineta is something to proud of!"
"I was thinking more along the lines of Todoroki but…"
Iida had to actively fight against the smirk that was beginning to creep on his face when he witnessed his friend's hilarious reaction. She let out an odd choking sound before vehemently denying his suggestion. The truth is that Iida figured out his fellow class rep's crush on the fiery-ice user a long time ago, during their bout with Aizawa. Despite his serious personality, Iida learned how to read people from his idol- Tensei. He observed the longing looks Yaoyorozu threw at Todoroki's way and the a faint blush spread on her face whenever he mentioned him to her. The speedster was planning on waiting for the right time to get them together but those plans accelerated when Midoriya informed him that he believes that Todoroki has a crush on Yaomomo. This was gonna be easier than he thought, Todoroko was a tough shell to crack but now that he knew that Todoroki reciprocated Yaomomo's feelings he felt that the toughest parts of his plan were already solved.
"You know, I could arrange a date between the two of you. This may seem rather abrupt, but I am aware that both you and Todoroki have a mutual attraction towards each other. I am a good friend of his, and I would want nothing more than to know that he knows that someone cares about him on a deep level."
"Iida...that's nice...but I just wouldn't know how I could thank you for doing such a thing for me…"
"It's not just for you, it's for Todoroki as well. I'm telling you the truth when I say that he harbors a deep affection towards you!" Iida walked away, but not before giving her one last request "please, consider it!"
As he walked out the door Yaomomo yelled back a response "Alright, I'm accepting your offer! Thank you Iida!"
"Anything for my future brother in law!"
After he left, Yaomomo took a second to soak what her fellow class rep said in "WAIT, WHAT!?"
0000
"Are you really going to ask me again?"
"I'll keep asking you the same question until you say yes!" Midoriya flashed one of his trademark grins at his grim friend's direction.
"Don't you ever give up?"
"If a couple of shattered bones won't deter me from my goals what makes you think that your dour personality will?"
"Ugh, you have a point. You sure you aren't All Might's kid? With the way you never give up it seems…"
"Quit changing the subject! According to Iida, Yaomomo is free next Saturday. You really should try at least one date. Both me and Iida want to see you happy!"
Todoroki scoffed "Is Iida just doing all this because my sister is marrying his older brother?"
Midoriya frowned "Come one man, both Iida and I are doing this because you're our friend. We both want see you happy. We're the "Stain Squad", remember?"
"...Should we really be taking our encounter with Stain so lightly?"
Midoriya shrugged his shoulders "I dunno, anyways, are you up for a date with Yaomomo?"
"I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with the idea, Midoriya. I'm not the most social person…"
"Don't you think me and Iida planned for your hang ups? We wanna make it happen in the dorms' recreation room this Saturday. Everyone else is gonna be at home or doing other stuff during a warm Saturday evening!"
"Wow...you two are good planners. Does Yaoyorozu know the circumstances of our date?"
"Yeah, she helped pick our selection of beverages. She really likes tea. The point is that she knows about your shyness and doesn't care where your date takes place."
"That's a relief, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, Yaoyorozu is close to literal royalty. To be honest, I don't why she has a crush on someone like me…I'm just afraid that I'm going to disappoint her…"
Midoriya chuckled "You're really underestimating yourself. You sound like me before high school. You're an awesome person, Todoroki. I know it, Iida knows it, and Yaomomo definitely knows it. Come on, if someone like me is able to get the guts to ask Mina out than you most certainly could go on just one date with Yaomomo!"
Todoroki opened his mouth to respond to him but he realized that Midoriya was right. what's the worst that could happen in one date? The worst case scenario was that either he or Yaoyorozu finds the other uninteresting and opt not to pursue the romance any further. Both of his good friends are dedicating their time and effort to make sure that he was happy and here he is being to afraid to do anything.
With a soft sigh, Todoroki admitted defeat "Guess you're right. I should get over my fears of driving Yaoyorozu away and finally go on a date with her. Sorry for being so difficult…"
"It's no problem!"
"Just one more thing, Midoriya."
"Sure, anything"
"Please don't tell your girlfriend about my date next week, If Ashido finds out she is going to tell Hagakure and the both of them are going to spread rumors all over the school…"
"Yeah, that seems like something Mina would do...She's amazing. But you have my word that I won't blab about anything to her."
"Thank you, Midoriya. You're too kind."
0000
"Who could be ringing the door right now?"
"I dunno, wasn't expecting anyone. I'll get it Fuyumi."
Tensei Iida opened the and almost collapsed in laughter with the sight that greeted him. It was his younger brother, Iida only he wasn't wearing his usual semi-formal attire. No, the person standing in front of him was clad in a hilariously accurate recreation of Solid Snake's sneaking suit from Metal Gear Solid. His younger brother went all out with the details and even including faux ammo pouches and guns strapped over his body. The guy even wore Snake's trademark bandana and styled and dyed his hair to better resemble the character.
"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WEARING?!" Tensei asked between bouts of laughter. Fuyumi noticed the commotion and went to the door to make sure her fiance was safe and she became confused as well. "Tensei...is that you're brother…?"
It was at this point that Iida realized that their confusion was brought upon by his admittedly strange outfit and he explained himself. "My apologies to the both of you. I was about to embark to Camie's residence for a costume party. I figured that getting out early would be the best choice when I stumbled upon a pair of expensive shoes being delivered to the house. Turns out it was the pair of shoes that Tensei ordered online for his wedding. So took it upon myself to deliver them yo you two."
"Geez, had my own house for years and they're still messing up my mail. Sorry for inconveniencing bro, and apologize for laughing at your outfit. I completely forgot about the costume party you're going to today and the Snake cosplay threw me off. So, you know who your girlfriends is going as?"
"She informed me that she was dressing up as Samus Aran."
"Oh cool, a Smash Bros type thing? Thanks for taking it upon yourself to be my delivery boy."
"I hope you have a good time Iida."
"Thank you Miss Todoroki."
"Please don't call me that, it makes me feel old!"
Tensei chortled at her embarrassment "Face it Fuyumi, we're both getting old! I remember when I used to tease my little bro for being afraid of cooties and now he's in a long term relationship!" Tensei was more than a bit perturbed when Fuyumi's reaction to his humorous quip was a melancholic sigh.
"Is there something wrong?"
"It's just...it's just that you and Tenya have such a close relationship...it makes me feel guilty that Shouto never trusted me enough to grow close to me like you two."
"Miss Todoroki, you shouldn't blame yourself for your brother's secrecy and introvertedness. If it makes you feel any better, Todoroki speaks highly about you whenever we inquire about his family."
"R-Really?"
"Indeed, He applauds your decision to become a schoolteacher to help children in need. I could guess he never confides with you but please believe me when I tell you that he adores you dearly."
"Thank you Iida. Shouto truly is lucky to have friends like you."
"He better be, Midoriya and I spent so much time setting him up with Yaoyorozu!"
"What did you say?"
"Yo bro, isn't Yaoyorozu your fellow class rep? The one who's basically a female version of you? What are you, a matchmaker now?"
"Well normally I would be content in letting those two realize how much they adore each other naturally over time but it appears that they both are timorous messes. Both of them are too afraid of rejection to confess to one another. So we coerced the both of them on going on a date next Saturday. Midoriya is closer to Todoroki so he convinced him and I had the relatively easy job of of gaining Yaoyorozu's approval."
"Why would you do all this for my little brother Iida? Is it because I'm marrying your brother soon and you want to gain my approval?"
Iida guffawed heartily at her accusation "my apologies for the laughter Miss Todoroki but we've been planning in getting those two together for quite a long time. Todoroki and yaoyorozu are close friends of mine and if they are happy then...I guess I'm content. Oh goodness, look at the time! I'm sorry that I have to leave so abruptly but this little detour took longer than I expected. Have a good day you two!"
0000
Both Todoroki and Yaomomo were stunned at the sight of the dorms' recreation room, the sight of their date. The usual lovely hang out spot was now devoid of most sources of light, save for the trio of lit candles that were on a cloth covered table for two. It was as if a table from a five star restaurant was whisked away and put into the rec room. The two lovebirds sat on the surprisingly comfy chairs only to realize that they looked woefully under dressed in relation to the sophisticated decor around them. They assumed that it was a casual affair and dressed accordingly but they didn't took account on how wild their classmates were when in came to their plans.
"This is…not what I expected"
"I should have expected that those two goofballs would do something like this. They tend to go the extra…100 miles for stuff like this."
"I think it's cute that they're going all out for you."
"Well I suspect that Iida at least is doing this for you too. I mean, you are his fellow class rep."
Before Yaomomo could respond, Iida walked through the door wearing an almost carbon copy of the outfit he wore when the group rescued Bakugou, complete with the fake pencil mustache.
"Iida, what are you doing?"
Iida ignored his friend's question and proceeded to introduce himself. "Good evening sir and madam. I shall be serving you this evening." he handed the duo two menus and waited for them to answer.
Quickly combing through the oddly well crafted paper book Todoroki didn't recognize most of the exotic foodstuffs. He picked a familiar favorite "I'll have chilled soba, I guess"
"I'll get donburi, if that's okay with the chef. Wait a minute, who is cooking anyway?! Lunch Rush doesn't work here this late!"
"Ah, you needn't worry about our chef. He is highly skilled, trained by a fellow master of the culinary arts."
"Wait, is Midoriya cooking our food?" Todoroki threw an accusatory glance at the waiter.
"I can neither confirm or deny that question sir, it's a trade secret. Now that the both of you chose what you would like, I shall be going."
The two people sitting on the table couldn't believe what just transpired. Iida spoke in an oddly foreign accent and pretended that he didn't know the pair. Todoroki quickly realized that it was just Iida going into character. The class knew that he was a sort of a "method actor" ever since their first heroes vs. villains training. Yaomomo had some other questions though
"Is Midoriya a decent chef?"
"Oh yeah, he's pretty damn good. He actually loves cooking and fed us some of his dishes whenever we hung out in his place. He claims that his mom's an even better cook and considering how good he is, getting a taste of his mom's cooking is a personal goal of mine."
"Wow, now I'm actually anticipating our meal…"
After a couple of minutes of idle chatter, Iida came through the doors once again with a bevy of food on hand. Not only that, he also bought along a wide selection of tea for Yaomomo. She remembered Iida asking her what varieties she most enjoyed earlier this week but she never would have thought it was for her date.
"Please enjoy your meal" Iida walked through the exit once again, leaving the two to enjoy their meals.
They say good food lifts your spirits and allows you to open up, both Yaomomo and Todoroki would have to agree with that notion. The duo found themselves actually talking to one another and not giving awkward glances in the other's direction. Todoroki felt bold and decided to ask her the question that's been eating him up.
"So Yaoyorozu, why...do you have a crush on me? I don't think I'm that special…"
"Are you kidding me? I applaud your strength and determination in the face of adversity. You always know what to say and do when the right time calls for it!"
"Really? I actually feel the same way towards you, Yaomomo. You're the smartest person in our class, you even have Iida beat. You're intelligent, courteous, friendly, sociable, everything a recommended student should be and not some dour person like me"
"You really think that about yourself? If it makes you feel any better you really helped my self esteem during our battle against Mr. Aizawa. I was...in a bad place after my performance in the sports festival. I felt like I could never live up to everyone's expectations of me. My family is very influential and I always felt like if I wasn't perfect then I would be disappointing my entire family lineage. Those feelings only got worse once my parents got me recommended in UA. I was on a verge of a panic attack when we fought Mr. Aizawa. But...but your words gave the strength to fight again! I never did get a chance to thank you for that, Shouto."
"Wow...you really think that highly of me? I gotta say I'm flattered, Momo. Believe it or not, I felt the same way that you did. I guess we had similar pasts growing up amongst highly influential families. How does that saying go? Birds of a feather flock together?"
"I can't believe you felt that way towards yourself...Then again, you're not the most talkative fellow so I wouldn't really know that much about you."
"Okay, let me tell one thing about myself that I kept private. One of the reasons why I didn't ask you out earlier was because I thought my scar made me...undesirable. Midoriya and Iida told me that the scar me me look "cool" or "determined" but I felt that they were just trying to make me feel better. If you want...could you tell me what you think about it?
"I think that both Midoriya and Iida have the correct assumptions about your scar. And to be honest Todoroki, the scar is the least striking thing about your appearance…"
"Wait...what is that supposed to mean?"
Yaomomo couldn't help but laugh at her date's seemingly genuine outrage "Well, your hair is two completely different colours that are parted perfectly. And you also have heterochromia. It sort of make you look like a bad, self insert fanfiction character."
Todoroki crossed in arms in mock outrage "Fanfiction? Really? That's the lowest form of any writing!" he couldn't keep up the charade for much longer and soon burst into a fit of laughter with Yaoyorozu joining him.
The two were so caught up in the moment that they didn't notice Iida walk back into a room and hand them a piece of paper "Your bill, sir and madam"
Todoroki looked at the paper but instead of of finding an actual bill, he found a handwritten note from Midoriya "The only way you two could pay for this date is to go on a second one." and right under, he scribbled another message "P.S give us a five star yelp review pls"
Todoroki glanced towards Yaoyorozu "What do you say Momo, shall we pay Midoriya and Iida in full for this evening?"
"I would want nothing more than that!"