"Ever seen beauty and the beast?"

Yenna sat on her bedroom floor in a pool of fabric. The dress her mother had concocted took up a good amount of space around her. Her hands sat folded on her lap almost hidden by the long yellow sleeves that flared at the end, swallowing her fingers in frills.

"Don't." She leered at the messy haired boy who sat across from her in a dark sweatsuit and the jeans jacket she had met him in. "My mom worked hard on this dress. I won't let you make fun of it."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Hitoshi assured. His dark eyes narrowed with his smirk as he cleared his throat behind his fist to hide a chuckle. Yenna narrowed her eyes in return.

The day of his visit had finally arrived and The curly haired girl couldn't have felt happier if she'd tried. It'd taken a few weeks to come but the extra time had just given her the opportunity to develop an unexpected surprise.

It had also given her mother the opportunity to over-develop her dress.

Hitoshi smirked knowingly, aware that the embarrassed girl most likely adored the impossible dress. It was her favorite color, and she never did seem happy dressing like a modern girl. She'd missed her era.

He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees, abruptly giving the girl in the yellow parachute his undivided attention.

"Alright, show me what you've got." He prompted, thinking of her previous texts.

-I've got a surprise for you! You'll be impressed.

Yenna nodded sternly, hopping up to turn out the light in her room before returning to her seat and crossing her legs beneath her dress. She shut her eyes, rendering herself unable to see the boy in her room immediately grow uncomfortable. She inhaled deeply, letting herself ignore her surroundings and focused on the distinct feeling of her quirk.

Shinso watched her quietly, not exactly sure what was happening. He could assume however, from the furrow of her brow that concentration was an obvious factor. Sitting alone in the dark with a girl was a first for him, but he didn't comment. He sat quietly as she frowned to herself, taking deep breaths.

For a moment she looked frustrated.

Then sad after a while...

Then suddenly, as if she had an epiphany, her eyebrows rose.

"Ok!" She opened her eyes and a very quiet Hitoshi quirked a brow. She smiled, only illuminated by the flowing lava lamp in the corner. "So I need you to think the most inappropriate thought you can."

"What? No. Why?" He rejected, caught off guard. What was she asking, sitting alone in her dark room with him

"I want you to watch my reaction; just do it for a sec."

"You got better at pretending you can't hear?" He assumed.

"No, man. Just do it!" She pushed with an almost giddy impatience.

"Whatever." He sighed to himself. He wasn't one to combat anyone for long on things that weren't really substantial. He sat for a moment looking down and then seemed to stumble on his own thoughts.

Yenna took that as a que and closed her eyes again with a giggle. "Are you doing it?." She asked after moment.

"Sure…" he admitted, embarrassed.

"No, really. Are you?"

"Yes Yenna. I am. You know I am."

An ear to ear smile stretched across her face as she opened her eyes. Success danced in them. "No! I don't. I can't hear you." She beamed.

Shinzo frowned, not understanding...until his eyebrows rose and he blinked in surprise. He looked obviously impressed, minus the deep red blush that had etched its way across his face. Yenna giggled, pondering at what inappropriate thing he could've possibly been imagining.

"Really? You can't hear my thoughts?"

She smiled and nodded in confirmation.

"That means you did it? You turned off your quirk!" He flipped his hands over, palms up in a subtle excitement. It was small, but it was more than she'd ever seen him show.

The yellowed girl shook her head however. "Not exactly, I can still hear my mother and neighbors...and if I took off My headphones, everyone else's thoughts would probably pour in and break my concentration. I just know how to quiet one person so far. It's not much but…"

"No, that's amazing." He interjected. "Don't sell yourself short. Most people go through their lives without furthering their quirk beyond its original manifestation unless they want to be a pro. Control is usually gotten through support items and school. You're doing this on your own with no teaching and an item that can't even fully help you. You're amazing, Yenna."

She felt her face heat and resisted the urge to hide it in her hands. She was proud of her accomplishment, and it felt good to hear him justify it. Her family had been her only support for so long and she was grateful...but they were her family. She knew they'd be proud regardless. Shinso was too much of an honest boy to dish out undeserved praise, even if it did seem he had a soft spot for her. Her throat felt tight as she smiled. "Thanks."

He smirked. "How did you do it? Did you have to focus on other people's thoughts to ignore mine?"

"No, actually I only focused on yours….I don't exactly know how to describe it but, it feels like I'm connected to everyone near me. Like there's a string tying us together. One for you, one for my mom...one for anyone I can hear. When I'm in a crowd without my headphones, it feels like I'm tangled up in them all and it's too much." Yenna fiddled with a loose strand on the hem of her skirt. "With my headphones, there are less strings and if I focus on one, I can kind of cut it."

"Cut it?" Hitoshi leaned forward, interested but skeptical. "You can sever the tie? Is it permanent?"

"No, I tried it with my mom first. As soon as I did, I panicked and found our link again as soon as I looked for it. It kind of reminds me of the stings-and-cup telephones kids play with. I can pick it up and put it down as I please. Only one at a time so far."

"So your quirk is more than just hearing thoughts. It feels like an individual connection to each person around you?"

She nodded. "Like I'm a telephone pole, connected to everyone's house."

Hitoshi furrowed over his thoughts. "The way you say it feels: connections and telephones…those go two ways."

"Two ways?"

"With a cup and string phone, you can hear me...but in that case I would also be able to hear you. So, either what you're feeling is different, or your quirk may be more than a mind reading ability."

"More?...like an actual telephone-... telepathy!" Her eyes widened, but just a fraction. She wouldn't get her hopes up.

"It's a possibility." He nodded, leaning back on his hands.

Yenna nodded; never had she considered that her quirk might be more than it appeared. It wasn't unheard of with young people. In honesty, the initial quirk diagnosis is in most part, a prediction. An educated guess. A fire breathing quirk, once developed further could reveal to actually be a full dragonization quirk.

"Okay, I'm going to reconnect you." She announced, folding her hands again shutting her eyes.

"Ah! W-wait a second." He held a hand up, a harsh red bursting across his face. "The...the thought popped up again. Just spare me this time, okay?"

Yenna blinked and then giggled. She felt a sharp curiosity and it was an amazingly foreign feeling. She'd never wanted to know what someone was thinking before. She relished it. "Alright. I don't mind."

He sighed, feeling inconvenienced with himself. "Sorry. I wouldn't mind so much if I hadn't been in a weird headspace all day."

The giddy smirk slid from Yenna's full lips. She hadn't even noticed there was something bothering him. Were there signs? Would she have noticed if she weren't so caught up in her own development? "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"It's nothing major. Honestly, seeing you today makes me feel a little better." Was his reply.

She should've been bashful, but she instead found herself immediately frustrated. Yenna frowned. Dealing with a second reaction for the first time. He was being evasive...right? He didn't want to talk about what he was dealing with. She bit her lip, her brows knitted together. The feeling of dissatisfaction was abrupt and unexpected. Usually she would be able to know regardless of how he answered, but with his thoughts severed from her, she sat in her concern, unable to address his problem directly. Did people feel this often? It was intense and new for her.

She had the power to change it but he'd specifically asked her not to listen...For the first time, in her life, the thought of selfishly using her quirk for her own gain crossed her mind.

She looked her friend directly in his eye, at a loss of what to say. It felt so foreign. She wanted to apologize for having the urge to invade his privacy. She'd wanted the ability to filter what she could hear for other people's sake. All her life she'd wanted to be able to choose to leave others to their thoughts...and now, suddenly, it was feeling like a sacrifice.

Shinzo sat, watching her suddenly grow upset. Was it what he'd said? Was she uncomfortable in the dark? "Yen, if-"

"Please tell me." She looked down to her hands.

"What?"

"Please tell me what's bothering you. I didn't mind not knowing the inappropriate thing, but there's something upsetting you...it's different. I've never been with someone and not knew what was happening...I guess I didn't think I'd mind like this. I never imagined that I might hate not knowing. I actually just thought about reading your thoughts anyway." She buried her face in her sleeves. Saying it aloud cemented a feeling of shame. It wasn't an honest urge to have. She felt sneaky. "I shouldn't even ask you to tell me. You have the right not to tell me. I always say people have the right to their privacy, but now I don't know how to react to it. I'm sorry." Her voice shrank.

Her friend chuckled. Yenna spread her fingers to peek at him questioningly.

"What a wholesome reaction." He teased, shaking his head. "I really do worry sometimes that you're going to get taken advantage of."

Yenna pushed her hands into her frilled dress with an embarrassed huff. She felt guilty and he wasn't even talking it seriously. Her watery eyes narrowed at him, displeased.

His own eyes widened in return. "Oh shit you're crying." He spoke in surprise, rising to his feet. He sat again, directly in front of the frilled girl, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't think the feeling would be so new that he'd have to walk her through it. He sat closely, addressing her earnestly. "Ok listen, what you're feeling, the urge to use your power to make your life easier is normal. Everyone has felt it. You've just never dealt with it because your quirk has always been active. What matters is what you do, not how you feel."

She looked at him doubtfully. "Do you have the urge?"

"Of course." He assured with a shrug. She looked surprised Before sighing.

She hadn't disappointed him and that was a relief.

"Have you done it?"

"Ah." His eyes shifted to the side.

"You have!" Yenna gasped, surprised.

" A few times. Nothing major...I didn't commit any crimes or anything." he admitted.

She giggled, looking at him suspiciously. The knowledge that they shared the same ideals gave them something in common, but the fact that he was occasionally selfish appealed to her for some reason. Maybe it made him seem more human and less like the role model she'd subconsciously created.

"Why'd you do it? The sports festival?" She guessed.

"No...well, yes and no. I did what I needed to do during the festival. I don't regret my actions...but since then, every time Midoriya speaks to me-" he stopped mid-sentence to laugh, apparently amused at the memory. Yenna frowned, feeling left out of the joke. "I get him, every time. He's too trusting. It reminds me of you actually." He smirked fondly at her.

"But you don't do it to me." She rejected.

"You don't annoy me." He explained casually.

"So...you're a bully!" She accused.

"Wha- no I wouldn't go that far." He tripped, suddenly second guessing his actions. "I'm just being petty because he beat me, I guess. He doesn't mind it as much as most people would."

"And you take advantage of that. You're bad." She laughed, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward.

He reddened and sighed, leaning away from the encroaching girl. He gave up. "Whatever you say. It's not like I'll be seeing much of him anymore anyway considering he's licensed now."

Yenna watched him deflate a little. She might not know what exactly he was thinking, but she'd watched enough people to know the mood of his thoughts had abruptly changed. It was her first time ever having to read an expression. "That's why you're upset?"

He sighed, leaning back on his hands and letting his head fall back. "Yeah. I just found out that the hero-course has already gone through licensing. Most of them are pre-pros now. They've been working actual patrols for a while now. I'm so far behind that I didn't even notice."

He sat forward, clenching his fists in his lap. "I'm training but the gap keeps growing. It's like the progress I'm making is so slow that it doesn't even matter."

"Stop that." Two hands were clapped to either side of his face.

Hitoshi's purple eyes locked on the small brown girl who leaned close to him. She'd climbed to her knees to level her eyes with his. His breathing paused. So close.

"Stop comparing you to others." She began, dropping correct pronouns. "You're journey is your own and you already knew it wasn't going to be the same as the hero-course's. Most people my age know how to control their quirks by already, but I'm just learning. And you know what? I'm proud of the progress I did made and you should be too! It doesn't matter how many behind we are. We're going to get there."

He reddened more as she continued to lecture him, squeezing his face tight to keep his attention. Her speech began to sound choppy and she misplaced her words as she often did when she wasn't focusing. Her accent really shined through. She was passionate about what she was saying and that left no room for correcting grammar. It was amusing and he found it charming the few times it'd happened. Her hazel eyes held his unapologetically and he found himself focusing on the little streaks of green hidden within.

For a moment he felt relief. He hadn't realized that he'd missed being around the excitable girl until it had subsided in that moment. He spoke to her almost every night but it was different sitting so closely to her. It was different feeling her.

He simply nodded when she was finished talking, nonetheless. If she'd meant to encourage him, she'd succeeded and he appreciated it.

It also helped that she smelled like pastries and lavender but he tried not to focus on that.

"You can't be happy for me again if you can't be happy for yourself. We are growing. You're getting closer Shi-kun." She asserted. "Just be patient."

She watched him sternly as she held his face and at first he just seemed surprised and embarrassed. After a moment, his expression calmed and he sat watching her back. It seemed like he was thinking, and her curiosity returned. Did he understand? Did he disagree? Her mom had encouraged her to be assertive and she had felt the need to.

She waited for him to respond, but he just watched her, thoughtful eyes traveling her face. She pursed her lips with a newfound impatience. It seemed harder for her to feel shy when she couldn't directly know what he was feeling. "What are you thinking?" She demanded, pinching his cheeks, needing to know if the tired looking boy in front of her was going to exit her home with the same bitterness he'd come with.

He didn't flinch and took a moment to answer. "You can read my thoughts again, if you'd like." He offered.

She nodded, relieved and closing her eyes, almost excited to set her quirk back in place. If he was more comfortable not saying things out loud, that was fine. It made her feel close to him, to be allowed in his head and she knew how it felt not to be confident in your words.

"You're right. Thankyou."

She smiled as the familiar tone of his voice found its way back into her mind. She felt a bit embarrassed at the comfort it brought but was grateful for it nonetheless. She slid her hands from his face but he moved to hold them there. She blinked at him, her ability to be bashful apparently returning.

Hitoshi sat, his warm palms holding hers against his cheeks. He cast his eyes down on the small space between them. She smelled good, and he knew wouldn't see her for a while...Neither spoke as they sat in the dark room.

"I'm sorry." He thought to himself, but Yenna shook her head.

Her voice was a whisper. "I don't mind..."

He closed his eyes, bringing her hands to the front of his face, and resting his head there.

"I like this." He thought while hiding in her palms.

"Ok" Yenna whispered, moving to sit comfortably in front of him without moving her hands. She didn't know exactly what he was doing, but her heart was skipping.

He sat still for a moment before lifting his face and lowering their hands. He didn't hold her tightly, but he didn't let go. Yenna looked from her upturned palms to the boy that held them. She listened quietly in the dark, but there was nothing. He wasn't thinking as he watched her quietly.

Yenna felt her temperature rise. Her eyes wandered his face and he swallowed. She followed the collar of his v-neck to his collarbone and shut her eyes. What was about to happen. He was quiet but she could feel him watching her.

Then for a moment, he pictured himself leaning forward to kiss her.

"Yenna-"

BRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRT!

Two shouts broke the heavy silence that had filled the room. Shinzo dug through his pockets frantically, looking for the phone that had suddenly stared blaring in the quiet space. He found it in his jacket and quickly hit the snooze button on his alarm. It was time for him to leave.

The two sat frozen in their panicked positions in the dark before looking at each other. They laughed, hands on pounding hearts.

...

Yenna walked onto her balcony, glancing down at the dark empty street that sat illuminated by streetlights. She held her breath until she saw him. The purple haired boy that had spent the day with her emerged from her building, walking to his lone bike that sat chained beneath a sidewalk lantern. she watched as he unchained his bike, loading the locks and chains into the satchel he'd thrown over his shoulder. He mounted his bike and stood for a moment, scratching the back of his head.

Jeeze. What did I just do?

She smiled at his thoughts. Rubbing his head seemed to be a habit when he was trying to figure something out.

He turned to take one last look and jolted once spotting the poofed yellow fabric of her dress.

Yenna flinched, caught.

He waved up at her silently with the hand that had held hers. She looked like a princess stuck in a tower.

Yenna waved back, pretending not to hear the thought.

She watched him pedal up the hill before coasting down and out of sight.

"I like you." He thought quietly, right before being too far to hear.