A/N: I might not be able to upload chapters as quickly moving forward, as my schedule gets a lot busier in the spring, but with that being said, I'll try to find the time to write. I found I was pretty happy with how I moved the characters along in this chapter, but I'm not too fond of the writing itself. Thank you to those of you who left a review last chapter—I'm always glad to hear them! I hope you all enjoy this!

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Without a clue as to the whereabouts of Mina Ashido, Izuku couldn't concentrate. It wasn't until she left him alone for the night that he realized this—how much of a source of comfort she'd become, a comrade. He couldn't just leave her alone like that, not when somebody could crawl out of the woodwork and whisk her away without a moment's notice.

He would search for her until he knew she was safe. He looked everywhere—the living room, the dining area, the stairwell that lead to the second floor, even the closets and the dimly lit hallways. He was the only one in the room who was still sober (he'd managed to stay away from the alcohol despite the persuasions), and who knew what people could do when they were drunk, especially with a girl like her? He'd spent the last hour and a half trying to hold half decent conversations with strangers, and he felt guilty for not trying to find her then.

Izuku finally caught sight of what was undoubtedly Mina, roaming around the kitchen, talking to a man he didn't know. Upon realizing his intentions, he couldn't stand to watch anymore. His instincts took over as he butted through the crowd and grabbed her hand, tightening his grip around her wrist to stop the man from making any type of altercation, and as he dragged her along behind him, not saying a word, he took her somewhere safe, away from the alcohol and the people and a perfectly foreseeable danger. He was careful not to display his anger, though, both at this stranger and at Mina for even talking to him.

They slowed down once they reached a quiet corridor, the music softer and less bothersome. Despite this, Izuku couldn't relax, as when he let go of her hand and turned around, he realized she'd done what she'd promised not to and gotten drunk. She wouldn't shut up about what a great time she was having, her cheeks stained with a lilac so bright that it mirrored the actual flower, and the slur that accompanied her words was horribly obvious.

"Ashido," he said, and he felt used, taken advantage of, "you said you wouldn't get drunk."

She quieted down a little, staring at him with perplexingly bright eyes. She was far too intoxicated to understand the context of the situation. When she gave no answer, he answered for her. "You promised you wouldn't."

"You take everything way too seriously, Midori. It's a party! Have some fun with it, will ya?" she giggled, and still, she wouldn't stop smiling, spinning gracefully on her heels as she took a broad look at her surroundings.

He didn't let her influence him, though. He was staying level-headed. "And… You said it wouldn't be crowded, but i-it is. There are over a hundred people here."

"Well, how else was I supposed to get ya to come?"

"You don't understand, Ashido." He was silent for a second, both of them were, and then: "That man was trying to take advantage of you, you know. You could've gotten hurt, o-or worse! You can't even figure out what I'm trying to say to you right now, about how you lied to me, and instead you wanna play it off like it's no big deal. Well it is a big deal, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't get to you when I did."

She got the gist of what he was saying, her smile fading away into nothing but a frown. His words were finally hitting home. "I-I'm sorry, Midori. I just didn't know how else to make you come…"

"Why'd I even have to come in the first place?"

Mina froze, biting her bottom lip, and even though it was painful she didn't stop until it bled. She was only emotional because of the liquor. Yes, that was it. It had nothing to do with him or the sour taste he left in her mouth, and it wasn't his fault that she was about to cry. "I just wanted to have a fun night out with you, okay? Is that really so bad?"

When another bout of silence made its way around the room, she smiled to herself, the tears washing away as the entirety of what he'd said came into mind. "But… Even though you're mad, that's okay. I'm just glad you were worried about me."

Somewhere inside of him there was a twitch. It was strangely refreshing, feeling that way, and for whatever reason he couldn't stay mad at her anymore. "H-how could I not be? In a place like this, anything could happen."

She wanted to go over there and wrap her arms around him, but even her drunken self knew not to do that. "Here, how about I make it up to you tomorrow or something? I'll buy you food 'n stuff as an apology."

"I'm not letting you do that, Ashido. It's irreversible. Just… Don't go off alone again, okay? At least for the rest of the night."

That was the least she could do for him. The only thing she could do. Maybe he'd get a clear answer out of her tomorrow about why she told such a lie, but it was good to just drop it for now, especially when she was so drunk.

Besides, he was so overcome with the need to keep her safe that nothing else really mattered anymore. It surprised him, really; he was so quick to run in and intervene in the middle of a dangerous situation and grab her hand, like it was second nature and he didn't even have to think about it. He wasn't sure if it was just because they were friends, or if there was a separate, more important reason.

Mina smiled, bringing him back to reality. "Okay, but I can handle myself, y'know!"

Knowing very well that that was yet another lie, Izuku sighed under his breath, but he simply smiled at her and moved on. He didn't say anything else as the two of them walked back out into the open together, Mina trailing idly behind him, and he realized she was humming a tune that brought him deja vu. It was the song that had been playing when they'd danced together; he could remember it clearly, as it was really only a few hours ago.

Mina couldn't walk normally for some reason; she could only skip, and even though she found it impossible to stand up straight, she couldn't have cared less. In fact, she hadn't felt so carefree in a while. She was having fun with this—this moment she was having with Izuku—because she'd surely never get another one for a long, long time.

She glanced to her side and saw the man who'd almost went off with her in the corner of her eye. He wasn't as nice-looking as she once thought now that she got a clearer view of him. She decided she should stop making dumb decisions when she was drunk.

And it was because she was drunk that she almost paid no mind when she saw Kirishima and Bakugo heading upstairs, eyeing each other as they stumbled up the staircase. She wanted to ask where they were going, but her head was starting to hurt, and a sudden wave of pain came over her before she could do so. If that wasn't a sign for her to drop it, she didn't know what was.

She and Izuku wandered around the house to pass the time, when eventually they bumped into Kaminari. They quickly figured out through his mannerisms and speech patterns that he was considerably drunk, too far gone for even Mina to understand, and so they left him alone. They meandered the hallways for a little while longer before Mina decided she needed a break.

"I'm tired, and I kinda wanna go upstairs," she yawned, groaning softly beside him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, leading him toward the staircase.

"Um, Ashido, I don't know if that's such a good idea..." he mumbled, his eyes darting across the room. He was dense, but he wasn't that dense, and he had a general understanding of what went on on the second floor.

Despite this, she couldn't connect the dots, so instead she simply ignored him and climbed the first step, leaning against the railing for support. Once she steadied herself, her eyes dawdled to the floor above her.

And that was when she froze.

He didn't notice it at first. At least not until it was too late. He glanced at whatever had her so dumbstruck, and then, quickly, he turned back around to face her, his face going a fiery, crimson red. She wouldn't look away. Her brain must have been too slow to process what she was seeing.

His was fully capable of piecing it together, though. There was no doubt in his mind that that was Kirishima and Bakugo, standing there at the top of the staircase, kissing. Bakugo had the redhead pinned to a wall, kissing him sloppily, passionately, just like how a drunk kiss was supposed to be.

Izuku knew he shouldn't be seeing this. He shouldn't have even been here in the first place, and if Bakugo ever caught wind of the fact that he was, he'd be killed in an instant. So he grabbed Mina's hand and dragged her back down the stairwell, trying his damnedest to keep quiet as he hauled her around the corner.

"Midori, what're we—"

He was expecting for her to talk when she was wasn't supposed to; she was drunk, after all. He covered her mouth with one hand until he knew they were safe, and when he could confirm that they were, he pulled it away, letting out a big, defeated sigh.

And then he looked over at her to see how she was feeling, and suddenly he couldn't look away.

The smell of beer rolled off of her tongue as she breathed, her cheeks such a deep, dangerous purple that it was as if they were going to scar that way. Their eyes met for a second, just a second, but that was all it took for his cheeks to burn in conformity to hers, ingraining themselves in a scarlet red.

He was confused with himself, with his feelings. That heartbeat—where had it come from? It was soft, almost unnoticeable, but he still had to wonder. And… Wasn't Uraraka supposed to be the one who made him feel this way?

He heard a suggestive whistle from a group of passersby, and he fell out of his trance. They were out in the open, he realized, and he turned away from her, finally collecting himself. That was twice tonight she'd left him speechless. Strange.

The warmth in his cheeks had lingered, and he felt the need to apologize. "S-sorry, Ashido! I-I didn't realize you were right there, I—"

She put a finger to his lips, smiling. "'S okay, Midori. Don't worry about it, 'kay?"

He nodded silently, and then he decided to change the subject, bring up something more important. "B-but, um, about what we just saw, you can't say anything about it. Kacchan would kill me if he realized I knew."

She giggled. "Of course I wouldn't. I'm not like that. But you gotta admit it's pretty interesting that they're still up there right now, if ya know what I mean."

"A-Ashido! What are you saying?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

He flushed, stuttering incomprehensibly, and then, remembering what he'd been trying to say earlier, he closed his eyes and put his hands together in a prayer. "B-but, uh, seriously this time, please don't say anything! To anyone!"

"Yeah, yeah, I promise I won't," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Although she promised, Izuku wouldn't let her out of his sights. Who knew where she'd go off to, what she'd say. He couldn't afford to risk Bakugo knowing, and since she was drunk, the chances of her telling somebody were ten times higher than usual.

But seriously, who knew Bakugo and Kirishima were a thing? And did this mean Bakugo was into guys? Questions he would probably never get the answers to, but it wasn't his place to ask in the first place. Maybe he could ask Mina when she was sober. She'd know.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, wanting to know the time. It was approaching one now, and he could barely stand on two legs due to tiredness. All he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed and into his pillow and off to sleep he would go.

But still, he did not bother Mina. She was having too much fun. He'd feel bad if he interrupted, so he simply gave into the pressure and went along with it, trying to find a way to have as much fun as she was. He never did, though, and he'd rather just stay quiet about it then tell her and ruin the rest of her night.

Thankfully for him, even she had a limit on how long she could last. She ran out of steam by the time the clock hit one, and now that she'd used up all of her energy, she couldn't stand up straight anymore, toppling toward Izuku and leaning against his shoulder.

He felt her nestle against him, a billow of pink burying into the side of his shirt, and he smiled to himself despite the many reasons not to, standing her upright again. She would stir whenever he did this, eyelids fluttering open slightly, but then she'd realize she preferred his intimacy over everything else and rest her head back in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes as she relished in what would surely be a once in a lifetime moment. Although he didn't mind the extra company, he didn't want any misconceptions, so when she would do this for too long he would push her away as gently as possible. Besides, if that was what it took to ensure that she didn't tell anyone about what they saw earlier, then so be it.

Eventually it was time for the guests to leave, and with the music gone and the alcohol put away, people started to file out. Bakugo and Kirishima had come downstairs already, jackets in hand, and the seven of them who'd come from U.A. premises met up in the living room. They needed to get out of here, and fast, unless they wanted to endure one hell of a punishment.

Izuku could feel the tension hanging between Kirishima and his… friend? Boyfriend, perhaps? Friend with benefits? How was he supposed to know? Either way, Mina was letting on far too many clues for his comfort, and he kept having to look over at her to make her shut up.

Luckily for him, nobody else in the group seemed to notice this. Sero especially, as he turned toward them all and gestured toward the door without a second thought. "We should head out, you guys," he said, and it was obvious he was the one who was still sober. Besides Izuku and Jirou, of course, who had both decided not to drink, but for two very different reasons. Izuku was simply scared of the consequences while Jirou knew that since nobody else would, she'd have to be the one to take charge when the time came, and that time was now.

"Okay, but how the hell are we supposed to leave if you're all drunk?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in doubt. She was quite fond of stating the obvious.

Kaminari tried to stagger her way, but he ended up trailing off in the wrong direction. "We're a lil' tipsy, Jirou. Nothin' to worry about. It's not like we're wasted."

She rolled her eyes at that, knowing very well that they were not just a little bit tipsy, and Bakugo scoffed at her. "What do you think, we can't walk on our own or somethin'? We'll be fine, whether you like it or not," he said, surprisingly less angry than usual. Still, nobody disagreed with him in fear that that might change.

They were about to walk out the door when Mina got them to stop, the sound of her whining filling the air. "Can somebody carry me? Please? My legs are killing me, and I don't know if I can make it back to the dorms."

Jirou looked at her like she had four heads. "Who's gonna do that?"

"Midori will! Right, Midori? You'll carry me home, won't you?"

Izuku was taken by surprise, trying to sustain a pale complexion instead of a red one. He hadn't agreed to anything yet, and carrying her on his back would add a lot of unnecessary stress to an already lengthy trip to the train station. "I-I don't know… Does it have to be me?"

"Yes! It has to be you! You're the only one who can. So, please?"

She collapsed into his shoulder again, groaning and shaking her head, and he nudged her away in order to add a little more space between them. He would admit that he found her annoying sometimes, but it wasn't the bad kind of annoying. More like the kind that was fun to be around. And as he glanced at the people he was surrounded by, he realized he may have been the only one who thought that. But it didn't really matter to him. They could think whatever they wanted to.

"Did she just call you Midori?"

Jirou had mentioned the nickname. It was their first time hearing it, after all, so somebody was bound to say something eventually. "Y-yeah. She calls me that a lot."

Growing from the corners of her lips was a smirk, and maybe he was just seeing things, but it looked like she was onto something. "I can tell."

Mina tugged lightly at the hem of his shirt, the sensation of somebody else's skin forcing him to snap out of his fog. His cheeks were warm to the touch, and he hadn't even realized it until now. He hadn't been realizing a lot of things lately.

To let him know that she was waiting for a reply, she groaned, and he finally gathered the courage to give one to her. "Okay. I-I guess I can. How do you want to do this? A piggyback?"

She nodded. She felt bad for making him go through with this, but he needed to understand that she didn't have a choice. It wasn't the fact that her legs were hurting—of course not, that was merely just an excuse. That was a part of it, obviously, but she would be lying if she said she didn't just yearn for the chance to touch him and be close to him, feel her body up against his. Things she'd probably never get the chance to do if she left it up to fate.

Izuku wouldn't tell somebody if his life depended on it, but he was nervous. He'd never had a girl so close to him before, and the fact that it was Mina made it a thousand times more nerve-racking, strangely enough. Nevertheless, he drew in a subtle, shaky breath before bending down and letting her to climb onto his back, his breath hitching in the back of his throat as he felt her weight shift slightly against him. There was a moment of silence before they said goodbye to the rest of the partygoers, and Mina was extra careful not to hold onto him too tightly. She'd already bothered him enough for one night, and she didn't want to give him another reason to be mad at her. Sero said goodbye to his brother by giving him a fist bump, and then they headed out the door and toward the station.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother to you," Mina whispered, her lips grazing the nape of his neck. She shifted over a little until she was talking in his ear.

With the newfound closeness between them, Izuku couldn't think straight, and it took him a second to realize that the thumping against the front of his chest was his heart. It was barely noticeable, but he'd have to be stupid to not realize it was there. "I've been following you around all night, and now this? You can put me down if ya want to. I'm probably heavy anyway."

"Y-you're not heavy."

"You stuttered."

He gasped. "I-I didn't mean it like that! Really, you're not! And… You're not a bother, either."

He was being sincere. She realized that, and it made her smile.

"I'm glad you think so. Thank you, Midori. For everything."

She could feel his warmth and his fondness and the softness of his hair as she embraced him further, like he was her boyfriend. She wished. Oh, God, how she wished.

Little did she knew, her words had left him a mumbling mess. His heart was pounding ten times faster than before, and he had to wonder, why did he feel so warm and fuzzy inside? Was he imagining things? Because it was like nothing he'd ever felt before, tingly and tender and heavy on the heart. And to add on to his already lengthy list of problems, he couldn't help but notice that as she laid against him, she was quite well-endowed in certain… assets.

She's your friend, Izuku. You can't think about her like that!

He sighed, shaking his head as he hitched his hands under her thighs and hoisted her up again. He decided it would be best to stop thinking so hard and just listen to her talk.

He forgot he hadn't said anything after hearing her kind words. "O-oh, I really don't think I deserve that much credit," he replied, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"Yes, you do."

"Hey, Ashido?"

"Yeah?"

"Are Bakugo and Kirishima together?"

She grunted, rustling uncomfortably against the small of his back. She was starting to feel ill, the signs of a hangover kicking in. The only sounds that mattered to her were those of the crickets and Izuku's footsteps against the sidewalk, and everything else was tossed aside as white noise.

She found it in her to answer him. "Maybe now they are, especially after what they did tonight."

He hated to ask this, but he was curious. "D-do you think they…"

"Oh, no way. Kirishima would never. But who am I to judge? We're all kinda drunk, after all. Except for you, Midori, 'cause you'd never get drunk."

He laughed one of those awkward kinds of laughs, the kind that was only supposed to alleviate the tension, but he realized she brought up a good point: how would they explain their hangovers to the rest of the class? And in the off chance that they found out, how would they explain them to the teachers? Hopefully they wouldn't have to with how careful they were being, but the thought of it alone still sent shivers up his spine. He'd hate it if they already knew and were just waiting patiently at the entrance of the U.A. dorms, where they'd give him and his friends the punishment of a lifetime when they returned. Izuku didn't even consider that a viability until now, but he couldn't deny that there was always that chance.

And then there was the fact that they were out so late, which Izuku wouldn't have expected in a million years. And he wasn't joking when he said that. Mina had told him nothing, next to nothing, and if he knew it would've been 2:00 a.m. when he left the house he probably wouldn't have went.

He considered dropping her here and making her walk the rest of the way, but that wasn't in his nature. He couldn't do that to her at a time like this, not when she was so vulnerable. Besides, they were only minutes away from the train station, and he could put her down when they got there.

The train ride was as uneventful as he thought it would be. They stepped off the platform as soon as they got on, and he could barely sit down because his legs were still sore from carrying Mina. Speaking of Mina, she squished herself in the seat between him and Kirishima, and he kept a watchful eye on her. There was no telling what she'd do with the redhead so close, Bakugo leaning against his shoulder. They were asking to be picked on.

She kept smiling at them, and Izuku had to pull her away. Kirishima raised a few eyebrows, but she didn't even acknowledge it, nor did she pay him any mind. Eventually she grew tired of all the fruitless teasing and leaned to her side, Izuku's side, and rested her head comfortably in the crook of his neck, and he let her stay like that for the rest of the ride.

"Can you piggyback me again, Midori?" she asked when they got off the train. "Please? I promise this will be the last time."

"B-but, Ashido, the dorms are right around the corner," he replied, and he was about to say something else when he felt a hand on his shoulder, one that belonged to Jirou.

"Look at her, Midoriya," she said, giving him a half-hearted smile. "Can't you just make an exception this one time? She promised she'd never do it again."

He thought about it. She wasn't a burden on anything, really, except for his back, and in all honesty, he enjoyed her company more than anyone else's. Or… at least more than a lot of people's, because there was still Uraraka.

But even when taking her into consideration, he would still argue that he enjoyed Mina's company the most.

Was he supposed to feel that way?

He nearly laughed at himself out loud. It wasn't like there were any rules he had to follow. What was he thinking? He cleared his head and smiled at his pink-haired friend. "Okay," he said, nodding, and he let her hop onto his back again.

She hugged him a little more tightly than before, savoring the moment while it still lasted, and a few stray pebbles filled the empty, middle-of-the-night silence as they crumbled beneath his feet where he walked. She knew that if he put her down now she might not remember this in the morning, and that was exactly why she prayed for him to never let her go. She didn't think he would, not without warning her first, but that fear was still rooted within her, and she held onto him like she was taking her last breath.

Glancing up at the sky to take her mind off things, she realized the view was actually quite fascinating. "The stars are pretty tonight, don'tcha think?"

He titled his head up at the sky, constellations catching his eye. It was as if they had a little sliver of the universe all to themselves. "Yeah, they are."

"Ya see that constellation up there?" She pointed over his shoulder at a little cluster of stars near the horizon. "It's really somethin', isn't it? Beautiful."

"Really? What does it remind you of?"

"It reminds me of you."

He felt it—the warmth, the blood, all of it rushing to his cheeks. That could've meant a lot of things, and to be honest, he was a little afraid to ask. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, it's kinda just hidin' behind the—what's that called? The horizon line? Yeah, it's kinda just hiding behind that… thing, or whatever, and nobody notices how beautiful it is or that it's even there in the first place. But what they don't know is that it shines brighter than any other star in the sky."

"So you're saying I'm beautiful?" he joked.

She laughed. "Of course not, silly! Although I wouldn't put it against you…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing! I-I was just saying that you've got somethin' really special about ya, Midori."

His cheeks were burning just as badly as they were before. In fact, the burning had only gotten worse. "O-oh. Thanks for the compliment, I guess?"

She rested her head between his shoulder blades where her hands once were, and she realized how thankful she was for his incredible strength. She smiled to herself, happy he could hold her up for this long. "Yeah."

"Ugh, finally we can see the dorms from here," Kaminari groaned, drawing Mina's attention away from a certain somebody and back onto less important things. From the looks of it—pale face and green skin—he was on the verge of throwing up, but the fear of embarrassment was forcing him to swallow it back down.

"I'm gonna put you down now, okay, Ashido?"

She looked down curiously at the boy beneath her, whose voice was now more familiar than anything she'd ever thought possible. And that was precisely why his words hurt so much to hear—because she knew there was no way of working around them. He was no Superman, nor was he one of his descendants, and she knew that it would be impractical for him to carry her around all night. She'd just have to ingrain this memory into her head for the time being so that she could remember it in the morning.

He let her down gently, like a shard of broken glass, leaving the two of them to meander along next to each other. The feeling of his back still lingered against her torso, and she wished the feeling would never go away. But, like most things, it did, and they walked the rest of the way to the dorms in relative silence.

Izuku thought they were in the clear. He really did, and he had reason to believe so—the lack of adult supervision, the fact that there wasn't anyone waiting for them outside, no one hiding in the bushes or behind the dorm buildings. So when he opened the door to the dorms and was met face to face with a figure, he nearly had a heart attack and a panic attack all at the same time. And he almost had an even bigger combination of the two when he realized who the figure belonged to, and he and the rest of his classmates who'd been out way past curfew knew they couldn't be any further from in the clear.

A stern voice emerged from the darkness, revealing itself to be none other than that of their homeroom teacher. "Do you all have any idea what time it is?"