A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for how late this is. But it is over 8,000 words long, so I hope that makes up for it. Mostly pure fluff!
Just three more chapters after this. Two chapters of the real story (one super short) and an epilogue to wrap it up. Then this will be done. It's been a crazy, year-long journey, but I've enjoyed every second of it. I'm glad you guys have taken the time to read along with me.
Let me know what you think in the reviews section! I poured my heart into this, so constructive criticism is always welcomed and encouraged. Yet again, thanks for reading! And thank you for all the positive reviews on last chapter! (Although I will accept negative ones too, as I'm still a novice writer who knows I need work!)
- o - o - o - o -
Mina woke up the next morning dazed.
It was as if she were drunk again. Drunk on love.
And it was at that moment that last night's events came back to her, as she sat up and stretched and then laid back down again in her bed. She wondered where Izuku went. Maybe he'd sent her a text.
He had. Just the thought of it made her giddy, touch the sky with glee.
She couldn't remember the details, but even in her response, he'd be able to tell how happy she was. And he'd made her really, really happy.
Hell, even in what should have been her clarifying happiness, something as waking as a warming goodbye letter, she could barely remember what she'd written back. She was still so delirious.
She squealed, swooned, looking like a drugged-up mess as she suffocated her nearby pillow, the one Izuku had laid on.
He'd even tucked her in before he left. He'd obviously kept her on that same side of the bed, not wanting to wake her, but he was clearly quite courteous.
She checked the time. As it'd finally occurred to her, she'd totally forgotten to do that.
She read 8:05 a.m.
Class started at 8:20.
She hopped out of bed and floored it.
"Crap, crap, crap!" she cried. She usually ate a little something in the morning, a granola bar or a banana or some Greek yogurt, but today she'd have to do without. She brushed her teeth for what must have been a maximum of one minute and threw on her old (honestly a bit worn) uniform, leaving her hair an untamed mess and hurrying out the door in a frenzy, a fast flare.
She made it to class just on time.
When she and Izuku met eyes, she smiled. He smiled back, waved, looked away, blushed. She guessed he was a little embarrassed.
And the whole thing with Uraraka wasn't yet over, either. She had a little inkling that Uraraka still hated her.
She sighed. So how was she supposed to go on a date tonight? Wouldn't it be wrong?
Oh well. They'd surely get it sorted out.
And, after class, that was exactly what they decided to do.
Izuku was the one to text Uraraka, letting her know that they were going to be together probably all afternoon into the late night and that he thought it was best if she was aware.
Mina, grabbing his phone and sending her a voice recording—one he definitely did not consent—told her she wanted to talk later, maybe sort some things out. To her surprise, Uraraka was eager to say yes.
She also responded to Izuku's text, saying it was "A-OK" and "no big deal" and that she was glad he even spoke up about it in the first place. He was glad. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Hopefully he'd lifted one off of hers as well.
- o - o - o -
Mina tried on her whole closet before deciding what would be her cutest outfit to date.
Well, her cutest cute-casual outfit to date, the cutest she could create. She could, and had, come up with better.
A sweater shredded at the seams, multicolored stripes, all of her favorite pastels, and a pretty pair of blue ripped jeans. Just at the knees, though, as she couldn't let herself get too cold.
She finished the look off with a couple of cute accessories—a heart necklace and some hoop earrings—her wallet, and a pair of thigh-high boots resting not too high, but just above the knees. The coffee color tied it all in, created this colorful blend.
At 12:30 p.m., she headed downstairs.
She was careful not to draw too much attention to herself—to neither her nor Izuku. They decided they'd rendezvous wherever everyone else was not, just to be safe. Sadly, this happened to be the courtyard, still icy cold from the winter weather.
She waved when she saw him, standing there on the sidewalk. He'd gone and gotten himself dolled up, which for some reason got her all giddy. Deep black jeans, a white t-shirt with embroidery of some kind she couldn't really read, and a black-and-red-patterned flannel left completely unbuttoned—but it was okay, because he looked good that way. In fact, he looked good every way.
But she did think if he buttoned it up he'd look a bit more posh, a bit nervous, a bit more uptight.
And that was certainly the last thing she wanted. She wanted this to go smoothly. She wanted them to be comfortable around each other, like a couple not dating for days, but for weeks, months, maybe even years.
After a quick hello, they headed sneakily back through the dorms and out the main entrance. They were lucky to have not caused a scene.
"So, where do you wanna go? I was thinking we should wait until now, since, you know, it'd make things a little more natural," Mina suddenly started.
"Well, um, I know the guy is kinda supposed to think of this stuff, so why don't we just take a train into Musutafu first—if that's what you wanna do—and see what's around. Maybe a movie. Maybe dinner. Whatever you want," he said. And as he walked, right in the middle of his talk, he grabbed her hand, swinging it back and forth just slightly like sitting on a seesaw. She swooned as soon as he did so.
"Okay," she said, her heart still jumping out of her chest. "I wanna do karaoke! I suck at singing, but it always brings back good memories. I haven't been in forever."
She added on, waving her hands frantically in front of her face. "But only if you want to!"
Izuku laughed. "No, no. Don't worry. I want to. I haven't been in a while, either. Although, for me, at least, it doesn't exactly bring back the happiest of memories, as I never really went in middle school. I've only ever gone this year. And it was once."
That's right!" Mina quipped. "You were a loner back in middle school, right? Back before I knew you. I totally forgot."
Izuku blushed bright red. "A-Ah, who told you that?"
"Bakugo, I think. But then again, he's irrelevant. Apparently wasn't wrong, though," she said, staring straight at him, humiliation written all over his face. Both were very aware that she'd caught him red-handed.
"I-I guess he wasn't," Izuku admitted, explicitly stating it outright, opening up to her and rubbing the nape of his neck. He let go of Mina for just a second, palms growing sweaty, before once again holding her hand. He couldn't leave her for too long. Who knew what she'd do if he let her roam free, left her to her own devices? Mina could be kooky sometimes.
The bus to the inner-city side of Musutafu didn't take long. U.A. was on the outskirts—they weren't looking to stay close to home, but instead head out to the more touristy parts town, the malls and the five-star restaurants and the old-time cinemas, and do something a little more formal, a little more date-like.
As soon as the train stopped, they headed up and out of the subway station and walked hand in hand down Main Street. Izuku pointed out a theater—one his mother used to take him to all the time, one he swore by. It wasn't the old-fashioned kind Mina was looking for, but she still liked it nonetheless. It reminded Izuku of his mother—how could she say no?
Except, she immediately contemplated walking right back out those doors as soon as she realized—the only movies playing were action.
"Isn't there anything else we can see, some other cinema? Romance? Slice of life? I know you don't agree, but I spend all day being a Hero. I kinda need a break."
Mina sighed, placards of new movies up and running for show completely uninspiring to her.
"Hey," Izuku stuttered. "You know I love action."
"Yeah, but I don't," she said.
"Okay, then let's try and find some middle ground."
Mina looked up at the superheroes, superhuman speed and strength, and the notorious antagonists that followed.
A little befuddled, she tilted her head toward him, raising one eyebrow. "Um, where?"
Izuku looked over the list. "How about here?"
Mina, eagerly shifting his way, gave a quick glance over the genres. Action, obviously. And comedy. It had something to do with some Hero's life on and off of the battlefield, and how some Quirk cast on him by some villain had completely changed the entirety of his present and past and future and everything in between—she'd stupidly forgotten the name.
Yet she still didn't smile.
Comedy couldn't appease her.
She wanted romance.
And so, Izuku bitter over her overly excessive needs, they kept on with their search, narrowing it down to just two movies before finally reaching just one.
It took five minutes of fighting before middle ground was found.
They were going to see One Heroine's Story.
It'd only come out just a few days ago, and certainly wasn't popular, but was the only thing that checked off their list. The reviews were next to nonexistent, and the least they could do was find an adequate synopsis.
Skipping the insignificant details and delving right into the gist of it, instead of the Hero saving the Heroine, this time it was vice versa.
And it sucked.
Which was to be expected, of course. Despite its awful execution and low-grade quality (the camera work was mediocre at best) it failed to make Mina miserable, put her in a sour mood. Izuku either.
It was so bad it was almost great.
Because of its unpopularity, they ended up being the only two in the theater. They could laugh as loud as they want. Chew food and cuddle close and do whatever their hearts desired as, well, no one at least that they knew of, was watching. Who knew what kinds of security cameras were installed in this place?
Mina laughed at the supposed-to-be-serious parts. Izuku found them quite horrifying. Much to her dismay, he eventually got sick and tired of a movie so sapless, so devoid of vitality, and fell asleep halfway through.
Oh well. It wasn't like she couldn't blame him.
But she could blame him for being her greatest distraction.
- o - o - o -
"Whose idea was that?"
"Uh," Izuku gawked, "yours?"
"Hey," she said. "It was a mutual agreement. You said yes."
Izuku, a smirk lining his lips, playfully rolled his eyes. "And I shouldn't have."
"I mean, you are the one with the brains. I'm the stupid one. Don't listen to me," she said.
Despite her sprightly smile, he couldn't just let that slide. "Oh, no you're not," he said. "Here, let's put it this way: I might get better grades, but you're ten times more street smart."
She gestured her finger toward him. "Now, I will give myself that."
"And so what if the movie was bad? We don't need sappy romance."
She could listen to Izuku drone on all day. She'd never get tired of hearing it. He was slow and sly in making his way toward her hand, and, on impatience and impulse, she suddenly speeded things up, doing it for him. "That's right," she said. "We've got our own."
Izuku lit up like a ladybug, crimson red and easily startled spreading its wings. Eventually, after letting go and grabbing hold of her hand again, he relaxed, maybe even gave the slightest hint of a nod—she couldn't really tell. He was starting to get all shy on her now, reclusive. She missed Izuku's more confident side.
They kept on down Main Street until reaching Musatufu's most monumental (and infamous, often for the amount of crime that occured) city square. All of the best places to eat were there, and after a two-and-a-half-hour-long movie, they sure were hungry, starving even, anything readily available acceptable to fill their empty stomachs.
"I'm kinda in the mood for something sweet, don't you think?"
Izuku turned his head toward her, wondering where in the world she'd ever come up with something so ludicrous. "I was thinking more along the lines of… savory?"
"But, I mean, we were just at the cinemas," Mina mumbled, reminiscing on the last two tubs of drizzly buttered popcorn they'd waited in line so long for, which, in fact, were very much worth it, simply because of how filling they'd become. Now that it had settled in her stomach she was full.
But not too full. Not full enough to refrain from downing dessert. She didn't have that much self-restraint.
"But popcorn is only a snack. I was thinking we could maybe get a real meal. B-But, of course, if you don't want to, then we won't—"
She let out a little laugh at watching him worry over her—he wasn't one to think about himself. "Izu, don't worry," she said. "It's no biggie. Let's just find somewhere that serves good food and desserts. That way it satisfies both of us."
That exuberant smile made her glisten, glow, shine in the showy sunlight, even in the middle of spring, a sky with no clouds. She was like a second sun.
He had to take a while to breathe easy.
That was right. They'd definitely find a way to make this work.
Or, at least, that was what they thought.
Apparently, despite the city square's more-than-admirable reputation, there weren't a ton of places they could eat—not in the line of good taste.
There was never a restaurant that was one or the other, and the small selection only made things worse. Restaurants, bakeries—nothing in between. Their last hope was almost a mile walk away, a few blocks down from the square, but did they have any other option? No. And so they ventured off.
"It's closed."
Izuku stood there stunned.
"You're kidding."
Wondering if maybe she'd read it wrong, Mina double-checked the lettering in the front window, lights still turned off. "Nope."
Izuku sighed, holding his head in his hands. "Just our luck. And I was looking forward to this, too. What do we do now?"
Mina, still starving and slightly stunned by her recent revelation, suffered a swift surge of sorrow, suddenly, in an avoidance to meet his eyes, staring out across the street, searching for some sort of excuse to undermine the fact that she had brought this upon herself, brought this upon them.
And she found one.
There, just a quick crosswalk away, was a whole line of food trucks, none of which he knew (he didn't eat out very often), each with varying levels of different diverse cuisine. Ethnic foods, desserts, barbecue—you name it. It made his mouth water.
The food would be shitty. That was a given from the get-go. But would they still eat it anyway? Yes, because they were certainly much less willing to walk the extra mile.
Grilled chicken with a side of sweet potato—Izuku wasn't hungry for much more. The movie-theater popcorn was beginning to catch up with him. In an effort to satisfy her cravings for something sweet, she headed right over to the desserts trucks at the end of the lot and picked out a smoothie, a healthy blend of some fruits and frozen yogurt.
Naturally, this meant they had to seperate.
Mina wondered if any of this was normal, especially for a first date, for two people falling in love.
Probably not, she assumed. But then again, this was her and Izuku. The two of them together were a different kind of couple. So different it was honestly kind of scary. They deviated, differentiated from the norm.
But still, splitting up was never a good thing.
Splitting up meant splitting apart.
Mina shook that thought out of her head. All of this unnecessarily obnoxious overthinking would eventually lead to her demise, her downfall, or worse, some sort of stress-induced stroke.
Izuku met up with Mina. He noticed something was off as soon as he saw her but neglected to mention it, brushing it off as a momentary moment of distress, nothing that'd last in the long run.
The tables teeming, they were forced to pick out a bench, one shady and sitting by the sidewalk. Mina didn't mind. It made it all the more romantic.
Which this date was turning out very much not to be.
Even as he was eating, Izuku, worried as one would be (maybe even more so, as he wasn't just with anyone—this was Mina, after all, whose happiness mattered to him the most) continuously peered over at her, wondering whether or not she was still in a bad mood.
Twiddling the straw of her smoothie, refraining from drinking it and instead spinning it around in circles over and over again, Izuku didn't think that time was coming too soon.
"Mina, is something wrong?"
She sat up slightly taller. "What?"
He reiterated it once more, this time much more confident. "You've been looking down lately, and you're not drinking your drink, so I'm guessing something's the matter. B-But if it's not, know that I didn't mean to upset you—"
She laughed a nervous laugh, breathed a subtle sigh. "It's okay, Izu. You're not wrong." She suddenly seemed serious. "I would be lying if I said there wasn't something on my mind…"
"Well, what's up? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no," she said. "It's nothing like that. It's just that… I guess… this date's kind of been a mess so far, not like the one I'd planned out in my head. We just keep splitting up, and I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but let's be honest here: a lot has gone wrong."
Izuku smiled a sad smile, a subtle one, and sighed. "No. Mina, I'm glad you said something. I've been thinking the same."
To ease the tension, Mina bit her bottom lip. "I want us to agree on something, y'know?"
"Me too," Izuku said. "But we did agree on one thing, remember? Karaoke later. You're still as excited as I am I hope. I remember I went to the one a few blocks down a couple months ago, the one by the square—"
Mina meddled in the midst of him and his next bite, just too excited to sit still. "I love that place! I used to go there all the time with my friends back in middle school, but not too often, since it was a hike away from my house. Now that it's closer, I get to go all the time. It's the girls' favorite hangout spot!"
Izuku got giddy, whole body glowing at the thought of finally sharing something at least a little bit in common. "Really? I like it too! I totally forgot the name of it, though."
"Don't worry. I can take us there. I know the way."
Izuku nodded. "Okay."
Mina took his chopsticks, picking at his food. "In the meantime, I wanna try some of your grilled chicken."
Izuku looked down at his now nearly-empty, already-insufficient plate and cried out in retaliation, a reasonable reaction to her actions. "Hey! There's not much left, y'know."
He reached over, trying to steal the chopsticks away from her, but she'd already gulped it down before he was able to get anywhere close.
Izuku kept reaching.
They fell further and further back onto the bench.
His struggles were almost laughable. "Izu, you look funny when you're mad."
"Correction: hangry."
"Okay, hangry. Whatever. Same thing," she said, sarcastically rolling her eyes. "Here, how about this: I feed you. I feed you some, and you get your chopsticks back."
Huh, he thought. So this was what she meant by "date."
Izuku blushed bright red.
"But, Mina… We're in public."
"So?" she said. "Don't you wanna show off a bit?"
"I… I guess," he mumbled.
She sensed some sort of uncertainty in his voice, some sort of doubt. He most certainly did not want to do this. "How about just one?" she asked. "Just one bite? If you don't want to, we don't have to."
He shook his head. "No, um, it's fine. One's fine."
And so they sat up straight. Mina, hands shaking, picked at a piece of potato, dropping it a few so many times that it was almost like she was a newcomer to the ways of Asian cuisine. She swore she was born here.
Eventually she managed to grab hold of one, picking it up at just the right angle for it to finally fit into her chopsticks. She held her breath, hearing it hitch in the back of her throat, and moved the meat toward him.
"Open," she said when she neared his mouth. He did.
Both of their bodies burning up, she couldn't help but stare as he reluctantly took the first bite. He made the most fetching, fair face, something she'd tuck deep away in her memory, something she'd never forget. She vowed she'd be the only one to see him make that face.
It wasn't until after that they realized people were watching. Izuku blushed bright red, and Mina, his embarrassment more of an amusement to her, doubled over in laughter, half giggling, half bawling her eyes out clutching her stomach. With each and every breath he got more and more embarrassed to be by her side, so much so that he nearly choked on his own chicken, swallowing it whole. Mina would've had to do the Heimlich maneuver.
He coughed and coughed and then managed to collect himself.
"You good?" she asked.
"I-I guess so," he mumbled, and it was at that very moment that he finally lost all of his inhibition, freeing himself of his frets and letting himself laugh along with her.
He would probably never see these people again, so who cared what they'd think?
And even if he would, then oh well.
If there was one thing Mina had taught him, it was that he could let himself go every once in a while. It'd do him some good.
And that was exactly what he decided to do.
And because it wasn't something he despised and actually enjoyed so much, he did it for the rest of the day.
And the rest of the day was disorderly, chaotic, and maybe a bit messy, but it was without a doubt a blast.
So no, not an ounce of him regretted it.
It was 8:00 p.m. when they finally made it to karaoke.
This was it. The last event of the night.
Ordering a private room, french fries, and an hour of fun free time, they realized how liberated they were to let their hearts out and scream at the top of their lungs and totally embarrass themselves in front of the people next door—they were one hundred percent sure they'd be able to hear them through the walls.
Or maybe that was just Mina. Izuku twiddled his thumbs too much and stuttered every seven seconds and couldn't have formed a coherent sentence if he tried. Nevermind a song.
"So, what are you in the mood for? Pop? Rock? Rap? Metallica?"
"Well, um, I usually like to listen to upbeat stuff. Like power pop and pop rock and maybe metallica if I'm feeling kinda down."
Mina was floored.
They had totally different music tastes.
"How about you?" he asked.
"Um, well, definitely not that. Pop and dubstep. Indie every once in a while. The like."
"Oh. Uh, this is gonna be tough."
Mina smiled, leaning into him a little. As soon as their bodies bopped, her heart set fire, skipped a few beats. "True. But when is it not tough for us?"
She waved her hands frantically in front of her face. "Not that we won't work out! I just mean tough as in different. We're, uh, definitely different."
God, that was the last thing she wanted him thinking.
He laughed. "No, no, I get it. I think I'm being honest here when I say we don't have much in common."
She nodded.
And so they spent a good bulk of their hour just trying to find their first song.
And, as if not totally unexpected, neither of them could agree, constantly flipping through their phones and whatever else they could grab hold of looking for at least a little something to take up their time, as music wasn't going to cut it. It wasn't until Izuku got an idea, a wonderful, witty, wild idea, that the night would totally flip upside down, turning on its own head.
"What about what we used to dance to?"
Mina picked her head up. "What?"
"Like the songs! Back when you and I were just getting to know each other. Back when you were giving me dance lessons. Remember?"
"Yeah, but I don't really remember the songs specifically," she said.
"I can name a few—those that really stuck with me."
And so he told her them. Many of them were Mina's tastes, not his. But they decided to give them a try.
The first three were a bust. It wasn't until the fourth one that they knew they'd found their song.
Mina began belting at the top of her lungs. She only knew some of the lyrics, the chorus and a few of the verses, but it was enough to get her going.
And Izuku going as well.
Still somewhat self-conscious, he started out singing just softly under his breath. "I met her on the balcony at my brother's best friend's… And it wasn't long before I knew her name and we were dancing the night away… Oh! Dancing the night away!"
The chorus came on, and cheerfully, Mina, like nails on a chalkboard, chimed in. Izuku, a little apprehensive, eventually convinced himself to start singing along too, neither of their voices something special. In fact, they made each other's ears bleed.
But they were too far gone to care.
Mina grabbed hold of Izuku's hands. They started standing up, the dancing beginning just halfway through. And suddenly they were spinning and holding each other close and dancing so delicately they'd lost track of time, singing as if they were the stars of this song.
"I can't sing!" Izuku shouted, smiling boldly and blissfully and beautifully, music on full blast.
"Neither can I!" she cried back, spinning around and around, feeling so free she almost forgot to get dizzy. But eventually it did catch up to her, messing with her head in waves.
And as soon as she could stand up straight she kissed him.
And he kissed back. Hard.
He held her hands, squeezed them a little to let her know she had him and wouldn't let go. She squeezed back to say the same.
Their song played just faintly in the background, drowned out by their own electrifying bliss, strobe lights shining all over the place casting this pretty pink glow as the disco ball hung high over their heads, enlivening the mood even more than it'd enlivened already. It was chaotic yet calming. Beautiful yet rebellious. They were not supposed to be kissing in the karaoke booth.
But they were. Stupidly, they were, holding each other close refusing to let go, knowing what they were doing was wrong.
In terms of the law, at least—maybe more like morality.
But in their minds it was right.
And Mina knew, right then, that they could make it work. Despite their many differences and his look-on-the-downside attitude, she knew they could make it work. He did too. They'd do anything to make it work. Not only could they make it work, but they would.
And so she smiled in the midst of their kiss, holding back her forever glee. And as soon as she was smiling so was he.
He slipped his fingers out from between her hands and brought them down to her waist. Slowly, he trailed further and further down, to her hips and then the small of her back. And that was where he'd stay, reluctant to go any lower. She wasn't sure whether she liked that or not.
As she was about to go further.
Her hands traveled further down his body until she hit the hem of his shirt. Without a beat of hesitation, she slipped them under, traveling back up his stomach and his chest. Through skin and bone, she could feel his heart beating, thrashing wildly in the palm of her hand. "Is this okay?" she asked, breaking away from their kiss.
He nodded, face flushed.
She went back in. This time with tongue.
And they kissed until their song was over, and then the next, and then the next, until time finally caught up with them, totally catching them off guard.
Izuku pulled away. "S-Sorry! That might've been a little too far—"
Mina wrapped her arms around him, burying her head comfortably into the crook of his shoulder. "No. Don't worry about it. It wasn't. I actually really liked it."
"So… You don't think we're moving too quickly?"
"For how long I've liked you? No. It feels natural."
Izuku nodded. For any typical romance, he would admit that this would be moving too fast. But for him and Mina, it felt familiar, felt right. Nothing felt out of order or inappropriate.
"Yeah…" he said, holding her tighter. The two sat back down, still in each other's arms, picking a few more songs to sing before their time was up.
They were all songs they used to dance to before.
And then they headed home.
But before they could reach the train station, they were momentarily stopped, a park with pretty white lights and colorful scenery and a bright blue water fountain nearly irresistible to them, as they had to go in and see.
And so, at 9:30 at night, they took a walk, knowing in the back of their minds that the train they were supposed to catch left at 10:00.
Oh well. The subway was a mere five minutes away. They'd make it.
And so they sat down on a bench, holding each other close, eyes up at the starry night sky.
Mina pointed out a few constellations, memories she'd kept hidden away in the back of her mind readily available for times like these. Many were ones from that night, that night in the beginning of February when they'd had their whole argument over whether or not the universe was infinite or finite. That was the night, she reckoned, she first realized she was falling in love with this boy, but was far too afraid to admit it.
Now it was nothing new.
She rested her head on his shoulder, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He blushed.
"W-What was that for?" he asked, suddenly so self-conscious.
"I don't know. Just kinda felt like it," she said. It was funny to her how making out didn't make him nearly as flustered as something so chaste.
And then, in an act of retaliation, he kissed her on the lips.
It was only a moment. She breathed heavily, sitting up straight for those lasting few seconds, until he pulled away.
He exploded into a brilliant shade of red.
Covering his mouth, he started stuttering. She hoped he'd calm down. She hated seeing him scared.
"It's okay, Izu. Relax. Surprise me with a kiss whenever you want. I'll never not like it," she said, sliding slightly closer to him.
He let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. It's just that you're usually the one to kiss first, and I kinda got carried away—"
"I like when you get carried away."
That didn't help at all.
She hugged him until he could think straight again. Then, as the clock hit 9:45, they decided they'd better go.
They just marginally made it on time.
And in an instant, they were back at U.A.
It all felt far too fast.
When they arrived back at the dorms, some of their classmates were still downstairs in the common room, heads turning as soon as they walked in. They let go of each other's hands.
"You two were out for a while," Iida inquired.
Izuku looked all over the place, glad to see Uraraka wasn't anywhere in the near vicinity. "Yeah. Um, we were in the city," he said.
"Doing what?" Iida asked.
"Movies. Karaoke. The like."
Kaminari chipped in. "Oh? Was it a date?"
They both blushed.
"So it was."
"Yeah," Mina mumbled. She wouldn't have been so embarrassed if they hadn't seen her kissing him just the other day, still with the mindset that he and Uraraka were completely unscathed and still going strong. Which, she should be honest, they were. Now she felt she needed to explain herself. "We got everything sorted out. Uraraka's okay, and so are we. You don't need to worry about tension anymore."
Kaminari smiled, gave a huge thumbs-up. "Awesome! Well, I mean, I don't really know what happened, but I guess I'm happy for you guys."
"Thanks," Mina started. "I'm happy, too," she said, staring up at Izuku with these beautifully bright eyes and bright smile, cheeks flushed and face free. He smiled back.
So, how many people knew about them? Mina counted. Kaminari, Kirishima, Iida, Jirou, and Bakugou. Not a long list.
Bakugo, in an already-pissy mood, all of a sudden got angrier, set off by these two lovebirds. "Ugh, stop looking at each other like that, will you? Stupid shitty Deku," he hurled, mumbling that last part under his breath.
It was then that Mina realized she needed to go through with the next part of her plan: talk to Uraraka.
She whispered to Izuku, "I'm going to talk to her, okay? You know who."
He nodded. He was a little upset he didn't get to spend more time with her, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be long before she was back—hopefully with good news.
- o - o - o -
Mina knocked at Uraraka's door. She'd texted her initially not too long ago to let her know she was coming, and Uraraka had given her the okay.
Uraraka answered, and her standing at the doorway felt all so surreal. So surreal for the both of them.
"Hi," Mina started.
"Hi," Uraraka said back.
Uraraka started by apologizing. "Listen, remember when I said I didn't want to be your friend? Well, that was a lie. I don't want to lose you over a boy. I was just heated, and still am, but I know you didn't mean to hurt me, and I know how easily love can take over—"
Mina hugged her. "Oh, thank God. Ochako, I'm so glad. I couldn't imagine you hating me. I'd break in two. But, I mean, it's not like I could be mad at you since you do have every right to."
"Yeah…" Uraraka trailed off. "But I won't. I'm obviously still upset, but I can't stay that way forever. I love you, Mina. I could never see myself hating you."
"But I fucked up so bad."
"I know," Uraraka said, calmly rubbing her back.
"I'm sorry. For everything. I'm sorry for taking him away from you. I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long. I'm sorry for not thinking of you and telling it straight to your face and stupidly letting you find out in the worst way, embarrassing you in front of the entirety of Class 1-A. And embarrassing myself. And Midoriya. I'm really, really freaking sorry."
"It's okay," Uraraka agreed. "I know. And I accept your apology."
"I accept yours, too," Mina began back, eyes brimming with tears. "Except you have literally nothing to apologize for."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is."
Uraraka smiled, rolled her eyes, decidedly changing the subject. "So, anyway, how was your date?"
"Good," Mina said, with all good intentions sparing the details. Uraraka was in the most delicate stages of her heartbreak, a gentle flower not to be touched.
"I'm glad," Uraraka replied.
Uraraka hid her head in her shoulders, so overjoyed to finally be telling the truth. She'd been lying to herself all this time, lying to her friends, but now, finally, she was starting to get somewhere, no longer grieving over Izuku. In fact, she was actually incredibly happy for him—and her.
"And you're being honest? You're not just saying this 'cause that's what I wanna hear? I wanna know you're okay, Ochako. Tell me."
"Yes. I'm being one hundred percent honest. I'm already starting to get over this. Mina, you and I can be friends. He and I can be friends. We can all start to be friends again."
Mina held her tight. "Oh, I'm so glad! And so, so sorry!"
"Me too," Uraraka said, smiling and wondering whether or not she'd cry, saying to herself that no, she had no reason to cry, and that crying now would just make her weak, meek, and she most certainly wouldn't allow herself to. She had no real reason.
"Mina, I love you and forgive you, and you can let go now. Just… at least for a little while, don't go around showing it off, okay? I know you like him a lot, but—"
"I know what you mean. I won't. I know that would hurt you."
"Not that it would necessarily hurt me," Uraraka said, feigning fortitude, pretending to be at least a little less upset than she looked. And it worked. Mina didn't question it. Because, in all honesty, it did hurt her. It hurt her just a little, a scratch at the surface of the skin, her wounds unwilling to heal for quite a while. "It's just that I'm not ready for that yet. I mean, you can, if you really want to, but I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"Don't worry. I won't."
And with that, Mina finally let go.
"I love you, Ochako. And if I haven't said it enough, I'm really, truly sorry."
She laughed. "No, Mina, you've definitely said it enough."
Mina gave her this blank stare.
"Oh, just go!" Uraraka said, shoving her out the door. "People are probably down there waiting for you."
She wasn't wrong. She needed to go see Izuku.
"Bye, Ocha!"
Uraraka waved back at her down the hall. "Bye!"
And so, as soon as she shut the door, slowly sliding down to the dorm room floor, she let out this huge sigh of relief that this whole mess was finally almost over, no longer feeling the need for tears.
Instead, she just sat there, somewhere between sadness and satisfaction.
- o - o - o -
Mina headed downstairs. "Have any of you seen Midoriya?" she asked, worried when she'd hurriedly spanned the entirety of Class 1-A's common area and still hadn't seen him. She'd left on such a sad note. She needed to at least say goodnight, hopefully even goodbye, kiss him one last time, even if it was just on the cheek.
The three of them, the three who were still downstairs, shook their head. Kaminari asked, "So I presume you're not cheating?"
"Nope. Uraraka knew about our date and was fine with it. Trust me, we've done it the right way, gotten it all squared away. We've already got it handled."
"Alrighty, then. I guess I'm glad for you two. Although I still don't get what you see in him, I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy. Or, at least I hope he makes you happy."
Mina, a little repulsed by Kaminari's comments but reluctant to start a fight, twiddled her thumbs. "He does. He most certainly does."
And on that note, Mina showered, brushed her teeth, put on her pajamas, and got ready for bed.
Although it wasn't her room she was heading to.
It was Izuku's.
She hesitated before knocking on his door. What if he'd left, and she was doing this all in vain? What if she was about to see something obscene?
She shrugged. She couldn't have cared less if she tried.
And so she knocked. Once. Twice.
And Izuku opened up.
He looked surprised to see her. "M-Mina? What're you doing here?"
"Um, well, I don't really know, to be honest. I kinda just came up here… to come up here? I don't know. I wanted to tell you what Uraraka said and talk to you some more, since our date didn't really end on the greatest of notes."
"O-Oh, well, in that case, come in."
Mina had seen his room over FaceTime before, but never in person. His All Might memorabilia stood out like a sore thumb, posters patterned with pretty protruding colors and bright blasting neons and slogans screaming "Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!"—all of which lined up neatly along his walls. It was almost surreal to see—that she could possibly even consider this big of a fanboy her boyfriend.
Speaking of, they had not yet made it official. She was hoping to tie that knot tonight.
She blushed. Once again she reiterated the fact that she meant with only her words. She realized how wrong that sounded.
"It's… kind of weird being in your room."
"Yeah. To be honest, it usually isn't this neat. I just happened to clean it before you got here. You got lucky."
"Guess so," she giggled. She suddenly got all serious. "So, um, I was wondering, since I was kind of sad you didn't get to stay the night last night, maybe I could stay the night tonight?"
Izuku burst into a bright red blush. "M-Mina, you mean—"
"No, no! Of course not. Izu, I know you're not ready for that yet. Neither am I. I just mean, like, y'know…."
"Sleep with me in my bed? Then yes. I want to. Really want to."
"Yeah. That's exactly what I mean."
"Did you already get ready? Brushed your teeth and everything?"
"Yup."
"Okay, well, um, I still need to brush mine, so I'll be right back."
"Okay."
And with that, Izuku was off, leaving Mina all alone and on her own to do whatever she wanted with his room and his things and his action figures and memorabilia—but she bet he didn't think of that. He never did. Maybe he trusted her too much.
Not that she would ever do any of those things, nor did she mind that he trusted her, but now that she had the opportunity, she thought she'd mess around a little.
She knelt down by his bed and buried her head into a big bulk of his blankets, holding them close. They smelled just like him, what he smelled like on their first date, just faintly of citrus and sweet herbs and strong spices. It was a smell so overwhelmingly calm.
She sat up straight as soon as he came back from the bathroom.
"What's up?" Izuku asked.
"Nothing," she mumbled. She looked like a muddled mess.
"Okay…" he trailed off, tilting his head, clearly quite confused.
In an effort to change the subject, she started talking, talking about whatever came to mind. "I want to make this official."
Oh, God. That wasn't what she had planned.
Oh well. Looked like she'd have to roll with it.
"Y-You and me?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, and before he inevitably asked the question, she answered it for him. "And I talked to Uraraka. She seems fine. I said sorry, and she was more than happy to accept. She said sorry too, even though I said she has nothing to apologize for. She said she wants us to be together, to be happy, just not to go around showing it off."
And Mina would stand by that. She'd stand by the not-showing-it-off part.
"O-Oh. That's good. I was expecting her to be a little more angry than that."
"Yeah, me too. But I let her know just how happy I was to be friends again, and how much I missed her. She said the same."
Izuku smiled, sighed. "Uraraka's too kind. She'll find someone who's right for her. No doubt about it."
"Yeah," Mina started, letting out a little lasting breath. "So, about you and me… Do you want to ask first, or…"
"Oh! Uh, sure. Mina, I was wondering if, maybe after all this, you'd perhaps like to be my girlfriend?"
He was so sweet. The way he scratched the side of his cheek, blushed bright red, looked away before reluctantly meeting her eyes in an effort to seem less scared to ask that all-too-endearing question—it all screamed weak, meek, shy, submissive, the exact opposite of strong, strange for one of Class 1-A's topmost performers. And, despite it being perceived as a negative quality by most, she liked it. She loved him for it. She loved him for a lot of things.
"Yes. Definitely yes."
She smiled, filling the few-second silence.
"So, with that said, would you maybe lay with me?"
He glanced her up and down, head in her hands on the edge of the bed patiently waiting for his response. He couldn't possibly say no.
"O-Of course. And, uh, sorry my bed's not made."
"It's okay," she said, peering down at his allegedly-messy sheets, wondering where he went wrong. It looked like he'd been rolling around in them. "Half the time I don't make mine."
He climbed in first, sliding a little further down toward the wall. He patted the spot beside him, inviting her in.
She ran right over to him, jumping beside him in bed.
"Are you comfy?" Izuku asked as soon as she seemed settled.
"Yeah." She sure did seem snuggly, and feel snuggly—almost too snug, her heart hammering wildly in and out of her chest. She bundled up next to him in a ball. "You're warm."
She suddenly felt mischievous. In one swift motion, she grabbed hold of his hand.
"M-Mina, what're you doing—"
She climbed on top of him, swinging her legs rambunctiously up in the air, and as she ran circles along the center of his chest, the feeling of his heartbeat pulsing in her palm lighting her up inside, she sighed—just softly, but all of a sudden, all too soon. It got him all riled up.
"M-Mina!" he started, suddenly so self-conscious. She didn't blame him. She was too. With her whole body pressed up against him, she knew he could feel everything, judge her if he really wanted to. Her clothes weren't necessarily revealing, but gravity had taken its toll.
But Izuku wouldn't do that. And even if he did, he'd hopefully find her appealing.
"Is this okay?" she asked.
"Um, yeah! More than okay. But—"
"I'm not going to do anything to you. I know you don't want to. I just miss your touch."
Izuku's face flushed. With slow and shaky hands, he, in the most gentle way possible, wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her and bringing her close and inevitably leaving her immobile. Immobile in a good way, immobile in a please-don't-leave kind of way.
She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder, legs no longer kicking. She stayed still.
And then she started smiling.
"I'm so happy," she said, cheeks lavender, tip of her nose lilac.
"Why?" he asked, his nose rose.
"Because I finally get to be with you. Because I can finally lay here and call myself your girlfriend."
He smiled. "And I your boyfriend."
"Yup."
"Me too, for all those same reasons."
Mina rolled back over onto her side of the bed, giving him a little bit of breathing room. She thought about telling him she loved him, as she'd already done so before, but she decided that for now that should probably be a one-time thing, as that would be delving too far into their relationship too fast.
And so she held off, curling up next to him and giving him the sweetest, most loving look. That would be enough for now.
Well, maybe not quite. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
And instead of stuttering, he gave her one right back.
"If I fall asleep now, don't wake me up."
"Okay," Izuku said. "I won't."
He twiddled around with his phone for a little while whilst using his hands as a headrest, absentmindedly scrolling through Instagram and other apps in order to keep himself busy. He didn't want to wake her, and was even too nervous to roll over, lay anywhere else, lay anywhere too close to her. Mina played with his hair, curled the little loose strands around her fingers in a desperate attempt to fill the empty silence before eventually drifting off to sleep, leaving Izuku all alone.
He turned back around to greet her.
He sighed. She wasn't subtle when she slept. In fact, she was a snorer.
He found it quite innocent, quite amusing. He wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Y'know, Mina, I really love you."
He wouldn't dare say it when she was awake.
He patted her head. Luckily she didn't stir.
"Let's go on a date again sometime."
He liked to imagine she agreed.
And then, still wearing this unbelievably bright smile on his face, this smile of pure intensity and satisfaction and an inkling of, to him, what seemed like true love, he continued to face her, examining her beautiful features. Her eyelashes were this pretty pink color, just barely lighter than her skin, nearly reaching the tops of her eyelids. She did have a few freckles, which he had failed to notice, just masked by her willful complexion. Her eyebrows were short but defined, her lips light lavender.
He found her incredibly stunning.
And in an attempt to stymie his squeals, he bit down on the tip of his tongue. Hard.
His eyes began to water.
Maybe that was enough Mina for one night.
And so, getting one last look at the beautiful face before him, Izuku closed his eyes, softly slipping off into sleep.
That night his dreams were sweet.
- o - o - o - o -
A/N: I really can't thank you guys enough. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for voting. Thank you for just enjoying. It really means a lot to me!
Next chapter should be out in a week or so, maybe less! Expect it to be short—3,000 or 4,000 or so words. Enjoy this last home stretch!
