A/N: Hey, guys! This is a little late—sorry about that. I haven't been doing too good these past few weeks, but I'm powering through. It'll all be alright.
As for the chapter situation, there isn't much left in terms of storyline. Just two more chapters, sadly, and I'll have this book completed. I'm honestly blown away at the support and love I've received throughout, so really just thank you all. Bless you guys. I don't know what I'd do without you.
I'm pretty proud of this chapter. It's really just a bridge chapter between the last chapter and the next, but I thought it served its purpose well. There are some minor things I'd change, but for now it isn't a big deal. Hope you all enjoy!
- o - o - o - o -
Izuku woke up the next morning with her in his arms.
He was too scared to move. Any slight stir would wake her, knock her out of her seemingly sweet dreams.
But she was lying lifelessly on top of his arm. And over the course of the night, it'd gone numb.
Slowly but surely, he just marginally managed to slip it out from under her, sliding it an inch or two toward his side each second. She did stir every once in a while, startling him, but would inevitably go back to sleep.
Once he broke free, he decided he'd wait awhile.
Just a few more minutes, he thought.
That was right. Just a few more minutes in heaven, in paradise, until he'd have to go back to the vanilla, mundane world, maybe more like hell.
She rolled back over to face him. She snored, the start of a stray snot bubble bursting out from under her nose. He recoiled back in disgust, maybe a hint of delight. Not the kind of delight you'd think of, but more of an amusement kind of delight.
He found her funny, especially when she smiled like that in her sleep, so innocent and pure and completely unaware of what she had just done much to his merriment mere moments prior.
Simultaneously, she said, "No, no, no! I said french fry, not cream pie…"
She must have been dreaming up something good.
Her mouth watered, just lightly licking her lips, and she seemed so hungry. Izuku checked the time.
It was a little past nine.
He heard a low grumble, and it took him a second to realize it was the sound of her stomach rumbling, rolling over in longing under the covers. As if on queue, his did as well. He decided it'd be best if he woke her up to go get some breakfast.
He tapped her on the shoulder.
With bed head so bad her bangs had become her biggest barricade, Mina sat up, rubbing her eyes, looked a little to the left and realized it was Izuku sitting there next to her and took a few seconds to be stunned all over again before coming to the realization that yes, last night did actually happen, and it wasn't just a dream. She'd slept so soundly she couldn't tell the two apart—what was her imagination and what was really reality.
"Good morning," Mina started.
She turned back around, watching his cheeks flush this vibrant shade of red. Upon second glance, he was a couple inches closer to her than he was last night.
"Izu, did you... hold me in your sleep?"
And at that point he lit up like a wildfire.
She plopped back down on the bed, the least bit hesitant to hug him. "Aw! I can't believe I missed it!"
Nervously, he let out a little laugh, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
He was always so anxious.
But he was starting to get the better of it.
And it was a good kind of anxious. A giddy-and-glad kind of anxious, just terrified to get too close.
"Mina, do you wanna go get some food?"
"Yes. I'm starving."
And so Mina toppled off of him and toward the other side of the bed, rolling onto the floor. Still in her pajamas and unsure of how she was going to get down inconspicuously, she asked, "So… What now?"
"What do you mean, 'What now?'"
"Like… How am I supposed to get downstairs without raising suspicion?"
"Oh. Crap."
Izuku hadn't thought of that. And now both of them were in a bind.
"Um, well, I have a hair brush," he said. He ran to the bathroom and grabbed it out of the bin for her. "And I don't know what to do about your clothes—"
In the middle of his intellectual interpretation, she all of a sudden interrupted him, holding her head up high. "Oh! I know! How about I wear one of your hoodies? I mean, I've already got sweatpants on, so it won't look too weird."
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "But, Mina, all of my hoodies have… All Might on them."
"What about your U.A. hoodie? You didn't keep it? I would have assumed you'd kept yours." At the beginning of the year, each student was handed out a hoodie in commemoration of getting accepted into such a highly prestigious high school, even the first years. She'd kept hers as a prize, almost as a pride and joy.
"I actually think I might." And in an insatiable search he went digging, tearing apart his closet, throwing old clothes behind him and everywhere all over the place in his room. "Ah! Here it is!" he finally said, holding up a wrinkled heap of cotton. He threw it back at her.
She headed into the bathroom to change.
She was a little sad it didn't exactly smell like him, as it'd been left on the closet floor for so long, but the fact she even was wearing a hoodie of his was plenty good enough.
She'd take what she could get. Gladly, she thought.
She strutted out the door with an indescribable amount of confidence, an almost overwhelming one, one not masked by fear. Teeth brushed (Izuku had a few spare tubes of toothpaste lying around by his sink) and a tidbit of makeup (the little she'd brought along) dabbed onto the more oily parts of her skin, she was feeling ready to go. "You like?" she asked, giving him a twirl around.
"Yeah. It suits you." He smiled.
She would admit that it was a little too long. The armpits were fat and fanned out when she lifted them up, and anyone who took more than a first glance would know this wasn't her hoodie.
But she didn't mind.
And so she prepared to walk out that door, ditzy and dolled up. They'd already agreed that she would head out first, and then Izuku would follow a few minutes later.
But he stopped her long before any of that could happen.
"Mina, can we... maybe keep this quiet?"
"Hm?" she asked.
"Like… you and I sharing a bed? It'd be a little weird if people knew."
She turned back around, gave him one of the sweetest, most purest smiles he'd ever seen, and right then he knew that whatever was about to come out of her mouth would without a doubt be the truth. "Yeah! Of course. If anyone asks I'll tell them it's none of their business. And if they keep pestering me I'll ignore 'em."
Now this was a Mina he'd never met before.
He nodded. "Yup. And I'll do the same."
"Yup!"
And so, still wearing that same smile, she carefully closed the door, shutting it back behind her with a wink and a weary walk, feet suddenly going in seconds from slow to somewhat speedy as she hurriedly headed down the hall.
All of a sudden he missed her.
He sighed, jumping back in bed, hugging the pillow she'd laid on last night tight. It still smelled like her—her hair, her perfume, her everything—just so authentically her.
He shook his head. He couldn't keep her waiting for too long. He said he'd be down soon, and so, still not dressed, he stood up, the smell of her still stuck on him like moth drawn to a flame, not that he necessarily minded, and got ready in a raring rush.
In fact, he couldn't have cared if he tried.
- o - o - o -
Mina emerged from the elevator fresh as a daisy, delightful as a little delilah.
Luckily, no one had noticed her atypical attire, merely passing by her as if she were a weed in a garden full of flowers.
But Jirou, always keeping a watchful eye on her, wasn't so susceptible.
"I'm not so sure that's your shirt."
Mina's shoulders stiffened. In a plight, she simply just stood there in shock as she practically pummeled her plate of pancakes on the floor.
"'Course it is," Mina lied. "Why would it not be?"
"Mina, be honest here. It's three sizes too big." She checked the tag. "You're a medium in women's, not men's. And you never wear your clothes all wrinkly. Nevermind a sweatshirt with sweatpants."
She sighed. "Okay, fine. You got me." Mina moved in close. "But could you maybe keep it down a bit?"
"Yeah. Wait, so… It's Midoriya's, right?"
"Uh, yeah, obviously."
Jirou, mouth agape, grabbed hold of her cheeks. "No."
"'No' what?"
"You two didn't have sex—"
Mina, in an impetuous moment of panic, immediately brought her hand up to Jirou's still-stuttering lips, silencing her for so long. She only let it down when she was sure she wouldn't say anything.
"Most definitely not!"
"But you were together last night," Jirou whispered.
There was a pause. "Yes," Mina replied. "I couldn't get back to my room in time to grab my stuff, hence me wearing his. Now no more questions, okay? I promised Izuku I'd keep this quiet."
Jirou raised an eyebrow. If there was anything she was expecting out of Mina, of all people, it sure wasn't that. "Hey, you do you, I guess." She slapped her on the small of her back, Mina jumping emphatically out of her seat. With everyone now at the table, they had to be much more discreet. "I'm proud of you, going and getting your man."
Mina smiled at that.
And it was at that very moment that Izuku finally made it downstairs.
"Midoriya! You're late," Iida called, completely unaware as to why. It made Mina chuckle.
She shut up as soon as half the class turned a blind eye to their just-joining classmate and instead stared at her.
"Yeah, sorry," he said. "I woke up past my alarm."
So that was his excuse.
He sat down somewhere near her, as close to her as he could get, with all due respect still sitting with his fondest friends, the stereotypical Dekusquad. Bakugo had given them that name—Izuku didn't have the arrogance for that—and it had just kind of stuck. The table was teeming—he wasn't wasting time trying to scooch any closer to her only to end up next to people he didn't really know. That would be a bummer, especially for such a big breakfast.
And so, in a flustered flurry, he somehow ended up right where he wanted to be, right smack dab in the middle of Iida and Todoroki and across from Asui and Uraraka. And just outside of his line of vision was Mina, who he'd peer at every once in a while with longing and a little bit of lust.
She did, too, and not what she'd call coincidentally.
And in doing so they'd catch each other's eyes every so often and smile.
- o - o - o -
After breakfast, Jirou patted Mina on the back. "Mina! Let's go dress shopping together!"
Mina turned around, smiled. Today was not the first day she was much more over the moon than she should be.
Or maybe, she thought, it was justified. "Sure!" she said. "Why don't we invite the other girls, too?"
Jirou called over Yaoyorozu, and then Hagakure, and then Uraraka and Asui. "You guys down to go dress shopping?"
"Today?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Uh, sure. Why not?"
"Where?"
"The mall. If that's where you guys wanna go."
Everyone looked around at each other, wondering who would protest, and when no one did, they nodded their heads.
They raced upstairs to get ready.
And then something occurred to Mina.
She had completely forgotten to ask Izuku to the dance.
First, she'd pick out a dress.
And then she'd find a way to work it by him.
Tonight, she thought. She was going to run it by him tonight.
- o - o - o -
At the mall, half the girls had already found their dress when Mina was still searching, Jirou joining her as she went through racks and racks of clothes on clearance, coming to the realization that many of them were much too ugly to even come close to anything she'd wear. Too short, too flowy, a few too frilly.
It wasn't until she moved into the more expensive section, much to the detriment of her wallet, that she found what she was looking for.
Black was her color. That was long since already decided.
So when she found a black dress, one short but cute with a little bit of character, she couldn't help but immediately fall in love.
"This is the one," she said. "Please let there be a medium!"
She let out the hugest sigh of relief as soon as she found one.
She showed it to Jirou. Jirou beamed. "That is so cute! It'll look great on you!"
In the dressing room, she spun around and around, checking herself out in the mirror. The hem of her dress rested just above her knees, the perfect height to just marginally make it through the entirety of the school dance without getting dress coded. And, well, if it didn't, screw school. Screw school rules.
At the bottom of her dress lied lace, ever so slightly frilly, and an off-the-shoulder kind of cut on top. Lace lined that part too. She hoped how tightly it hugged her curves and hips and even her waist would have Izuku falling at her feet.
If he wasn't already doing so.
She started spinning, dancing, singing like a lovesick loon. She imagined him hugging her, holding her close, hearts beating in tandem to the rhythm of a super slow song.
Uraraka would let them show off then, right? Just for that night?
"Mina? Hello? You in here?"
She relaxed, composed herself, grabbed hold of her cheeks as soon as she heard that easily recognizable voice—Jirou.
She cleared her throat. "Y-Yeah. What's up?"
"Did you already try on that dress?"
"Um, yeah. I have it on right now."
"Can I see?"
"Sure," she said, eager to not only make room for her but also open the curtains. In satisfying her friend's curiosity, she'd get some much-needed feedback, a different outlook other than the one from herself. Although, she already had a feeling she knew what she'd say.
"Do a quick twirl around," Jirou said.
Mina did, once again thinking of Izuku.
"Yup. I'd say get it."
"I'm going to." Mina looked at herself once more in the mirror, smiled.
And, Izuku still stuck in her eyes and on her mind and lighting her up inside, she changed back into her jeans and t-shirt, dress in hand, hurrying to check out and meet up with the girls who were already long gone looking for something to eat.
Jirou and her bolted up the escalator and over to the other side of the mall.
They made it just in time to find their friends already digging into an enticing entrée of Chinese food.
"You guys could have texted us," Mina huffed, hands on her knees.
Hagakure picked up her chopsticks, pointing accusingly at the two of them. "We did. Neither of you answered."
They both hurriedly checked their phones.
15 unread messages.
"Oh, God. We're so sorry."
"It's okay! We all decided on this"—she gestured toward her plate—"and thought maybe you two would like it, but if you don't, we can get you something else—"
"No, no," Jirou protested. "It's fine." She walked over and took a chair from a nearby table and set it down next to Yaoyorozu's. "This looks so good."
Mina did the same.
She began a feisty feast as the girls went around and shared their newly beloved dresses.
Asui had bought bright yellow, a sundress, white undertones keeping it from stealing the spotlight. It was a bit shorter than she'd expected, she told them, but she still loved it unconditionally anyway. A bit of breaking-the-school-dress-code wasn't going to ruin her night.
Yaoyorozu had picked pink, a bit of a peplum blouse kind of look—the sleeves were short and the waist was tight but the hips were kind of wide. It was frilly around the edges and would've gone perfect with a long, loose necklace, which she had gone above and beyond and bought. A diamond pendant hung down from the middle, a few extra chains dangling up above it to tie it all together. It gave her this princessy kind of look, royal and regal and just straight up stunning.
Jirou's was navy blue, a simple spaghetti strap, but even from afar Mina could tell it would look great on her.
Hagakure's was white, one that was tight and would show off her figure, which was in fact very full-formed despite her inherited invisibility. It boasted a few flowers, light blue peonies and irises and others much more indigo, lurking up above the shoulders all the way down to her waistline. It was the kind of dress that gave dresses their name.
Uraraka's was last. Red and flowy, the frills almost floating—it was so unremarkably her, almost as if it were fate. For a moment Mina was sad, realizing that Uraraka couldn't show off to anyone and she was the real reason for that. But then she remembered she couldn't let herself get guilty. Uraraka wouldn't allow that.
"Oh my God, Ochako. It matches you so well," Yaoyorozu started, beginning the inklings of a conversation.
"You kinda seem… in your element, in a sort of way. Definitely your type," Jirou said, smiling.
Uraraka looked down, fumbled with her fingers in her lap. "Aw. Thank you, guys."
"Anytime, girl! You're gorgeous."
Uncontrollably, Uraraka smiled, cheeks flushed.
Mina leaned over the edge of her seat, grabbed hold of Uraraka's hands. "It's true! Uraraka, if I looked like you, I wouldn't know how to act."
Uraraka looked up, not as startled as she would've once been by Mina's presence. "Oh, stop. If I were you I wouldn't either."
They had a good laugh at that.
And then the rest of the girls started laughing.
And all of a sudden they understood.
The tension had finally risen, the curtains finally drawn.
There was no real reason to be afraid, no real reason to worry about relationships being ruined or the eradication of their friend group—there were plenty more memories to come, plenty more bright spots and crying spells and sleepless Saturday nights sprawled out on the couch with a bunch of bags of chips and crummy TV remotes in hand.
No boy would ruin their fun.
Their night came to a standstill, them finishing off with eating dessert and Mina finally getting to show off her dress (which they all seemed to like) and then them heading home, taking the train back to Musutafu and the scenic route back to the U.A. dorms. The boys had barely noticed they were gone, except for Mineta and Kaminari, of course. Although, they were a different breed of boy.
Izuku had hung out with Iida and Todoroki so long he'd neglected to notice Uraraka and Asui's return. The two took a quick trip upstairs and then sat down next to them on the couch.
"You two were out awhile," Iida said, pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.
"Just a few hours. Isn't that normal for a Sunday? We went out dress shopping," Uraraka said, following it up with a quick "And before you ask, no, you cannot see. No one is seeing until Friday."
Uraraka gave a nervous nod in Izuku's direction, to which he gave one so willingly and even-temperedly back she no longer felt the need for copious amounts of unnecessary anxiety. It was nice, being able to talk to him normally like that. She smiled, her facial features no longer taut.
Little did she know, Izuku wasn't too keen himself on saying hello. Something still scared him about it; something didn't feel right. But he knew in his heart, over time, things would get better—less awkward, less rigid, less troublesome for the rest of the group. And soon enough it would be like nothing had ever happened.
Well, something did happen. It just wouldn't be a big deal.
Plus, that was what she'd asked for, right? A little less space?
And for the rest of the night, those last few hours they spent together doing homework and letting out the creative capabilities they didn't have time to show off during the week, that seemed to be the case.
Iida and Asui and Todoroki and even every once in a while Tokoyami didn't find any time for it to be awkward.
And neither did they.
Just a little while longer, Izuku thought, until things are normal again.
But for now, we'll just take baby steps.
Baby steps, he thought—and one day they'd get there.
- o - o - o -
It was a little past nine, moments before he was about to hop up the elevator and head upstairs, when Izuku was pulled aside by a familiar pink face, one with great fervor in her golden fevered eyes. She led him into one of the two vacant laundry rooms, the only one with the washing machine still running, a little bit of a much-too-mischievous grin lining her lips as she finally let go of the hand she'd been holding onto so tight.
"M-Mina, I was about to go to bed, y'know—"
"Yeah, but, before that, I have something to ask."
"What?" he asked.
She took his palms and held them, rubbing slow circles over the skin on the back of his hand. "I know we're official now, but I thought that maybe this should be done… professionally. And I know because we are official I might not even need to ask, but I'm going to anyway, just in case. So, Izuku, this Friday, will you go to the dance with me?"
He cupped her hands slightly, smiling softly. "Yes. Of course. And it's alright. Honestly, I didn't even think to ask. I would've. I swear."
Mina—mind at ease and at peace and jumping with joy and exhilaration and exuberance and curiosity as to how things could've possibly gone so well—slipped her fingers out from underneath his and moved them further up his arms and over his shoulders and chest to the bottom of his back, wrapping them around him like a lost boy she was loath let go. It was a comforting feeling, just sitting there like this. Who would walk in—they didn't know nor care.
Izuku hugged her back, holding her head in his hands. In an effort for some much-needed intimacy (which he had gotten more than enough of lately, yet he still wanted more), he rubbed the back of her scalp.
"I heard you bought your dress," he started.
"Yeah," she said, and slowly she looked up at him. "But no hints." She winked. "Hope you can handle it. It might be a little too short for you."
He blushed.
Not that he would necessarily mind, per se, but that little glint in her eye did raise a few questions.
"Mina," he mumbled.
"Yes?" she said, and she tilted her head to the side.
"How short is short?"
She suddenly smiled, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet, the tension once-rising in her stomach seemingly starting to dissipate. "Oh, Izu. You don't have to worry. I was only kidding. It's just not one of those long prom dresses you'd expect to see at a school dance."
Izuku sighed, and seeing her standing there, gearing into a giggling fit, his eyes were suddenly glued to her, the love he'd once felt for her intensified ten times over until he once again realized just what about her had him so head over heels. Everything—from her little blots and blemishes to her beautiful, exuberant personality to her overarching outlook on life, one so incredibly positive it easily outmatched his. And suddenly he knew why he didn't want her wearing that dress—he didn't want anyone else to stare.
He decided, still red as a cherry tomato ripe and ready for picking, he'd soon have to bring these concerns to her attention, as if he didn't he'd be unsettled, and remain unsettled until the day of the dance. And he couldn't have that happening.
"Izu, you look… confused," she said.
"It's just— Wearing such a short dress might get you… looks. From other guys."
He waved his hands frantically in front of his face, something he'd gotten into the habit of doing as of lately. "N-Not that you can't wear what you want! I'm just worried, is all."
She reached up for a quick kiss on the cheek. "Aw, Izu, you're jealous. That's cute."
He smiled, staring startlingly down at the ground. "Maybe a little."
"I promise you don't have to worry." She pointed to where it went down to, an inch or two below her mid-thigh. "This is as low as it goes." Izuku breathed a sigh of relief.
That reminded him. He still needed to pick out his own outfit, and soon.
She squealed, all of a sudden running up to him and jumping into his arms. "Oh, I can't wait to see you that night!"
"Just one week," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He couldn't believe it. Despite being together for plenty enough time, actually going to the dance with her, this girl he loved, felt like a dream. But a good dream, an exhilarating one, one he wouldn't trade in for the world.
She drew her head back and gave him a kiss on the lips. It was only a peck, but it got his heart racing, a cop car no longer cruising down the highway but dashing down it a million miles an hour. He was in the middle of a high-speed car chase.
"Yup! I'm super excited." She buried her head into the crook of his shoulder, the back of his head hot. She put her hand to it, just to be that littlest bit closer to him. It was soothing, soothing like a lullaby, like a fairytale right before bed.
Speaking of, she really needed to get on that if she wanted to have a good day at school tomorrow.
And so she poked a finger in the center of his chest, maneuvering it around a little, and said, "Alrighty, well, I think it's time I head up now. So see you in the morning?"
"Yeah," he said. "See you in the morning."
She turned toward the door.
There, standing just a few feet in front of her, was a stupified, stunned Kaminari.
"Kami, what's up? Using the laundry room?"
"Uh, yeah."
He waited for Izuku to leave and then, pulling his clothes out of the wash, started sorting.
The two of them laughed together as soon as the coast was clear.
And then, finally, after a luckily-long-yet-somehow-still-productive day, they said their last goodbyes to each other and headed up to bed happily as could be.
- o - o - o - o -
A/N: Reviews and comments letting me know what you think would be appreciated, but of course not required. Only if you are obligated to! (Last chapter didn't get any, so I'm kind of hoping for a few on this one.) Hope this chapter was sweet enough for you guys!
