When Izuku woke up the next morning, it took him a few moments to realize that he wasn't in his room, and that he wasn't alone.
The warmth and weight over one of his arms was the first clue. In his sleepy haze, Izuku barely noticed it, content to just lie in bed. It was a weekend, so it wasn't like he really had anywhere to be.
When Izuku turned his head to one side, he noticed the band poster on the wall, and thought, "Hang on, where am I?"
There was a rustle and a soft, delicate sigh, and Izuku turned his head towards the sound.
His eyes went wide as he saw the sleeping form of Kyoka next to him. Even as he watched, she muttered something under her breath and snuggled even closer against him. One of her arms was draped across Izuku's torso, and his own arm, which Kyoka had seemingly snuggled underneath to rest her head on his chest, curved down towards her slim waist.
With a jolt, Izuku realized that they were both very naked, and he couldn't help the bright red blush that covered his face. Oh, yeah, that had happened last night. Was...was all of it true?
Even though Izuku normally wasn't one to lie around, he felt like he'd earned this. At the very least, Kyoka was still draped over half his body, and he couldn't bring himself to wake her up by moving.
So for a while, Izuku just basked in the sight of her, at her cute little sighs and beautiful face left smooth and blank by sleep. God, he loved her so much.
Even as he had that thought, though, Izuku felt nervousness rising up inside him. He didn't know how he and Kyoka were going to do this. It wasn't just the fear that she might regret this that lingered, either; Izuku's mind raced through topics that might complicate how they felt for each other, from the media to their friends to the vagaries of heroics. There was just...so much to worry about, especially since Izuku now had someone else he was even more scared for, someone he never wanted to hurt, ever.
But even as the fear threatened to overrun him, Izuku still knew that, somehow, they would figure it out. He loved Kyoka too much to ever let anything stop him from reaching the top with her by his side. She was worth fighting for, and he would never doubt that.
At last, Kyoka began to groan as she woke up, stirring slowly even as she refused to leave the warmth of Izuku's body. Her eyes blinked open, the haze of sleep still covering them as she found Izuku's face.
"Good morning, Izuku," Kyoka mumbled, weakly running her hand along his side, as if she didn't believe he was real.
The sight was so precious it made Izuku's heart swell even more with love, and he whispered, "Good morning, Kyoka."
That, apparently, managed to wake Kyoka up fully, and she jumped, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening as she processed that Izuku was here, in her bed, and that both of them were completely naked.
"I-wha-oh," Kyoka stammered, the previous night finally flowing back to her. She couldn't believe it. She had confessed to Izuku, and he loved her back! A million dreams and idle hopes suddenly seemed within her reach, even as her heart raced impossibly fast.
Kyoka clung to the blankets over her chest on instinct, before she remembered that Izuku hadn't just seen her last night, he'd done a whole lot more, and she'd enjoyed every second of it, her body ringing with a far more powerful version of the dull thrum of heat that rose in her gut as she saw Izuku's bare chest. Taking a deep breath, she lowered the blankets, figuring that there was no reason to hide anymore. Izuku didn't comment on it; his eyes were fixed firmly on her face, full of love and a tiny bit of unease.
"So," Kyoka said, trying desperately to stay calm, "last night...happened."
His voice uneven from worry, Izuku agreed, "It did."
An awkward silence fell over them, as the two considered all the things they'd said, all the things they'd done to each other, and hoping that the other person wouldn't exploit that vulnerability, that chink in their armor.
Softly, Izuku asked, "Do you regret it?"
Kyoka stared at him with a mixture of shock and understanding. Just like she'd said last night, she could picture Izuku's struggles far better than she ever thought she could. "Of course not," she answered dismissively, "I love you, Izuku. Why would you think I would regret anything?"
Izuku's unease seemed to slip away, and he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
Weakly, he explained, "It's...it's just that I was worried that you got caught up in the moment, and said things you didn't mean, and-"
"Did you say anything you didn't mean?" Kyoka interrupted, her voice filled with more confidence than she felt.
Sheepishly but honestly, Izuku admitted, "Um, no, I didn't. I love you, Kyoka."
Kyoka felt a wide smile cross her face as Izuku's words filled her heart with more light than she'd ever felt. She pointed out, "Then why would I be different? I meant every last word, Izuku. I love you, and don't you ever forget it."
Kyoka sat up as she spoke, getting on her knees in front of where Izuku was sitting against the back of her bed, bringing them to eye-level with each other. The movement meant that Kyoka was fully exposed again, and even though Izuku tried to avert his eyes, Kyoka's hand reached out and cupped his cheek, pulling his gaze back to her. She had nothing to hide from him, no part of her that she didn't think he could love.
Quietly, Izuku told her, "I never will."
Kyoka, feeling emboldened by the morning and the lightness in her chest and how much she loved him, leaned forwards and captured his lips in a kiss. Izuku met her halfway, and Kyoka slipped closer, guided by his hands until she was snug against him.
When the kiss finally broke, the two realized how close they were, but Kyoka wasn't about to let go of him, so Izuku just sighed and nuzzled softly against Kyoka, rubbing their noses together in a gentle nudge.
Kyoka never wanted that golden morning to end, never wanted to feel anything else ever again, in case it might hurt the feather-light feeling inside her, the bright love that flooded her mind and her senses.
Then, Izuku's face became troubled again, and he said, "I…think we have some things to talk about."
"Like what?" Kyoka asked, loathe to let the real world crash back onto them so soon.
"I mean, we never really talked about what we are, or what we want, or even really agreed to date, we sort of...skipped all that and went straight to, well…" Izuku began before trailing off as memories of their night together came back.
Kyoka felt a mirrored blush creep across her own cheeks, but she refused to be ashamed. She had enjoyed every second of her first time, and she was looking forward to doing that again.
But still, Izuku had a point, and the thought that she still didn't officially have him was enough to send another twinge of worry through Kyoka's gut before she suppressed it and replied, "I guess you're right. So, should we make this official?"
"Just like that?" Izuku wondered, looking a little confused.
"Just like that," Kyoka confirmed. Seeing Izuku still making an uncertain face, she added, "Look, Izuku, I want you. I want to date you, fuck you, love you, whatever we do together. So, will you...will you have me or not?"
"Of course I will, Kyoka," Izuku answered immediately, "It's just...there are other things that I'm worried about."
"Like what?" Kyoka asked, gently stroking Izuku's shoulder, her fingers trembling as they brushed tenderly over red scar tissue.
Izuku replied, "It's just...I really don't want to sound arrogant or full of myself here, but...well, I'm kind of famous...and you and I know exactly how insane the media gets around me."
Kyoka winced in agreement, then asked, "What do you want to do about it?"
"I'm not sure," Izuku admitted, "all I know is, I don't want you to get hurt because we're dating."
Kyoka felt a swell of love at that, at how considerate and kind Izuku was being. She thought about it for a long moment, trying to find a way past their first obstacle.
At last, it came to her. Kyoka suggested, "How about we just...keep it quiet? For now, at least."
"Like, keeping our relationship secret from the media?" Izuku asked. When Kyoka nodded, Izuku began to look thoughtful as well, considering the idea.
Kyoka explained, "Izuku, I love you. But I don't feel the need for everyone to know that I love you yet, not when this is so new, not when we're still figuring out what we are, what we want."
"That makes sense," Izuku agreed, "let's...let's see how this works, first, before we worry about the world."
Izuku normally hated lying to the press; he'd accepted the fact that if he wanted to be a top hero, he would naturally have almost no privacy. He was willing to give everything to the world, to fight and risk his life to keep people safe. But on this, Izuku was going to be selfish. He loved Kyoka, but that wasn't something the world needed to know, not yet.
Izuku pointed out, "Our friends probably shouldn't know yet, either. They'll...well, I think they would expect things from us, even without meaning to. I want us to figure this out ourselves, not treat this like something to perform for other people."
Kyoka nodded in agreement. She decided, "That makes sense. I don't think any of them would tell the media, but we can't be sure. Besides, the more people know, the greater the risk."
Izuku looked at Kyoka with a raised eyebrow and a joking smile for a moment, before he asked, "Oh, and pulling one over on Yaomomo isn't part of your motivation for keeping this secret?"
Kyoka couldn't help the high, clear laugh that bubbled from her chest. "Okay, maybe that's part of it," she admitted, "but still, I do think it's a good idea, at least for now. It'll be trickier to hide it in the dorms, but...well, nobody's teased us about you coming to my room anyway, so we could probably keep doing that, as long as we're...quiet."
The tiny blush that appeared on Kyoka's cheeks was enough for Izuku to understand exactly what she meant. He blushed, too, but at last he said, "So, Kyoka, will you be my girlfriend?"
"I thought you'd never ask. Of course I will, Izuku," Kyoka answered lovingly, a wide grin covering her face as something she'd never imagined to be possible cake true in front of her eyes. She leaned in and kissed Izuku deeply, feeling his hands slipping around her waist. A shudder ran down her spine, and she realized that she was still sitting in Izuku's lap, and that both of them were still naked.
As soon as she got the chance, Kyoka whispered in a low, husky voice, "We've got a while before people start wondering where we are. If we won't be able to be affectionate in public to keep this secret...it's only fair we make the most of the time we do have."
Izuku gave her a fond smile, and the rush of heat Kyoka could feel inside her had nothing to do with the fact that he was slowly rolling them over until Kyoka was on her back.
Izuku muttered, "You're right, Kyoka. If I can't show you how much I love you outside this room...at least I can do it now."
Before Kyoka could say anything else, her boyfriend's mouth was on hers, and he was making good on his promise.
As it turned out, the only thing Kyoka loved more than her first time with Izuku was her second. At least, until her third time, of course.
In the end, Kyoka and Izuku had to separate once they were no longer able to hide up in Kyoka's room without people getting suspicious about why both of them were conveniently missing. Izuku left for his room to shower and dress, while Kyoka had to spend a whole lot more time than she expected getting ready; she was more sore than she thought, mostly from their first time, probably.
But in the end, Kyoka managed to get downstairs without too much trouble; she and Izuku had entered the common room far enough apart and looking normal enough that nobody noticed. Kyoka wasn't that bothered about keeping her relationship (and boy did thinking of the fact that she was in a relationship now confuse her and excite her at the same time) a secret, mostly because she knew full well that her friends would start teasing her relentlessly no matter when they found out.
Kyoka managed to get herself some breakfast, then sat down next to Yaomomo at the long kitchen table. As usual, the taller girl was wolfing down a massive pile of carb-heavy foods, something that had deeply disturbed Kyoka the first time she saw it.
As she sat down, Yaomomo turned to her with what might have been a grin, although it was kind of hard to tell through the massive pancake she'd just stuffed in her mouth.
"God, you literally eat like a rabid animal," Kyoka observed as she watched her friend chew, "what would your mother think?"
Gulping down the last of the pancake, Yaomomo replied, "I got my quirk from my mother. She has to eat even more carbs than I do, so her manners are even worse."
"I can't imagine," Kyoka muttered as she turned to her own plate to ignore the sight of her best friend stuffing another pancake into her mouth.
Once they'd eaten a bit more, Yaomomo turned to Kyoka and said, "You know, you don't have to watch me eat like you're scared you're next."
"Look, I just watched you inhale a mountain of baked goods like a fucking starving wolf. I think I'm justified in being a little bit scared right now," Kyoka admitted.
Yaomomo raised an eyebrow and assured Kyoka, "Come on, it's not that bad. I just eat more than the usual person to fuel my quirk!"
Kyoka gestured at one of the many items still on Yaomomo's plate and said, "That is an entire stick of butter."
With a completely straight face, Yaomomo replied, "You mean it's pure fat. Perfect fuel!"
With that, the black-haired girl picked up the stick of butter that had so offended Kyoka's sensibilities, and bit into it as if it was a chicken nugget. Kyoka watched in horror that wasn't even slightly fake as Yaomomo swallowed the entire thing in three bites.
Kyoka told her friend, "That was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen you do, and I've seen you blow villains up from inside."
Yaomomo simply grinned at her and went back to eating.
Even her best friend eating anything that even looked like it might contain carbs couldn't ruin Kyoka's mood, though. She still felt as though she was floating on air, her heart overflowing with joy. She and Izuku were dating!
For once, life seemed perfect; Kyoka was so deeply in love (something she could finally admit to herself, now that she had seen and felt proof of it so intimately) that nothing else really registered.
Finally, as they finished eating, Yaomomo turned to her and asked, "So, what's making you so happy?"
Hoping that she wasn't blushing, Kyoka replied, "Oh, I guess I just got a good night of sleep, that's all."
The skeptical look on Yaomomo's face could have made Kyoka crack, but she managed to withstand it with an even stare of her own.
"Must have been some night of sleep if you're smiling like that," Yaomomo observed. Kyoka froze and hurriedly wiped the absent-minded, lovey grin off her face.
"Kyoka, is there something you're not telling me?" Yaomomo prompted.
"Why would there be?" Kyoka retorted, pretending to be confused.
Yaomomo held her gaze for a long moment, and Kyoka gave the best guileless expression she could. It was pretty hard to do when she could still feel Izuku's hands on her body so vividly that just the memory was making her a little horny, but Kyoka thought she managed.
At last, Yaomomo said, "Okay, if you say so."
"I do say so," Kyoka insisted, "I just slept pretty well."
"Sure," Yaomomo replied with a shrug, "anyway, are you going to come to Ashido's tabloid-reading session tomorrow? I remember you got pretty upset two weeks ago…"
Kyoka imagined sitting there and reading articles about people believing that Izuku loved people other than her, and she wasn't sure if she could do it. On the other hand, Yaomomo might get suspicious if she kept saying no to things, and anyway, Kyoka was kind of curious to see what nonsense the tabloids would come up with this time…
"Alright, sure, I'll come," Kyoka decided.
Yaomomo squinted at her, but didn't press further. Kyoka went back to eating with more anticipation for tomorrow than she expected.
This was going to be fun.
When Izuku came downstairs, Kyoka was already eating with Yaomomo. Izuku knew he couldn't, but he wanted so desperately to come up behind her and hug her tightly in that moment. The fact that he and Kyoka couldn't be affectionate in public sucked, especially since he found himself wanting to touch her, even just holding her hand, more and more the longer he stared at her.
Izuku tore himself away before anyone could notice him staring, and quickly went to go join his friends, who were all eating on the couch.
When Izuku sat down, Uraraka drawled, "Well, look who finally decided to show up!"
"Where were you, kero?" Tsu asked, "Iida's pissed that you missed your morning run."
"Indeed! This is the first time in months that I have seen you neglect your own physical fitness!" Iida added, clearly agitated by the speed of his hand-chopping.
Izuku rubbed his head with embarrassment while he frantically searched for a good explanation. Finally, he sheepishly explained, "Sorry, Iida, I just overslept, I guess."
"Man, sleep sounds like fun," Todoroki mused from where he was poking at a bowl of cold soba.
"Why do you say that like you don't sleep?" Uraraka asked in confusion.
A neutral expression on his face as always, Todoroki replied, "Because I don't. The weight of my sins keeps me awake."
"What sins have you committed, kero?" Tsu asked, sounding a little too interested.
"Does wanting your father to die count?" Todoroki wondered out loud.
"Not when it's Endeavor," Izuku replied. Then, he sank back into memories, daydreaming of Kyoka and how much he already wanted to be with her again. She seemed to fill up every available ounce of space in his mind, and Izuku wouldn't have had it any other way.
Todoroki nodded sagely as he said, "Ah, in that case, I suppose I am sin-free."
Tsu told the dual-colored boy, "Todoroki, you're very good at making jokes with a completely straight face."
Todoroki tilted his head slightly in confusion, then replied, "But I wasn't joking."
Rather than deal with that, Uraraka turned to Izuku. Knocking on his head once, she asked, "Izuku, are you okay?"
Izuku blinked as he was yanked away from imagining himself and Kyoka cuddling in her room, safe from the outside world. He mumbled, "Um, what?"
Rolling her eyes, Uraraka repeated, "Izuku, it isn't like you to oversleep. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Izuku assured her, "I just forgot to set my alarm last night."
The answer seemed to satisfy Todoroki, as well as Iida, who began lecturing Izuku about his lapse in diligence and his need to always attend to the small details. Uraraka and Tsu, though, were giving Izuku skeptical looks. Before Izuku could do anything, though, Uraraka just winked at him, and mimed zipping her lips shut.
Izuku sighed to himself. At least Uraraka and Tsu didn't know the identity of the person he'd talked about them with.
Izuku's friends were still talking, but honestly, Izuku's mind was a million miles away-or rather, on the other side of the room, where Kyoka was. Izuku felt like he had an invisible tether linking him with her, and he never wanted to remove it. His magnetic attraction to her had only grown stronger now that they were together.
Izuku would be counting the minutes until he could return to her, waiting the whole day for those precious few hours. In the meantime, though, every cell in Izuku's body was screaming at him to stride across the room and fold Kyoka into his arms, then kiss her in front of everyone and damn the consequences.
God, keeping their relationship secret was going to be harder than he thought, wasn't it?