Stupid Cupid

Chapter 5: A Date with Deku

Bella cursed herself as she got on the second train that pulled in. She knew where the date spot was so she had confidence that she could catch up to Shoto and his date. Still it was embarrassing that she got so caught up in the hormonal responses that she ended up ducking and weaving through foot traffic.

Finding a nice high spot to safely navigate, she perched herself above the crowd and waited patiently for the train to pull out of the station.

"Are you sure you heard them correctly, Kaminari-kun? Are you sure he wasn't asking Deku-kun for a plate?" Uraraka's voice caught Bella's attention and she immediately craned her head to look in that direction.

"Nope he definitely said date." Kaminari crossed his arms nodding. "Man who would have thought Todoroki would be into guys?"

"I think we may be jumping to conclusions, Gero." Tsuyu thought rationally. "Though it wouldn't surprise me if it were true. I've seen the way Todoroki-kun looks at Midoriya. He makes the same face when he's eating Soba noodles."

"Oh yeah, I know the face." Kirishima pointed at Tsuyu with a grin. "His eyes get really intense, and he has just the hint of a smile on his face. Bakugou gets that same look when he's reading a good book."

"I too am curious about Todoroki's odd behavior, but I still feel a bit perturbed by spying on our friends." Iida pushed his glasses up into place "It doesn't feel right."

"Don't be, this is for Todoroki and Midoriya's own good. After all it could be that the two have been infected by some kind of hypnosis quirk." Mineta suggested. "It's our duty as their friends and classmates to ensure both parties are consenting."

"I see your point… very well we shall keep an eye on them for the time being." Iida agreed and Bella frowned and floated down to the group. She tucked herself into Uraraka's purse and huffed.

"And I'll make sure you don't interfere with Shoto's perfect date!"

~with Todoroki and Midoriya~

"Thank you, and enjoy the show." The ticket seller gave the two boys a cheery smile, then turned her attention to the next couple. Shoto and Izuku strolled into the main lobby, pausing at the snack counter.

"Since you paid for the tickets, and will be paying for dinner later, why don't I pay for the snacks?" Izuku held up his wallet. "I know you said you'd treat me, but I'd really like to do something to contribute."

"Alright. I don't really go to see movies very often, and when I do I don't usually get snacks." Shoto explained, eying the candy in window of the counter.

"Really?" Izuku looked surprised. "You gotta get popcorn at least, right?" When Shoto said nothing Izuku looked at him stunned. "Do you go to the movies by yourself?"

"Usually. I didn't like being at home, and until high school I didn't have anyone I considered friends. So I'd go alone." He stood up as the cashier greeted them. He pointed down at the display cas. "Which of these do you recommend?"

"We have a lot of good choices. Pocky is a favorite, but we also have some candy shipped form America. My personal favorite are the goobers." She held up a box of the chocolate peanuts.

"I'll take them," he glanced at Izuku. The boy looked at him with teary eyes and he blinked. "What?"

"So you've never…" Izuku sniffed and then slapped money on the counter. "We'll take one of everything please!"

"He's joking." Shoto placed his hand over Izuku's. "It's okay, Midoriya. I don't need to try everything today. If you want we can come here again and try something new."

"Yes… good idea!" Embarrassed by his sudden emotional outburst, Izuku paid for the goobers as well as a large popcorn and two sodas. "That would have been silly. We're supposed to be getting dinner after this, right?"

"That's the plan." Shoto handed the tickets to the usher, and they were shown to the proper theater. Once seated, Shoto opened the box and popped a goober into his mouth. "Mmm that's good." He offered one to Izuku.

"Oh Thanks," he started to hold his palm out, but Shoto popped it into his mouth instead, making his face flush again. "MMMMMPH!"

"Do you like it?" Shoto smiled, the power of the ikemen striking Izuku down and nearly making him choke on the candy in his mouth.

"Yes…" he managed after swallowing. "It's delicious." He bowed his head and sipped shyly at his soda. Shotot continued to look at him, making Izuku fidget uncomfortably. "Uh, so… I meant to ask earlier but what movie are we seeing?"

"I'm not sure what it was about." Todooki looked at the ticket stub. "Kaminari recommended it to me when I told him we were going out today."

"Kaminari did?" Izuku looked at his own ticket stub. The title of the movie was "Unrequited" and it made Izuku's heart skip a bit. "Oh, this is that new Drama that was just released. From what I hear it's a real tear jerker and stars one of the biggest female actresses in Japan."

"Oh, I didn't realize it was going to be a crying movie. Kaminari that it was the go to for a date… but I don't want to make you sad." Shoto slumped in his seat. "I should have asked what movie you would have liked."

"Oh, no it's okay. I don't mind a good cry. Besides, the director for this movie is really good. His attention to detail and visual storytelling is really captivating," Izuku assured, the lights go out and he pressed a figure to his lips with a smile. "Shhh just watch."

Shoto did, lounging comfortably in his seat he turned his eyes to the screen, and got immersed in the story. The film was about an emotionally stunted man who didn't believe in love and romance. When he finally realized he was in love with his closest friend, she had already gone to the arms of another man.

The bittersweet story left Izuku in tears, and sniffling into a napkin. Meanwhile Shoto couldn't help but feel a kinship with the main protagonist. He'd been so cut off from his emotions, and now that he was finally starting to understand what it meant to love someone he feared losing them.

Shoto's hand instinctively reached for popcorn, Izuku's hand was already in the bucket and their fingers touched. Both of their heads turned towards each other. Their eyes met, Izuku's wet with tears, and Shoto's full of emotion. On screen the main protagonist pulled his love interest into a tight hug and held her tight.

"Don't go." The protagonist pleaded, his voice full of emotion.

Todoroki's hand turned and laced fingers with Izuku's. Izuku's breath hitched.

"What are you doing?" The woman spoke with a shaky voice. "Let go of me."

Izuku's hand started to pull back but Shoto gripped it tighter.

"No, not again. Never again."

Shoto's eyes got intense and he leaned over, his hand pulling Izuku closer so that their faces were inches apart.

"Isuzu! I lov-"

"Don't say it!" The woman shoved him away, and slapped him hard across the face. "You idiot!"

Izuku pulled back, the popcorn knocked over and he was up like a shot. The people sitting close to them turned their heads, a mix of annoyance and curiosity on their faces.

"Sorry… Bathroom… I need to use the bathroom." He hurried away leaving Shoto in his seat, hand stretched out.

"Okay…" Shoto pulled his hand back into his lap. He held it by the wrist, his fingers twitching a little as the heat of Izuku's touch remained. His eyes looked back up to the movie, and he felt a tear trickle down as the next words spoken tore at his heart.

"Why did you have to change things between us? Does our friendship mean anything to you? How am I supposed to look you in the eye, and be in the same room as you knowing how you feel about me, and knowing I can never return those feelings! I hate this! I hate you!"

Shoto stood up and hurried after Izuku.

~In the Bathroom~

Izuku couldn't control his breathing. His heart was hammering violently against her chest and the heat in his face made him feel like his head was gonna explode.

"What was that? What the heck is happening to me?" Izuku splashed water in his face and slumped over the sink. "For a minute there, it looked like he was gonna-"

"Midoriya!" Shoto entered the bathroom, panting heavily and looking grave. "I'm sorry!"

"Todoroki-kun! No I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Izuku stood up straight, his arms waving around erratically.

"No, it was definitely my fault." Shoto held his chest and lowered his head. "I was letting myself get carried away. A friend of mine warned me not to try and kiss you, but I didn't listen to her. I'm sorry that I frightened you."

"Kiss… you mean you really were trying to kiss me?" Izuku stammered and covered his face with his arms. "It wasn't just my imagination running wild?"

"No.. I really did want to kiss you then. I was caught up in the movie, and in my own feelings. I'm sorry." Shoto bowed low. "Please don't hate me."

"Hate…" Izuku calmed down a bit, and took stock of Todoroki's expression and position. The man was shaking, his face, though bowed down, he could tell was twisted up with guilt and regret of his actions. "Todoroki-kun you've got it all wrong."

Shoto slowly raised his head, his eyes sad and teeth grit.

"No, I know what I did. I deserved to be slapped like Takeru-san." Shoto said, referring to the movie's protagonist. "I didn't consider your feelings at all."

"That's not what I'm saying…" Izuku stepped up and took Todoroki's hands in his. "Listen, Todoroki-kun. You've got it all wrong!"

Shoto looked down at their linked hands and then at Izuku's hones face.

"I didn't pull away because I disliked what I was feeling… the reason I pulled away was because I was scared." Izuku lowered his head and fidgeted. "I've never really felt like this before. I mean I've been attracted to girls, and had thoughts about kissing them and stuff, but I've never considered it with another man before. I've also never felt compelled to kiss someone. It's a new and frightening sensation for me."

"Yeah…" Shoto gripped his hands. "I agree. It's really scary."

"This… what we're both feeling… is new territory for us. Neither of us know how to handle it just yet, so there's bound to be some misunderstandings and miscommunications." Izuku flustered when he heard men's voices and let go. "Come on, let's talk about this somewhere else."

"Okay…" Shoto nodded in agreement and followed Izuku out of the bathroom and the theater.

~Meanwhile~

"Oh man, we lost them." Uraraka scanned the crowd of people who left the theatre. "Are you sure those two went to the bathroom?"

"Positive, and I never saw them come back." Kaminari rubbed his chin. "Maybe they decided to skip the rest of the movie and go straight to dinner."

"There you all are." Iida came out holding a bucket of half eaten popcorn, with Tsuyu and Mineta. "You two missed a wonderful movie. The ending was truly a thing of poetic genius."

"Mineta cried." Tsuyu said unapologetically and snagged a piece of popcorn with her tongue.

"I did not! Kirishima was the one who was crying." Mineta retorted.

"Bro how could you not? That man sacrificed everything, his pride, his fortune, and his heart all to win her over. It was so manly!" Kirishima clenched a fist and rubbed at a stray tear. Bella sat on his shoulder sobbing into a pink handkerchief.

"I feel you, Kirishima-kun. It was so sweet and so sad how he was rejected completely in the end!" She blew her nose. "Such a heart wrenching story!"

"Did you guys locate Todoroki-kun and Midoriya?" Tsuyu asked.

"No, Kaminari said he heard Izuku say he wanted to use the restroom, but we checked all of them and they're not here. We think they may have gone to dinner already."

"Ooh, great idea! I'm starved!" Kirishima suddenly dried up his tears at the mention of food.

"You just gorged on a bucket of popcorn, nachos, and a huge pretzel, how can you still be hungry after that?" Mineta gawked.

"A man needs his meat!" He flexed with a grin. Bella put away her handkerchief and inwardly snickered.

"A pity you didn't get the name of the restaurant they're going to." Bella took out a nail file. She'd been a bit worried when she'd seen Todoroki and Izuku have a small hitch at the theatre, but Izuku's radar was still going off showing that his affections and attraction to Todoroki was only increasing. "You guys can't follow them now. Guess this is where we part ways."

"So where do you guys think we should eat?"

"Oooh I know, how about that really nice cafe down the street?"

"Geh!" Bella tensed up. "Crap, that's precisely where Shoto was planning to take Izuku. I gotta keep them from interrupting." She looked around desperately for a moment, then spotted the vendor truck. She flew over to it and manifested a fan to blow the aroma towards the group.

Uraraka sniffed the air and started drooling.

"Who do you smell that?" She paused by the vendor truck. "That smells amazing!"

"What about the cafe?" Kaminari jerked a thumb, but got a whiff of the food himself. "Oooh on second thought, that does smell incredible." He waved his hand to the others. "Oi, guys how about we eat here?"

"What about Midoriya and Todoroki?" Mineta asked, even as he eyed the menu.

"Ah leave them… we'll just nag them for the details tomorrow." Kaminari took up his order of yakitori, drool leaking out the corner of his mouth. "This looks too good to pass up."

Bella let out a sigh of relief, wiping her forehead.

"Whew that was close, now I can- WHA!" She ducked and dodged as large bodies crowded around her, hands reaching for food and items and she struggled to get out of the way. "Whoa hey! Watch it! Kya!"

~Meanwhile~

Shoto stirred his iced tea as the waitress brought the appetizer plate to the table. She gave them a cheerful smile then moved onto the next table, allowing Midoriya and Todoroki to be alone.

"So… what do you think we should do about this?" he asked Midoriya. "We're both attracted to each other, but neither of us know what to do about it."

"I'm not sure to be honest." Midoriya picked up a lettuce wrap and folded meat into it. "I've never dated anyone before. I've always put hero work, and school studies ahead of things like that."

"Same…" Todoroki agreed and gently set his tea aside. "Except I don't think I can just ignore it anymore."

"Me neither, now that I'm aware of it, it's kind of hard to ignore." He filled his mouth with food, giving himself a moment before he spoke again. "I don't think we can just go back to the way things were."

"I'm sorry…" Shoto slumped, his face looking gloomy. Izuku held his hands out as f to wave away the gloomy aura.

"No, no, no, no! Don't be sorry! I'm kind of glad, actually." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I never gave any real consideration to dating and stuff until you asked. It was never a priority, and now that I think about it… I should have the experience at least, even if it is with another guy."

"I don't just want to experience a date with you, Midoriya. There are things I wanna do… urges that I have that I haven't experienced with anyone else." Shoto said it honestly and started to fold another lettuce wrap. "If that makes any sense."

"Ah…" Izuku blushed as he watched shoto roll up the meat then practically swallow it whole. "Y-Yeah I can kinda get the picture." He cleared his throat. "Though I think that may be going a bit overboard."

"So what should we do?" He licked his fingers clean, his intense gaze focusing on Midoriya making him fidget a little.

"Well…" Izuku swallowed hard again and bravely met his eyes. "Maybe, we should just enjoy it… and cherish the feelings we have for each other."

"How do we do that?" Shoto rubbed his fingers over the dew on his glass, frosting it to keep it cold. He tensed up a little when Izuku reached across the table and closed his hand over his. Their eyes met again, and this time Izuku just smiled.

"By making a promise." he hooked his pinky around Todoroki's and held it up. "I promise that I'll be honest with you about my feelings, and that if I'm uncomfortable about a situation we're in, I'll let you know."

Todoroki gripped his pinky back, his smile soft and wholesome.

"I promise to never do anything you don't want. I won't force you into anything you're uncomfortable with, and I'll ask you before making any sudden moves like back in the theatre."

"Okay…" He gently shook his hand as if to seal the agreement. Their main course arrived and Izuku's eyes suddenly brightened. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask because of everything that happened. Would you mind going shopping with me once we're done eating."

"Sure, where do you wanna go?" Shoto broke apart his chopsticks and dipped his soba noodles before slurping them up.

"There's a hero merch shop just down the street that has a sale going on from 5pm to closing. I wanna get there and see if I can find this All Might blanket I saw on their website…" Izuku continued to talk even as they ate. Shoto, feeling at ease again, just smiled, ate, and listened.

~The Dorms~

For the rest of the day, Izuku and Shoto spent time browsing shops, and just enjoying each other's company. They bought hero merch from the store Izuku wanted to go to, listened to some music at a nearby record store, and even browsed a few clothes stores by admiring the displays in the windows.

It was near nightfall when the two finally returned to the dorms. Izuku held the bag with the All Might blanket Shoto had bought him, as well as a few other items he'd eyed. His smile was bright and chipper; all the tension and unease from before gone.

"The day started off a little weird, but overall I had a great time, Todoroki-kun."

"Me too… I really am sorry if I came onto you a bit too strong, Midoriya." Shoto held his chest. "I'm still trying to figure out how to control these emotions and urges inside me."

"Yeah I get it. So then listen…" Izuku paused his walk and turned towards Shoto. "I don't mind continuing to figure things out between us, but let's take it slow, okay?' He gave him a wide smile. "We don't have to rush it. I'm not thinking of doing this with anyone else but you, okay?"

"Really?" Shoto rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that include Bakugou and Uraraka?"

"Eh?" Izuku blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Bell… I mean I kinda got the impression that your feelings for them were more than just friendship."

"I'm not sure what gave you that impression, but Kacchan and I are just friends… or maybe friendly rivals would be a more apt description. As for Uraraka-san… I do like her." Izuku scratched his cheek. "I just don't think I'd ever date her."

"Why not? The two of you get along really well, and you apparently are very compatible." Shoto glanced off to the side, wondering why he was bringing that up.

"That may be, but what really matters in a relationship isn't about how well you get along or how compatible you are." Izuku frowned. "What I think is really important is the feelings you have for each other, and I just don't think that if Uraraka came to me and said that she wanted to be more than friends that I'd be able to return her feelings wholeheartedly." Izuku responded honestly.

"I see…" Shoto put both his hands in his pockets.

"It's different with you though, Todoroki-kun." Izuku stepped closer to him. "I wasn't sure about dating another man at first, but after spending time with you today I…" he paused, not sure how to properly phrase his words.

"You what?" Shoto tilted his head to the side, genuinely curious and attentive. He watched Izuku's face go through a variety of emotions: excitement, embarrassment, frustration, and then finally hardened into a look of determination.

Izuku dropped his gifts to the ground and grabbed Shoto by the front of his shirt. He stood up on his toes, and pulled Shoto down. Their heads bang together, making Shoto wince, but Izuku kept his grip firm and tilted his face a little more to plant the kiss straight on Shoto's lips.

Shoto's eyes went wide with surprise, and his hands came out of his pockets, gripping Izuku's arms in order to anchor himself. The kiss only lasted a few moments, and it was clumsy at best… but it was also warm and full of emotion and effort that Shoto not only appreciated, but reciprocated.

As quickly as he'd come onto him, Izuku pushed Shoto back and breathed heavily through his nose.

"There! I think that says it all." He snagged up his belongings. "Have a good night, Todoroki-kun. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ah…" Shoto numbly held up a hand as Izuku rushed inside. His smile came slow and genuine and he lay his fingers over his lips. "Good night, Midoriya."

He heard the sounds of wheezing and turned his head to see Bella flying over, slumped and disheveled.

"Where have you been?" He held his palms out as she collapsed in the air, and caught her. "Are you alright?"

"Too… many… suitors! Not... enough… of me." She collapsed fully, her soul leaking from her mouth.

"Whoa! What happened? Get a hold of yourself!" He placed a finger on her cheek and was surprised by how feverish she was. "You're burning up! Water, I'll get you water!" He held her to his chest and hurried inside with her.

~Ask Briry~

Bri: I love me some wholesome TodoDeku! I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am.

Next Chapter: Kitchy Todoroki