NeonHorizon: People seem to enjoy this fanfic so...I thought that I'd add more content. Also because working on this makes me genuinely happy.

"Goodness, Ume! If I'd known you were having a friend over, I would have picked up some snacks at the store." The old woman greeted the two teenagers with a smile and bowed slightly to Shinsou. "Hello there, young man. So you must be the boyfriend!"

Shirayuki's face flushed red behind her mask and she shook her head. "…G-Grandma, no…I don't have a b-boyfriend…" she protested.

"Oh? Not yet? When I was your age…" Her grandmother trailed off as she looked at the boy more closely. "Ah! It's you! You went to middle school with Ume, didn't you, young man?"

Shinsou felt just slightly awkward and attempted a pleasant smile. "Yes. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Well, now! All of Ume's new friends all have such good manners! Please take good care of my granddaughter!"

"…Grandma, please…" Shirayuki bowed her head, fidgeting with her bag in her hands. "…Shinsou-kun…wanted to see the kittens…"

"Alright, alright. I'm going to make some tea. Go ahead to your room. But leave the door open!"

Shinsou saw a fresh rush of blood go to the girl's face and was almost unable to hide the amusement from leaking into his expression. Following her to her room, he casually checked out the interior of the house. It was decorated mostly traditionally until his eyes fell upon the various waving cat figures that seemed to be placed around the house at random. What…? Are those hers or her grandmother's?

Ahead of him, Shirayuki was opening her door with shaking hands. She had seemed a little unsteady since leaving the school and he had taken notice. It was obvious that her blood sugar had dropped from using her quirk, but he was waiting to see if her grandmother intended to bring some food with their tea.

"…s-so…this is my room…um…please excuse the mess…"

The door was opened to reveal a room that he was not expecting. Her shy, polite demeanor had led him to expect a traditionally decorated room or something kind of cutesy. Of course, there were multiple book shelves. That was to be expected. Though, in place of a pink blanket and kitten stuffed animals, he found himself looking at a blood-red quilt that matched her eyes and one large dragon stuffed animal. He blinked, surprised, and then looked around more.

The room's color scheme was darker than anticipated and he saw a few canvases stacked against one wall. The topmost canvas bore a painting that he recognized from middle school. Something that she had done for an art contest. "Nice room," he commented, setting down his bag.

"…th-thank you…" The girl looked around, her eyes narrowing a bit as she seemed to frown behind her mask. "…um…right, so…the kittens…" She knelt on the floor and began looking beneath the bed.

Given nothing else to do, Shinsou turned to look at her desk. There was an older model laptop sitting there alongside scattered pictures of various flowers and a framed photo of her with her grandmother. He saw no other pictures on display. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to remember if she had ever said what her parents did. If they lived with her and her grandmother or if they were working overseas.

Shift P.O.V

Shirayuki managed to wrangle all four kittens into her arms and lifted them onto the bed, sighing in relief. "…sorry for the wait…"

"It's fine." He stared down at the small, meowing creatures with something akin to excitement in his eyes. "Did you find homes for them yet?"

"…n-not yet…but a classmate said that she'll help me…" She sat on the edge of the bed, near the pillow. Her heart was racing faster than ever before in her life and she knew that her face was still red. I've never had a boy in my room. I've never had a friend in my room. Even when those others visited…they didn't come in here. What do I do? What do I say? I…I feel awkward.

"Can I sit?" Shinsou raised an eyebrow, his eyes shifting between her and the kittens.

"…y-yes…of course…sorry…" When he sat down, he left about a foot of space between them. He let one of the kittens climb onto his lap and gently rubbed behind its ears, his mouth curling into a soft smile. She felt her pulse speed up again and she bowed her head, hoping to hide her blush behind her mask and hair. "…you're…really good with cats…Shinsou-kun…"

The boy slowly lifted his gaze and saw her fidgeting with the hairband around her wrist, anxiously tugging at it and letting it snap against her skin. He could see the flush of pink on her face contrasting with the light blue of her mask and it made his smile fade. "Do you always wear your mask in your own house?"

"…wh-what…?" She looked up from her lap, puzzled. "…no…I just…I don't wear it if it's just me and my grandmother…you know I'm…not really…"

"You should take it off." He said it casually; apparently not realizing that these words sent her heart into palpitations. "I've already seen your face. There's nothing to hide."

"…I just…I'm self-conscious…" Shirayuki lowered her eyes again, sighing quietly. "…I'm sorry…I just…can't…a-and please…don't use your quirk to make me do it…" The last part was added in just above a whisper.

Shinsou let the kitten down on the floor and leaned down a little to look up into her eyes. "Are you afraid of my quirk?"

She shook her head. "…I'm just…nervous about everything…" the girl confessed. "…I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize." He ran a hand through his bluish-violet hair and he half-closed his eyes. "So you wear that in front of your friends in 1-A?" He saw her nod. There was a moment of hesitation before his next words, but when they came, he saw her blush again. "Take it off."

"…Shinsou-kun, I'm…really self-conscious…"

"I'm your friend," he started to rationalize it. "I won't judge you based on your appearance. Especially because I've already seen it. If you can gain the confidence to take it off in front of one person, maybe you can build up to doing it in front of your other friends."

The girl reached up, now fidgeting with a lock of her hair. "…that…makes sense…but…I'm still scared…" Her eyes widened as a hand gripped her shoulder and she found herself falling back against her pillow, the boy kneeling on the bed and leaning over her. Shirayuki felt her face going from pink to red and her eyes closed tightly. "…Sh-Shinsou-kun…?"

Shift P.O.V

This was not how he expected the afternoon to go. He just wanted her to loosen up around him. They had known each for years, but she was always so stiff and proper. Now, looking down at her sprawled beneath him on her bed, he felt a little guilty about his intentions. She was clearly embarrassed and now her eyes were closed. Her long, dark violet hair was in wild waves around her head on the pillow and he caught himself wanting to touch it.

Instead, he let a finger dig beneath one of the thin straps of her surgical mask. He traced along it, the knuckles of his finger trailing along her cheekbone and gently caressing her skin. "You don't need this," he stated firmly. The boy's hand went behind her head, making quick work of the knots that held her mask in place.

As he pulled it away, he saw her nose and mouth come into view. The girl's nose was small and tipped pink from her embarrassment. His eyes were drawn down to her mouth and he tilted his head. Yes, her mouth was wider than most people's, but as he examined it he had to admit that it was still attractive. The shape of her pale pink lips made up for the strange width of her mouth and he resisted the urge to trace her lips with a fingertip. "There," he said as he set the mask aside. "That's not so bad, is it? It's just you and me."

Her eyelids lifted, staring up at him with watery crimson eyes. "…why…?"

Shinsou leaned back, planting a hand on top of the mask to keep her from retrieving it. "Because you're not a freak," he stated bluntly. The tears looked like they might fall and he frowned. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. "You…don't look as bad as you think you do."

Seeming to understand his true meaning, she turned her face to the side and her cheeks went a warmer shade of pink. "…you…think I look okay…?"

"Yeah." This was not how he intended to tell her how he felt. After all, he was unsure if the crush would last or not. So far, it had held true since their last year of middle school.

Her next words confirmed that she actually did not understand his true meaning. "…you think I look normal…?"

Shinsou stared down at her for a long moment before fully drawing away from her. "Something like that. I don't know what you consider "normal". I don't think anyone's "normal"."

Somehow these words did seem to comfort her. She sat up and her lips tugged into a shy sort of smile. Shirayuki pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and glanced toward him. "…th-thank you, Shinsou-kun…you're a good friend…"

An awkward silence fell upon the room as the kittens settled in for a nap at the end of the bed. He was acutely aware of how close Shirayuki was sitting to him and half-smiled when he felt her hand on top of his on the blanket. He wondered if she might feel the same way that he did. "I heard your friends in 1-A calling you "Yuki". Do they think your name is Shirayuki Yuki or…?"

She lifted her free hand to cover a laugh. "…that's…a nickname that Kirishima-kun gave me…because I don't like to be called "Ume"…"

"Hm." The boy lifted his hand, bringing her mask with it. Holding it up, he looked at the embroidered flowers and tried to imagine her grandmother working on the designs.

The door was pushed open a little bit more, admitting Shirayuki's grandmother with a tray bearing two mugs and a teapot. "Oh my goodness! Ume, your mask is off!" The surprise was soon overtaken by delight. She set down the tray and beamed. "You must be close then! Ume never takes off her mask when we have company over! You must be very special to her!"

"…Grandma, please…" Shirayuki looked to her grandmother with a frown, her face back to its normal pale shade. "…I'm just now making friends…I don't want to scare them away…"