Thank you for waiting so long in between chapters - and thank you for the overwhelming support I get on this series. I love writing it and I'm going to keep writing it for a long while. I'm planning a lot of things and Im trying my hardest to make each chapter around 7-10k words, it's taxing but for where I want to go with this story its what needs to happen. Unfortunately this might mean a bit long of a wait between chapters but the quality and length will be a lot better then usual. So thank you for the support - I am really loving it all and I appreciate it more than you know. Thx and enjoy!
Also - the thing about Iida's fuel being orange juice is actually real - look it up. It was in one of the guide books XD
Thats enough!
Had he really screamed that? It's not exactly something he was planning on doing when he first walked into All Mights office. Then again, he wasn't planning on doing many things in there. Finding out his class could hold a traitor, snapping on All Might, lying to Uraraka - that last one had definitely been the worst of all.
Lying to his best friend, making her cry. That was something he needed to make right. Sometime that day at least, he would need to offer a formal apology. He knew just how much their trust mattered to her, it mattered a lot to himself as well. From now on secrets aren't going to be a common occurrence between them - he didn't want them to be.
As he exited the office with Kacchan, he wondered whether or not she was alright. He had noticed how quickly she put up her mask, something he hadn't seen since the hospital. It worried him a great deal. He felt as if their relationship was on a constant see-saw, one moment they are as close as ever. While the next they are avoiding each other and acting awkward. His subconscious screamed that this show of mistrust would once again teeter their status back to the awkward side. But another part of him trusted the weight of their bond to keep them grounded.
"Ay Deku! I'm fucking talking to you." - Oh Right, Kacchan. He turned to his loud friend and saw that he looked completely exhausted. Emotionally of course - however Izuku would admit that it's rather hard to tell with him sometimes. It had gotten easier since they fought, Kacchan seemed to drop his guard around him a lot more often. But he definitely got the feeling that he wasn't completely fine after that show of All Might's harsher side.
He almost hesitated with his next words, "S-Sorry Kacchan. What were you saying?" Izuku definitely needed to break his habit of thinking too much. Especially when he was mid-conversation.
Looking forward, Kacchan stopped dead in his tracks. They were only a few steps away from the turn that would take them to the front entrance of the school. The hall winded rather pleasantly, Izuku always thought so at least. "I was saying that, ugh - never-mind..."
Well, at least he hadn't missed something importa-
"...but we need to figure out how we're gonna do this. All Might said that everyone needs to be completely aware of why we are gone. They also need to believe it." Kacchan reiterated.
A problem Izuku hadn't thought much on, to be frank he hadn't liked the idea of thinking on this one at all, "Y-Yah, that's something we definitely need to talk about." His hand came up to his face and he rubbed his eyes - he was also a bit exhausted, physically and mentally at this point, "Maybe we could-" His words were cut off as he heard the noise of a door creaking open and shutting.
It was odd how fast Kacchan and him connected, because in the span of a few seconds - they had nodded to each other and agreed to talk later. He had walked off just like that. It was like he had known that Izuku was going to want to talk to Uraraka. Which was, in retrospect, scarily accurate. Shrugging off the weird energy, he turned around ready to face any backlash from Uraraka. He knew it was coming, he had been completely in the wrong - if anything he deserved some sort of lashing.
He desperately wanted to talk to her, but yet he found himself hesitating to speak. That nervous tendency was coming back, just like after they had almost kissed in the closet. He had worked so hard to fight past that lately, and right when had gotten over it - it came back. He quickly shook his head, worrying about too many things at one time was a recipe for disaster, "Uraraka! Um-"
Dammit! He was slipping up. He watched as her head, still pointed towards the ground, shook very lightly. He could tell she felt uneasy, not something he blamed her for of course. Looking at himself, he was a mess too. His jumbled thoughts were cut off, because following his observation, Uraraka had raised her head and smiled brightly. Tears still stained her cheeks, but he could tell that the smile was genuine. Something he was glad to see.
"You're okay?" He asked, with a knowing look. She breathed in through her nose before nodding firmly and tightening a fist in front of her chest, a clear sign that she had regained her strength.
"Let's not dwell on it - I understand why it happened and I don't blame you at all. I promise, okay?" Her loud smile shifted down to a softer grin, dropping her fist down to her side. He smiled back, glad that she was feeling better - and even happier that she didn't blame him. Maybe it was a little selfish to think that way, but obviously Uraraka could read him like a book. She had expected he would be blaming himself for this entire situation.
He knew this of course, because once they had started walking back to the dorms - she had told him. Exclaiming how she could always tell when he's putting the blame on himself, yet another habit he was reluctant to break.
Was it really his fault though? He would like to think that blaming himself for things was a noble quality - then again he knew Uraraka would disagree. She would probably say something similar to - 'It's only noble if you were actually to blame Deku!' - One would think that if he could conjure that line - he would recognize just how correct it was. But Izuku could admit that sometimes he was a bit of a moron.
Scratch that - most of the time.
Ignoring his mental image of Uraraka yelling at him - he went back to chatting with the girl in person. As they made their way back to their dorms, they talked more about the dangers of their upcoming mission. She had apologized for how she reacted to "dating" him - and he apologized as well. She had claimed that it was out of embarrassment, yet he couldn't help but think the worst of the situation.
- 'Like she would want to date plain old Izuku. "Best Buddy Izuku" - Embarrassment my ass' -
Sure they were best friends, but frankly he thought she was way out of his league. "Please Uraraka-san, you don't have to pity me." He had said.
Izuku didn't seem to notice how Uraraka blushed and pouted at those words. Wanting nothing but to shut them down, but being too afraid to. Choosing to stay quiet and change the subject.
One thing he did notice however, was how much easier it was to talk to her when they were alone. They could even openly discuss the topic of them dating without shutting down their bodies to the overwhelming blush that used to be so common. The two had definitely come a long way since the beginning of the year. He would bet that if this conversation were to occur a few months ago - fainting would not be out of the realm of possibility.
Before he knew it - they had reached the front door of Heights Alliance. Without thinking too much about it, he held the door open for her. It was just a small gesture, but one Uraraka seemed to appreciate dearly.
"Thank you Deku." She walked through the door and he followed. Izuku supposed that it was a bit chivalrous to open doors for girls nowadays, but the notion wasn't that bad to begin with.
- I was being kind, courteous even, yeah -
His eyes darted around the common area to find many of their friends. A few were chatting on the couch, a few over by the stairwell for whatever reason - but one that stood out to him was Ashido. He could practically feel her stare as Uraraka and him walked towards the kitchen. Them being somewhat close to each other was apparently enough to set off her "shipping" tendencies. God how he hated those.
Out of their entire class Ashido was always the one most interested in potential relationships. He was pretty sure he had seen her stalking Hagakure and Ojiro before - well, stalking was a strong word. They were in the library and he spotted her looking at them studying together. The look in her eyes then, pretty much matched the look she had now. He inwardly sighed - hoping that she wasn't "shipping" Uraraka and himself now. It would only make his life that much harder.
"Hey Ashido, Hagakure - what's up?" Uraraka greeted, immediately migrating towards the middle island of the kitchen.
Izuku watched as she leaned over the side and started chatting with the two girls. Simply giving a nod, he walked over to the fridge looking for a drink.
He hadn't even realized that Hagakure was there! Well, she is invisible so it made sense. He swore her quirk was a lot more dangerous then anyone would think. The stealth capability she has is immaculate - he would have to add some notes to his page on her later that night. Maybe he could even talk to her about her costume, the gloves being black would actually make her stand out a lot less then she already does. In fact, he bet if he contacted Togata, he could get some information on which agency helped make his costume. Maybe if they took some of Hakagure's hair, they could make a costume that could turn invisible along with her. So she didn't have to be...naked...all the time...
He had almost completely forgotten about that...
Shuddering and blushing slightly at the thought, Izuku smacked himself lightly to get back on track. As he opened and scanned the fridge, not being entirely sure of what he wanted, his mind lingered once again. This time, to their directions from All Might. Make their excuses known and believable. They'd have a week to do that. The notion that they would have to convince the entire class that he and Uraraka were dating popped into his mind, the blush that had left before was starting to become noticeable yet again. The entire class, thinking they were...together. Maybe Ashido's shipping would come in handy after all.
It must have been a few minutes, because the feint sound of laughter jolted him from his thoughts. "Hey Midori! You good?" It was Ashido, laughing along with Uraraka, Hagakure, and now Jiro - she must have joined them while he was spacing out.
Quickly grabbing a water bottle, he shut the fridge and made his way back towards the small group of girls. "Yah, sorry - was just spacing out a bit." He noticed that Uraraka seemed to be looking down in an embarrassed fashion, most likely Ashido's doing. It was a bit odd however when he saw Jiro elbowing her and smirking a bit.
"Well duh! Anyways, we were just talking about you!" Ashido's eyes flickered to Uraraka and then back to him, "You were really close to beating Iida earlier huh?"
Clenching his fist, he pouted ever so slightly, "Yah. He really surprised me with how fast he has gotten. I'm gonna need to start training harder to keep up." Ashido quickly apologized for betting money against him - which he only shrugged off saying he would have done the same thing. He wasn't lying, truthfully, if he were to have bet on who would have won that race - he would have bet on Iida. Especially considering he had seen him drink an extra glass of orange juice that morning. Fueling up for some training no doubt, but it definitely came in handy during that race. He had found it especially odd how his engines ran off of orange juice, but once he found out that Ingenium, Iida's brother, also fueled with a type of juice - he realized it was just an odd quirk thing. Calling it odd wasn't very fair, all quirks were odd in their own right he guessed. Just look at his quirk.
After a few more minutes of mindless chatting, Izuku dismissed himself from the conversation. He had given some random excuse about needing to work on English homework that Present Mic had given out. Not entirely a lie - he was planning on doing the homework sometime that night, but he had more important matters on his plate. He still needed to talk with Kacchan and figure out what they were going to do about this entire situation. He would have invited Uraraka, but frankly he didn't think Kacchan would be comfortable speaking like that in front of her. He seemed to have trouble opening up to people in general, let alone Uraraka. If needed he would fill her in later, or maybe they could all meet up that night to discuss this. He would have to ask about that.
As he made his way towards Kacchan's dorm, he suddenly realized that he had never actually seen what his room looked like. Actually, did anybody from the class ever see what his room looked like?
Kirishima no doubt - but other then that he didn't think so. Kacchan was not one to open up to just anybody, he kinda felt a little strange just going and knocking on his door. Almost as if it was knocking down an invisible wall within their friendship.
That feeling was immediately personified once he had actually reached the door - the thought of him not even being inside crossed his mind, but he had realized that it didn't make much sense for him not to be. Kirishima was in the living room downstairs, and he hadn't seen Kacchan walk away from the dorms when he left. Maybe he was just making excuses based off of old fears. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door three times. It took a few seconds, with some feint rustling being heard, but Bakugo soon opened the door.
"H-Hey Kacchan." He greeted only slightly apprehensively. Izuku didn't really know what to think - his blonde friend seemed to be acting normally so far. A hard stare was all he had to go off of, which was not much.
Kacchan stood coldly for a second, before turning around and walking back into his room. Izuku heard him mumble something along the lines of 'get your ass in here.' So he assumed that it was the right call to enter. Hopefully it was the right call.
- Please let it be the right call -
Upon immediate entry, he noticed how - shockingly plain his friends room was. Plain wasn't the best word, more like - non-expressive. The walls were bare besides a few tack boards and a TV. His desk was painted completely black, and home work was clearly strung about on top of it. His bed was pushed against the wall opposite the desk - and his blanket was simply grey. That - and a dark area rug - was all that filled the room.
He didn't know what he was expecting, but this was something of a surprise. For some reason he had assumed that the walls would be painted pitch black, and loud explosive decor would be positioned everywhere.
"Ay - you done staring at my shit? We gotta figure out a plan."
Oh right - he was in Kacchan's room, Izuku realized. He turned around and quickly apologized. Kacchan simply ignored it, sitting on his bed and motioning for Izuku to sit on the desk chair. He quickly obliged.
The conversation started out pretty smoothly - Kacchan immediately brought up his own thoughts on his excuse. Apparently, it made zero sense for him to visit his mother the week after they had off from school. In hindsight he was completely correct, but the mother idea was only a placeholder anyway. "So then, what do we use as your excuse?" Izuku asked, genuinely curious of his friends thoughts.
"I don't know, literally nothing makes sense at a time like this. Any sort of thing that I would choose to leave for is stupid cuz I can just go this week instead!" Kacchan replied, grabbing a fist full of blanket.
Perplexing, definitely perplexing. Now that he thought about it, the fact that the Hero Gala was around the same time as this lock down - it was lucky. Uraraka and himself had the perfect excuse. But this meant they still had a lack of one for their blonde headed friend. Realistically, what could Kacchan leave in the middle of the week for, right after a break from school? Nothing matched that description entirely. One thing was certain though, he could not choose to leave.
"It's going to have to be something where you can't choose the time, it needs to be out of your control..." Izuku pointed out, tapping the fabric of his pants with his index and middle finger, "since you are 100 percent correct, it makes zero sense for you to leave school for a personal trip the week after we're off."
Kacchan, in response to this, leaned over and grabbed a notepad, he started to scribble something that Izuku couldn't see. However, in a few seconds he had taken his attention away from the pad and shifted it back towards Izuku, "So like, an emergency?"
Izuku simply nodded, a little surprised that he would be using a notepad in a situation like this. It...almost was something he himself would do.
"We also have to take in to account that Aizawa and the other teachers are gonna have to be convinced of this as well," Kacchan said, growling very lightly under his breath while simultaneously twirling his pen, "So I can't just make up some random shitty excuse for me to leave."
It was odd - almost like these small quirks and habits that Kacchan was finally showing off had been always present. Izuku just never noticed, he was too busy living in constant fear of him. Up until a few months ago, their last normal conversation was when they were still small children. Now, as he sat across from his friend, he realized how much of Kacchan he had let slip by. Who knew Bakugo was one to twirl a pen? Or use a notepad just like himself? Even though this wasn't something he should be stuck on at a time like this - he couldn't help but enjoy the notion that he was learning more about his friend. His friend. He still wasn't used to saying that.
But the problem was still on the forefront, what could Kacchan use as his excuse? He really liked the idea of it having to do with his parents. That paired with the fact that it cannot be a willing leave - it only left a few options. "I only see a few possibilities actually being able to work, the only problem is they are a bit far-fetched."
Tossing the small notebook back onto his desk, Kacchan fell back onto his bed in a rather lax manner, "What is it?" He asked.
Forming a small smile with his lips, Izuku also leaned back into the black swivel-chair, "We could fake an emergency with your parents. Maybe one of them got into a car accident or something, just...anything to make you need to leave. Your mother being admitted into the hospital would definitely be a good enough excuse as to why you would up and leave for a week."
Kacchan swiftly agreed - putting forward the idea of him finding out the Sunday morning right before the lock down. It was a decent plan - Izuku would even call it foolproof if he hadn't wanted to jinx himself. Uraraka and him could ask All Might what time they would be leaving, but chances are it was Sunday. That would line everything up perfectly, and it would also mean they had an excuse for Kacchan.
After some careful consideration, he decided that texting All Might right then was the best plan. He didn't want any confusion whatsoever, and making sure that they knew all the details was a must. After sending out the text asking the man what day and time him and Uraraka would be leaving for the ball - he got back to discussing things with Kacchan.
"So, have you thought about what you're gonna do with Uraraka?" Kacchan asked, causing Izuku to pause rather abruptly.
He could feel the heat rushing to his face as his eyes darted down to his lap, "Uh, not really." Staying quite, he could practically feel Kacchan looking over at him with a scathing gaze. He could sense the judgmental tone radiating from his friend, but suddenly it all went away. Looking back towards him, he saw how Kacchan's face had softened.
"Listen, you really gotta calm the fuck down with her." He explained, leaning back once again, "You're worrying way too much."
He was almost taken back by the sudden mood change, but he realized that Kacchan was a close friend now, and a softer tone might be more common. Deciding to drop his guard for the time being, Izuku sighed, "How am I supposed to not worry? It's like..." He took a moment to compose his thoughts, realizing he was about to spill his feelings on Uraraka to Kacchan. But he realized that he probably needed to. It was like they were eating away at his psyche. So, he let it out.
"I'm in complete love with her, but at the same time she's my best friend." Izuku explained, letting out a shaky sigh, "On one hand, I don't want to change anything. What we have right now is perfect. But at the same time it's like I can't stop thinking about wanting more. "
He paused, waiting for him to say...anything. But he didn't, and so, Izuku continued.
"Part of me knows she doesn't want what I want. Why would she? She's completely out of my league. Yet things keep happening, I almost...I almost kissed her and she never even brought it up again! She thinks I don't remember so she didn't bring it up! That must mean something right?"
A part of him wanted to stop, but he opened a gate that he couldn't close, "It's not like I brought it up - but I just thought that it would be easier for her if I didn't remember. She obviously didn't want to talk about it - so why should I? And if I did bring it up - it would only complicate things between us and I don't wanna ruin what we have. Then I go and pull that shit with All Might and accuse her of being a traitor? How messed up is that? And now we have to pretend to fucking date!? You saw how she reacted in All Mights office, there's now way she's comfortable with this, but of course it's the best option we have right now because I dragged her into my fucking mess of a secret!"
He could tell that he was on the verge of crying, so he buried his face in his hands. He apologized as he frantically wiped his un-spilt tears - but he could already hear Kacchan going, "Stop fucking apologizing already." So he followed his directions.
It took a minute, but soon he had calmed down. He honestly felt a little better after vocalizing all of his troubles - the weight that sat heavy on his shoulders seemed lessened. But he could tell Kacchan was about to give his own opinions on the matter. Not that he didn't want those opinions, but he knew they weren't going to be in a comforting tone.
"Deku, for someone so goddamn smart you don't think about things like you should," Kacchan sighed, sitting up in his bed and looking Izuku directly in the eyes, "All of the things your worried about are valid. I'm not gonna try and convince you that everything you're saying is bullshit. Cuz it's not."
Izuku leaned back in the desk chair, "Then what do I-"
"Let me finish!" Kacchan cut him off, getting up from his bed and walking over to his drawer. Izuku watched as he pulled out a tiny ball and started to squeeze it. It was a stress ball, he noted, and he once again watched as Kacchan walked back over and sat on his bed.
A sigh escaped his friends mouth once more, "You know, you have a lot of problems and it's really-" he stopped and squeezed the stress ball extremely tightly, before letting it go and allowing it to fall on his bed. Izuku eyed the small orange object, before snapping his gaze back over to Kacchan.
"Pink cheeks isn't a dumbass. She knew the risks about knowing the secret and she understood what those risks meant. Yah, it was super fucked up that you two cornered her like that. But it was something that All Might had to do and she understands that. She's not gonna hold a grudge on you for something was neither your idea or in your control. It had to be done."
Everything Kacchan was saying made, a lot more sense then Izuku thought it would have. He knew that Kacchan always respected Uraraka, on some level at least - considering their match at the sports festival. But to think that he had that much trust in her - well it wasn't shocking, but just slightly surprising, "I know that - I know she wouldn't hold a grudge."
"But you don't know if she's ok with this whole dating shit, right?"
He timidly nodded.
"You love her, that much is obvious - you just belted it." Kacchan said, causing Izuku to cringe at his own out burst, "but you're worried that she doesn't feel the same way. So in turn your afraid that she wouldn't be comfortable doing this with you."
"Exactly." Izuku confirmed, scratching the back of his head, "I don't want to force her to do something she isn't comfortable with."
"Like I said Deku," Kacchan picked up the orange stress ball and tossed it at Izuku's head, "She knew what she was getting into when she agreed to hear the secret. Even if she isn't comfortable with it - which I doubt - she's prepared to put up with it."
Izuku caught the ball a few inches away from his forehead, immediately tossing it back, "Ok then, even if I don't worry about that how am I supposed to get passed these feelings? She obviously doesn't like me."
Kacchan caught the ball and almost fell back from his chuckling, "Deku your such a fucking idiot you know that?"
Glaring at his friend, Izuku scoffed to the side, "Care to explain why?"
"You're not thinking like she is." Kacchan explained, "She may be out of your league but there's a reason I call her Pink Cheeks. It's cuz she's always fucking blushing whenever you're brought up."
"Ya but that's...different." He replied, looking down once more. Kacchan was starting to make too much sense in all of this.
"How? Listen I'm not gonna tell you if she likes you or not cuz frankly I really don't know - but the reason she hasn't brought up you almost kissing her isn't because she don't want to be with you or some shit. It's cuz she is thinking the same way you do." He paused for a moment, and Izuku watched as he rubbed his eyes with his hand, "She also doesn't wanna ruin anything - you two are best friends right? Why would she want to change that? Whether she has feelings for you or not she doesn't want to complicate shit the same way you don't want to."
It, all made sense now. Izuku could feel his eyes widening at the realization. Uraraka didn't want to change things, she didn't want to ruin their friendship, if all made so much sense. No wonder she didn't bring up the kiss, no wonder she got all weird when they brought up their fake date.
Of course, this was all under the assumption that Kacchan was 100% correct. Which, was not the most probable outcome. But Izuku realized that it didn't matter if it was perfect, it was enough. He would allow himself to believe it - it would give him enough leeway to put aside these feelings, or at the very least put them on hold.
"You know, it might have something to do with her own goal too." Kacchan pondered aloud, causing Izuku to snap from his thoughts and give a, "Hm?"
"If she does have feelings, I wouldn't put it past her to just shove them down, she probably wants to focus on being a hero too."
That was a very good point. He once tried to do the same thing, realizing that his role in society would be greater then his own desires. But that proved useless. It only made him lose focus on his training and eventually he decided learning to live with the feelings and accept them was, just easier.
"Yah, I tried to do that myself," Izuku explained, "That's a big reason I haven't told her my feelings yet, aside from my own fears, I didn't want to hold her back - or myself for that matter."
"See?" Kacchan took the orange ball and tossed it perfectly in his drawer, "You two probably think a lot a like-"
His words were cut off by a buzzing from the desk next to them, it was Izuku's phone. Quickly grabbing it, Izuku saw that it was All Might responding to his question from earlier. He saw that they were in fact going to be leaving Sunday, and they would be taking a train to the airport around 5:30 in the morning. He promptly relayed the info to Kacchan, who hummed in agreement.
As the two finished up their plans, they finalized everything. Kacchan would get a call on Saturday in front of everyone in the living room, and everyone would find out that his mother was in a car accident and in the hospital. He would then confirm with Aizawa sensei that he would be out of school for the next week - and if All Might got through to Aizawa then it won't be an issue.
From there he would leave on a train Sunday morning, the same train that Izuku, Uraraka, and All Might would be on.
Izuku and Uraraka would have the night to figure out how they would convince the class they were going to the gala together. In fact, as he was leaving the room, Kacchan left him with a few words of advice.
"Deku. Just, talk to her, ok? Stop bottling shit up inside and realize that she's your best friend for a reason. Not telling her how you're feeling is gonna make you have more problems in the future and we can't have that shit - not with what we're going to have to do in the next week or two."
Those words stuck with Izuku for the rest of the day. Kacchan made an incredible point - bottling up his feelings was not healthy. He knew this, and especially with such risky conditions, he could not be taking any risks himself. As the day went on, he pondered these thoughts. He was not about to risk the lives and safety of Uraraka, Kacchan, and his mentor over some feelings that he couldn't get over. It was stupid, she was his best friend. He shouldn't be so nervous to talk to her about this. Yet, he found himself hesitating to even text her - knowing that they would come face to face sometime that day. He, was afraid to face her.
Sitting on the light yellow couch, he tossed his phone back and forth in his hands. When he had came down to the living room earlier, he wasn't necessarily expecting this sudden lack of motivation. All he had to do was text Uraraka that they needed to talk. She knew it already, and he could tell that she was waiting for him to reach out first. She had to be in her room by now, it was practically dark out and the rest of the class was either hanging around or in their rooms as well.
But he still couldn't figure out why he was so...nervous. Maybe it was because he knew the next time he talked to her, he would be speaking some of his own feelings. Or maybe it's because he was afraid of those feelings being received poorly.
Either way, it eventually needed to happen.
After a few more minutes of him spacing out, he realized that he still hadn't showered from earlier. He definitely needed one, he had toweled off earlier but it was still inadequate for his own standards. A nice hot shower sounded amazing to him anyway, maybe it would help him clear his mind and find enough courage to talk to her.
He proceeded to rush upstairs, grabbing a clean set of clothes, a towel, and his special All Might soap his mom had bought for him that last time he visited. Izuku quickly made his way into the dorms showers, silently praying it was empty so he could feel a little more at ease.
His prayers were answered once he entered the spacious "locker room" of sorts. It wasn't that he disliked showering with the rest of the guys, he was very used to it by now. But the alone time was nice, he didn't feel any pressure by Iida to conserve the hot water, nor did he feel the need to join in on the random conversations that would take place. Most of the time it was about the girls so he didn't really feel comfortable anyways.
As he undressed, he stepped into the individual shower stall. He pulled the curtain shut and proceeded to stand under the hot running water. The beads of scorching liquid ran over his form, the heat stinging ever so slightly on his scarred arm, but the pain was welcomed. It was relaxing, soothing even. The callouses that riddled his body seemed to finally soften, and he could feel himself let out a huge sigh. Like a breathe he hadn't known he was holding - the relief was incredible.
Around 12 minutes had passed until he finally found himself leaving the stall. A towel firmly wrapped around his waist, he turned the corner to find non other then Kaminari - who was staring deeply into an open locker.
"Hey Kaminari, everything ok?" Izuku asked as he opened his own he semi-awkwardly began to change into his fresh clothes.
Kaminari scratched the back of his head, "Oh hey Midoriya, ya sorry I'm just trying to find my deodorant. I'm pretty sure Kirishima borrowed it but he said that he left it-"
Izuku heard him let out a small noise of joy before he reached into the locker and pulled it out, "Found it?"
"Yah!"
Having changed quite quickly, Izuku found himself walking out of the showers alongside his electric friend. He never really thought of Kaminari as a "close" friend, although he certainly enjoyed his company. His antics with Mineta could sometimes get out of hand, but he was definitely the more respectable one. Overall, he hadn't gotten the chance to get to know Kaminari all that much.
That one thought brought up his earlier discussions. The whole class were suspects to being a traitor. While he trusted all of his friends, that small voice in the back of his head told him to be weary of everyone.
As they made their way back into the living room, Izuku came to the realization that it had gotten late. The commons were empty, aside from himself and Kaminari. That put an idea into his mind. The two were alone, and he needed to seriously start to consider how he was going to sell the whole dating thing to the rest of the class. Sure, he should probably talk to Uraraka before doing anything drastic, but his mind had been firing with possibilities all day. Kaminari was definitely into the idea of dating and relationships. A little bit of light groundwork wouldn't hurt.
"Hey, Kaminari? C-Can we talk?" Izuku asked, leaning over the stark yellow couch in front of him.
The boy in question turned around, and in the process flopped back on to the opposite couch, "What's up?"
Hesitating, Izuku began to realize just how much harder this was going to be. Sure, in his head it sounded simple. Just tell Kaminari a little about how he wants to ask Uraraka out. Shouldn't be a problem. But as the words began to roll on his tongue, he could feel the heat rising to his face, "Uh, n-never mind, sorry."
"Oh come on man!" Kaminari widened his arms in a welcoming fashion, "I got you! Just tell me what's up, obviously somethings wrong."
His eyes darted around in search of anything that could get him out of this situation, unfortunately nothing came to mind. To be honest he wanted to say it, but he couldn't. He took a deep breath, realizing that the only way out of this situation was to suck it up.
"U-Um, ok. Let's say," he turned to the right, blocking Kaminari's view of his heated face, "a friend of mine wanted to...ask...another friend of mine out on a date. H-How-"
Before he could continue, Kaminari had leaped up and sprung over to the other couch. He leaned forward, completely into Izuku's space, and grinned devilishly, "Oh really now? A friend huh?"
He immediately panicked, an audible gulp escaped his throat, and his face somehow got even warmer. Izuku almost fell back, "W-What do you mean?!"
"Oh come on Midoriya, the old 'my friend needs advice' trick! Everyone knows that!" Kaminari exclaimed, jumping over the couch, getting even closer to him before whispering, "Who is it? Uraraka...right?"
Izuku guessed his lack of response was enough to answer Kaminari's question, because soon enough the yellow bolt of lightning was beaming at Izuku with a smile that matched even Ashido's energy. Even though the situation was going nearly exactly how he wanted it to go, he couldn't help but stammer back at Kaminari's invasive nature. The heat in his cheeks only grew stronger as his friend pried further into the situation.
"Where do you wanna take her? When'd you know you liked her? Dude you gotta tell me!" Kaminari exclaimed, grabbing Izuku's shoulders and shaking them violently.
"W-Woah Kaminari, calm down!" Izuku exclaimed, leaning back to try and escape his grasp.
'Now Kaminari was really sounding like Ashido'
Kaminari's face suddenly froze and changed from an overly excited smile, to a look of realization. He quickly backed away and cringed at his own attitude, "My bad man, sorry...haha, that was a bit crazy of me."
"I-It's ok, I just... never thought you'd be so interested in the d-details." He explained, scratching the back of his head. He chuckled nervously as his mind sprinted in circles trying to figure out what to do next. He knew what he should do, but it was going to be embarrassing. Realizing that there was no alternative that could lead to a better scenario came soon enough. For a split second, Izuku took a deep breath, and decided to rip the band aid off.
"I...I was invited by All Might to the National Hero Ball in America and I'm allowed to bring a date!" Izuku all but screamed, closing his eyes tight and waiting for the repercussions of his words. It was oddly silent at first, but when he slowly opened his eyes, he found Kaminari beaming at him.
"Dude, you have no idea how awesome that is! The National Hero Ball!? That's only like the most prestigious event for heroes in the world!" Kaminari exclaimed, "And you wanna take Uraraka? That's so great!"
"Y-Yah I know!" Izuku said trying his hardest to sound as enthusiastic as him. It wasn't that he didn't know how amazing that all was, but it just... freaked him out a bit on how "un-phased" Kaminari was.
Izuku watched as Kaminari seemed to contemplate something for a brief moment. He scratched the back of his head before looking up back at him, "Man...to be honest, I probably shouldn't say this. But you told me something as personal as that - and I feel like I can share this with you now. Um...the reason I was so excited before is because me and Jiro have been kinda...together."
Wait...
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...
...
WHAT?!