The Third Happiest Day

It's funny how things just sort of..evolved into perfection over time. From the moment I met Mirio Togata, I knew he was a different class of hero. Someone I will always aspire to be, right up there with All Might. At least, I think so. And I know there were others who thought so as well.

But how could I ever have known that his, well, Golden Boy charm wasn't just something he put on when people were in need. That it was something constantly glowing inside him. And how could I have known that, just as his hero career was on the rise, he would put it all aside for me. And for our little Candy Apple.

I think I can trace our history back to when he and I first saw Eri. We were on patrol together, looking to break up the Shie Hassaikai, and she came running out of a darkened alley. She was so small, sweet, and seemed so helpless, I was overwhelmed with a need to protect her. Lemillion felt it too, but luckily, he had a much more level head than I did. And although it broke his heart, he let her go, vowing he'd come for her soon. It became our mission… No, breaking up the Hassaikai was still our mission. Saving Eri became our life's purpose!

We worked side-by-side for weeks, tracking Eri and Kai Chisaki. We shared meals and late nights combing the city, going over notes and talking to pros. Occasionally, we got reminded that we were only students, but the deeper we got, the less people seemed to care how late we were working. I have the feeling that this was also around the time Mirio and I bean to develop feelings for one another. But they were mixed-up, and drowned-out by all the stress and noise of the investigation.

I might not know when the feelings started, but I can pinpoint exactly when I noticed them. It was when I thought Mirio Togata had died. I'd crashed through a wall that seemed endless, praying he and Eri would be on the other side. The first scrap of light on the other side illuminated Mirio, shredded by stalactites of Chisaki's design. Hot tears pooled in my eyes, but I furiously blinked them back. I knew I had to stop the Hassaikai, had to find Eri, or his death would've meant nothing! I couldn't let that happen because… because… I loved him! It wasn't something I had to think about, it was just a phrase that formed itself in my brain. But there it was. And it gave me the extra spirit I needed to destroy Kai Chisaki.

Despite realizing my feelings then, I had to force myself to wait to express them. The next few months passed agonizingly slow; Sir Nighteye, Togata's mentor, passed away from his injuries, and he himself had a long recovery ahead of him. Eri was medicated out of her mind for at least a week to help her body and mind start to recover from the trauma she'd faced. She still couldn't control her quirk, so the doctor's supposed it was best for her. I'm not sure if I agree, but I'm not a doctor.

I visited Mirio practically every day after school. And once Eri could receive visitors, I'd help him down the corridor to her room. We'd sit and play cards, or tell stories. Sometimes I snuck them both treats. In spite of the cold sterility of the hospital room, we started to make ourselves at home.

Finally, Mirio was released from the hospital, and was allowed to return to school under heavy restrictions. Most of which, he ignored. He'd been back a week before I got to spend more than a few minutes with him. Iida and I were on our day to the cafeteria, when he stopped me in the hall. That was the Third Happiest day of my life.

"Hey, why don't you go on ahead. I need to borrow Midoria for a sec."

He grinned that irresistible grin of his, and Iida shuffled off without question. I suppose he chalked it up to something work study-related. That's what I'd thought at the time.

"Hey Togata! How're you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm doing great! Never been better. And you know, you can call me Mirio, right?"

My face flushed without warning. "Uh...sure thing. What's up?"

"I realize we haven't gotten to see much of each other this last week."

"Yeah, school's been crazy! Can you believe they want us to make up the homework we missed while we were on work-study?"

He chuckled and folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, I can totally believe it. Mr. Aizawa is a pretty cool hero, but he's also kind of a hard-case."

We both shared a laugh, before he continued. "Anyway, I was thinking… Maybe you'd wanna dine off-campus tonight?"

I was taken-aback. We hadn't been allowed off campus since we got back, and I hadn't heard anything saying we could leave since.

"Uhh...I'm not sure that's-"

"It'll be fine! I already asked." He blurted out, taking my shoulder. "I hope you don't mind, but I think I was maybe a little too sure you'd say yes."

"Well, you gambled, and you won." I laughed nervously, my face creeping from pink to bright red.

"Awesome! C'mon! We gotta check out and get going if we want to make a night of it."

"Make a night of it?"

He didn't seem to register my question. Instead, he grabbed my by the arm and practically flew me down the hall like a human kite. We signed out, and caught a bus into the heart of the city.

"So, what's first?" I asked. "Did you want to go visit Eri before visiting hours are up, or-"

His smile faded for the briefest of moments. "Actually, Izuku, I was...kinda hoping to spend tonight with...just you."

It took me a little longer than I'd like to admit to register that my feelings were being returned. I think I'd gotten so used to believing Mirio would never be more than a friend, that when it turned out not to be the case, I almost missed it! "Just...m-me?"

"Yeah! I mean...if you don't think that's weird." I saw his confidence shift for the first time.

"No! I don't think it's weird at all! In fact, I'm kind of...uh, glad?"

"Glad?"

"Yeah. I've been, I mean… I've hope for a while..."

"Really!" He practically shouted. Looking from person to person, he cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "I mean, I'm glad too. This whole thing was so confusing for so long, I think my stomach was in knots."

We laughed together, for far too long. But it was like each time we let a breath escape, a little bit of the tension escaped too. We went on to have a delicious dinner, a long walk, and barely made it back in time for curfew.

We dated in secret until just before the school year broke for the summer. By that point, a lot of people had figured it out anyway, so we just came out with it. Most everyone was really supportive; Aoyama and Uraraka seemed kind of disappointed at first, but they eventually came around to being really happy for us. And Ka-chan was...well, he was just Ka-chan about it. He pretended he didn't care, but he wasn't outwardly mean about it, so I took that as a blessing. Even Amajiki cracked a smile, I think.

The only opposition we seemed to face was Mirio's father. He was not thrilled about the idea of his son with another boy, and he wasn't shy about giving Mirio an earfull over the phone about it. I watched his face go through a wide arch of expressions as he listened to the rant. I wished I could jump in and say something, but Mirio put up a finger until the conversation was done.

"Don't worry about it." He told me once he'd hung up. "I'm turning 19 in a few months, and he'll probably just be super passive-aggressive about it after I move out. I can handle that."

I stood on my tiptoes and reached for his shoulders. He had to lean forward for me to kiss him. Admittedly, I couldn't help being a little jealous of how tall he was, but I felt so safe with him leaning over me. I felt like I could answer the question, "Who saves the Heroes?" Mirio Togata, that's who.