Summary: On a regular training day, Iida is focused on trying to up his top speed. Mei, who just so happens to be around, comes up with an excellent idea in order to help him.
"Engines are all fine, so you should be good, darling!" Mei exclaimed, pulling her goggles up to her forehead. "I applied that cooling agent you asked me about, so you should be able to abuse your engines for a bit longer before the heat gets to you. You should be careful, though. It's been tested, but your engines are significantly stronger than the ones I used. I'm not sure how well it'll work because of that."
Iida stood up and stretched once more, groaning as his limbs popped into place. Once he'd finished, he turned and smiled at Mei.
"I have faith that it'll do just fine," He told her, kneeling down and getting into a runner's position. "You're the one who made it, after all."
Hatsume smiled, a spot of blush dusting her cheeks. From the pocket of her overalls, she pulled out a small timer.
"You spoil me," She replied, almost mumbling. "I want to measure how fast you can run, darling. We can compare the times after each lap. Does that sound good?"
He nodded and then turned to look down the track.
"Sounds great, Mei," Tenya replied. "Let's try and shoot for four laps for now, okay? I don't want to overdo it."
"Whatever you say, darling! Now let's get this show on the road!" She exclaimed, the timer in her hand. "On three! One...two...three!"
Iida took off, his engines blasting out thin rows of flames as he did. In the aftermath of his start, Mei's hair whipped forward, flowing past her face. Thanks to her quirk, though, she was able to keep her eyes zoomed in on her darling as he rounded the end of the track and burned his way down the path. In his wake, the ground blackened and, by the time he looped around the other end, the smoke was still barely clearing.
He rushed past her and, thanks to her reflexes, Mei was able to press down on the stopwatch, recording the time for his first lap. She had no time to look down at it, though, because as soon as her eyes got to him again, he was already halfway around the entire track once more.
The routine followed like that two more times. By the time he'd finished the fourth lap and skidded to a stop in front of Hatsume, the girl's hair looked permanently windswept. When Iida saw her, he cringed slightly out of pure shame.
"A-ah, Mei...," He started, reaching out. Once he realized he was doing it, though, he also realized that he had no idea what he intended to do with his hands and instead let them fall to his sides. "Ahem...s-sorry about your hair."
Mei grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms out.
"My hair? Who cares about my hair?!" She asked, almost incredulous. Turning around the stopwatch, she walked forward and practically shoved it into his face. "You went through four laps in barely twenty seconds!"
Despite the red that flashed across his face, Iida bowed his head slightly. "It's really not that impressive, Mei," He told her, humble to a fault. "I could always be better, like my brother."
She awkwardly let her arms fall to her sides and hesitantly took a step closer to him. Her eyes were full of sympathy, despite the toothy smile she wore.
"You're right. You can always be better," She said, finally stopping in front of him. She took his hands in both of hers and, though they were a bit limp at first, he gripped them back. "But that doesn't mean you can't take pride in your current accomplishments!"
His eyes drifted over hers and he smiled, though it was weak. In response, she smiled even brighter at him.
"Keep your head up, Tenya!" She let go of his hands, only to wrap her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly. "As long as you do, you'll reach your brother's level and even surpass him soon."
It took him a moment, but he eventually wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back tightly.
"Thank you, Mei," He whispered, barely louder than the wind around them. "I appreciate your words."
She smiled and nuzzled her forehead against his chest. He was so much taller than her that it made things a bit awkward, but it was nothing short of loving regardless of that.
Suddenly, she pulled back from the hug and stared her boyfriend in the eyes excitedly.
"So I got an idea!" She exclaimed, her grip on his arms growing tighters as she herself got more and more excited. Iida gulped, though the smile on his face refused to waver at all.
"What might it be, Mei?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head. Hatsume took that moment to pull herself out of his embrace and finally smoothed her hair back to his usual stature.
"I was thinking. You cleared those four laps in twenty seconds or so, right? What if we get a singular straight track and, instead of measuring how long it'll take you to go around the entire thing, we track how long it takes you to go all the way down and back without stopping! A linear track will probably help you improve better since stopping at that speed is probably a lot harder to do than it is to just circle the track like usual!" She moved her hands animatedly as she talked and, while Tenya was listening to everything she was saying and was taking note of every suggestion, he couldn't help but smile a bit more at how much she loved what she was doing. Whether it be developing support items or just helping people out, he was glad that she was enjoying and taking pride in what she was doing. He could stand to try and be like that a bit more...
"I could probably try and measure your top speed versus your acceleration rate, too. I think you accelerate a little faster than you run and, if that's the case, we can try and bump those numbers up a bit more, don't you think?" She asked, finally stopping and pausing to listen for his input. Anyone would've been completely lost in such a long state of rambling, but Iida had gotten quite used to it. He smiled and nodded, crossing his arms slightly.
"If you think it's possible, then I see no reason we shouldn't try it," He replied. Hatsume grinned toothily and jumped excitedly from foot to foot. "But we shouldn't overdo it. Today isn't the only day I have to train. We can take it easy for today, can't we?"
A glint of mischievousness shone in her eyes and it was almost enough to push Tenya back ever so slightly.
"Nonsense! We have to take full advantage of the resources that are given to us! If we don't go all out from the start then how will we know if there's a limit in the first place?!"
"M-Mei we have limits! And, more specifically, I have limits! You wouldn't run me into the dirt, would you?"
At that, Hatsume turned on her boyfriend with probably the most intimidating smile on her face that he had ever seen. Hours later, he would remember that smile and the sense of foreboding that it put on him. Days later, he'd remember it and get that feeling all over again.
"For the glory of success, I'm willing to do what it takes, darling! I am willing to sacrifice almost everything if it means helping you become a greater hero!"
Her insinuations weren't lost on Tenya but...the smile and the way she said it made sure he would only remember the feeling that it stirred within him. He gulped. Today would feel like forever.
"M-Mei...! I-I can't run anymore...!" Iida complained, on his knees halfway across the track. The sky had gone dark and the windows of the buildings around them were either dark or glowed with fluorescent, yellow, light. The straight track that they had switched to looked as if an army had run across it; The ground was practically assaulted with the force of multiple footfalls and, occasionally here and there down the track, there were scorch marks against the ground that looked like they had once been full flames. Off to the side of the track, Hatsume sat on the ground, her legs crossed. On the ground next to her was a pile of shoes, all of which seemed to have been run down to the soles until they weren't even functional as shoes anymore. Despite the intense disrepair that the track was in, the pinkette on the ground seemed positively ecstatic for whatever reason. The smile on her face was wide and pure and, as she looked down at the notepad and stopwatch in her lap, she seemed to be genuinely happy and at peace.
That could definitely not be said for Tenya IIda, who was collapsed on the track itself. He wore only the pants to his gym uniform and a white t-shirt, the jacket hanging from Hatsume's shoulders and keeping her relatively warm. His face, arms, and legs were streaked with sweat and the current pair of shoes he wore were blackened at the bottom and seemed like they had started melting at some point. It was hard to tell if he was even moving, though the rhythmic rising of his chest was enough to let Mei know that her boyfriend was alive, no matter how much abuse he'd taken in the last few hours.
"It's okay, darling! We're more than finished for today," She replied, scribbling furiously in the notepad she'd brought with her. Once she was done, she slid both the notepad and the stopwatch into the pocket of her overalls and stood up, pulling Tenya's jacket tight around her. "I'll help you back to the dorm and we don't have to do this again for a while, okay?"
She was met with a groan that, in her opinion, sounded quite agreeing, so she hurried over to Iida and helped him to his feet.
"Wh-what about the shoes?" He asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the pile. Hatsume smiled and patted his arm reassuringly.
"Don't worry about that. I'll come back to get them after I get you back." She told him while leaning up to place a chaste kiss against his cheek. He smiled slightly before letting himself fall just a bit more limp against her.
The walk back was quiet, though it was far from uneventful. Mei tried her hardest to apologize for what she'd done—After all the adrenaline wore off, she realized that she'd been something a little less than human to her boyfriend of all people and felt the need to say sorry—though Iida was having none of it. Sure, it had been an ordeal for him, but he knew that she'd only done it out of the pureness of her heart. To him, that made the entire thing okay. Hatsume swore it wasn't, but the burning red blush on her face as she denied it let Iida know that, at the very least, he'd made his affection clear.
It wasn't long before the two of them took a short break in the common room of Height's Alliance. Iida leaned up against the back of the couch, drinking a glass of water, as Mei stood across from him, knitting her fingers together nervously. The embers of her earlier blush were still visible and it didn't help at all that every time IIda said something affection it was so whole-heartedly pure.
Tenya pulled the now-empty cup away and sighed as he put it down.
"I think I'm feeling better now, Mei," He said, standing up slightly. He winced on his way up, which made Hatsume take a step closer to him. He smiled, though, and waved it off dismissively. "Don't worry. A hot shower and a good night's sleep and I should be fine."
Mei pulled her outstretched arms back a little twiddling her fingers together. She looked away and Iida raised an eyebrow, leaning his head to the side to try and catch her eye—Though she immediately looked away again.
"A-are you sure you can go upstairs on your own?" She asked, still looking away. Iida had never heard that degree of emotion in her voice before. She sounded almost...vulnerable. "Y-you don't need any help or anything...d-do you?"
Iida hesitated before smiling and leaning forward to take her hands in his own, bigger ones. She barely flinched and kept her gaze turned the other way.
"I might be able to," He started, keeping his voice low. "But I'd feel a lot safer if you helped me out, Mei."
She finally turned to look back at him and her eyes—as yellow and beautiful as they were—seemed to brighten just a fraction more. She smiled unsurely at him before she nodded slightly.
"O-Okay...Tenya," She said, just as quietly. "W-we should get going now. If you don't sleep soon, you won't get enough rest for class."
He smiled and nodded. "That applies to you as well. Your room is too far. Would you...like to stay in my room for the night? J-Just for now."
Mei's smile grew, though the blush is her face blossomed once again.
"I...wouldn't mind that," She replied after a slight pause. "Aizawa-sensei might be roaming the halls soon. We really should go now."
Iida tightened his grip on her hands and finally leaned fully up off of the couch.
"You're right. Let's get going as soon as possible," He pulled her along with him as he began to walk. "Taking the stairs is probably safer."
"Your legs are still sore, darling! We're taking the elevator." Mei replied, stopping him and hitting the call button. He almost kept going, but the familiar ding of the doors opened stopped him and he, reluctantly, turned and walked into the elevator with his girlfriend. She smiled up at him and gripped his hand appreciatively before the doors shut on them and the night was quiet once more.
Bet it probably felt like I was dead for a while, huh?
Sorry about that. I started college in August and so far, it's definitely been an experience. I'm not gonna say it's a good one, nor will I say it's a bad one, just that it's an experience. It's shaped me in a few different ways and because of that, I've had negative amounts of motivation to write practically since I got here. Nonetheless, I think I'm in a better place now and I'll definitely be trying to do better nowadays.
If anyone is even still reading this, thank you for sticking by me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Dantikat out.