Two months have passed since Izuku and I became a couple.
Outwardly, and inwardly, not too much has changed between us. Izuku, Iida, Ochaco, and I still hang out together during lunch. On occasion, Mineta forces himself in. Sometimes Mina, Momo, Toru, and Jiro stop by to mess with us. Rarely, very rarely, we've had Todoroki as a guest. Our relationships with others, whether individual or grouped, close or impersonal, haven't really changed by any extremes. Except, maybe, between Ochaco and I - now that we're talking and hanging out more. The only other change people have noticed in our little groups, is that I now call Izuku 'Izuku'. The two of us get teased about it a lot.
Our classes still go on like they have been, with the occasional disaster throwing us all for a loop. The tests are getting harder, but we're improving with them. Days off are becoming rarer by the week, and we still spend them to our fullest. Our personal lives are becoming more vibrant with every solid experience we succeed or fail in. And in general: We're growing. Sometimes, literally.
Izuku might be an inch or two taller now - which is making our difference in height much more noticeable. Not that I mind the difference. I think it makes us look cute.
No one's really talked about us being a couple… because we haven't really told anyone. The two of us decided that we would keep this pretty hush-hush. Not because we're embarrassed over it, or want to hide it. We just don't want to make it a big deal in front of others.
Ochaco knows. Izuku was a good man and told her personally, the day after his confession to me. I still don't know what he said to her on that day, nor do I want to pry into that private matter - but I'm glad that it ended well. Ochaco and Izuku are still close friends, and her and I have grown in our own friendship. She holds nothing against me, and says she's really happy for us. There's no doubt in my mind that she still holds strong affections for him, and that they might have even grown since… but I trust her. In fact, in a really weird way, Ochaco and I are closer now because we can talk so openly about Izuku around each other.
I don't know where this strange relationship will lead, but for now - it's pleasant to have.
As a couple, Izuku and I don't look that much different from a set of best friends. We still hang out like we had as close friends, still talk the same way as we did before, never exchanged any form of promise jewelry, and haven't settled on any pet names between us. He tried calling me his 'Frog Princess' at some point, but that didn't stick. I tried calling him 'darling' last week, but that didn't last either. Romantically, we're a little inept. We each try our hand at wooing the other - but even this far along: we're just really awkward at it.
That's not to say we never have romantic thoughts/feelings for each other. It's just that they don't translate well into the real world. Gazing into each other's eyes always ends up being a staring contest. Tickle fights always ends up with one of us flung across the room. Poetry and love letters repeatedly becomes a translation session. And don't ask us about dancing. We both needed visits to Recovery Girl after those attempts… But we're good at hugging, holding hands, and piggy-back rides. We have those down.
He and I do go on dates, though. In fact, frequent dating sessions is about the only concrete change between us since becoming a couple. Whenever we have the chance, he and I go for a date. All sorts of dates. Restaurant dates, cafe dates, amusement park dates, water park dates, regular park dates, early morning dates, late night dates, beach dates, karaoke dates, shopping dates, study dates, movie dates, rental movie dates, arcade dates, dessert dates, candy shop dates, TV dates, soda dates, eating snacks in front of a convenient store dates… Okay, so most of those are things that friends do normally, but we still count them as dates. If we don't do them often with others: it's special for us.
A few times people from our class have seen us during our dates. But due to how 'tame' we are around each other, they figured that we were just hanging out as friends. We've even been told on numerous occasions, "You two should just go out already." And, "You two should just die." Though, the latter was just Mineta running into us more than once.
I suppose, when I think about it, we are a little tame for a couple. We've kissed maybe six times since our first one. Only seven kisses in two months? That has to be a record for couples.
Kissing is… difficult for us. Not only is it still a little embarrassing to do, but him and I get a little too into them. We avoid doing them for long periods of time because there's very little holding us back from going any further. He's interested. I'm interested. What's to stop us other than our self-control?
I know it's a little strange to get that way over just a little kiss, but… I'm really attracted to Izuku. Just one, intimate, physical interaction with him and it feels like I'm going to pounce him. And, from how he looks at me, it feels like he's about to do the same. We mutually agreed that we don't want to do… that stuff until we're ready for kids, and that we don't want to have kids until we get married, and that we don't want to marry until we graduate… but it's hard to not want to skip some of the steps. So, for now, kissing is kept to a minimum between us.
Now I'm not sure if we could be called 'tame', after letting out that tidbit.
Nevertheless, Izuku and I are happy the way we are as boyfriend and girlfriend. We're not as eccentric as other couples, don't publicly advertise ourselves, rarely share the 'couple specials' in restaurants and cafes, don't go overboard with promises and oaths, rarely ever kiss… And we're fine with that. We have more things to do, learn, and work on as Izuku and Tsuyu - that we don't really care to 'prove' our coupledom to others, or ourselves. We don't need those evidences to show that we're serious, after all. I can just give him my love. And he'll do the same for me.
I forgot that I raised the brightness on my phone this morning. I'm almost blinded once the webpage's white screen flicks against my eyes. With three slides of my thumb, I dim the backlight settings of my screen and return to viewing the page. A press here, a drop-down menu there, one swipe, a click, and… there we go. I delete a photo from my private image board.
It was a photo of Izuku and I, taken over three months ago. In it, he and I were looking into each other's eyes, gazing deeply in innocent admiration. Our hands were placed against one another, comparing their sizes and shapes in such a tender way. With a beautiful setting sun as our backdrop, as if to end this moment forever, and lead into another, unknown adventure.
It was a stunning photo that had plagued my thoughts, and made me obsessed, for weeks. I would look at it almost every night since I received it - staring deep into it, memorizing its colors and lines, retelling the stories that were inside of it… making up new ones. And when that wasn't enough, I took more photos of Izuku, or of Izuku and I, usually without his knowing - to stare at and build a growing story between them.
I had gotten sick with my love of those pictures. And this wasn't an exaggeration: Recovery Girl had told me that I was becoming more tired and lethargic with every passing day because I wouldn't let my mind rest. I literally couldn't stop thinking about Izuku - because after I received that photo, I put all of my swarming thoughts and dreams into it… to the point of actual sickness. Some days I couldn't even make it to school.
Yet, despite its wear and weight on me, that photo, and its matching gallery, were very dear to my heart. They had sparked my desire to get closer with Izuku. They pushed me to try to build a real, tangible relationship with him, socially and physically. And they're what set off a series of events that not only ended with Izuku and I becoming a couple, but also with Ochaco becoming one of my best friends. They were a heavy burden for me since the days I kept them, but getting tired of their weight on me, and seeking the reality that was on the other side of them: I've become more free, more satisfied, than I've ever been in my life.
I know that, for now and for a while, I'm going to miss that first photo… But it's about time I got rid of it, and replace it with new ones.
After all… it was just a beautiful lie.