Izuku sat on a bench, in the shade of a tree. Classes had ended for the day, but unlike usual, Mina was not with him. He had told her about the text from Uraraka and that she wanted to talk in private. Mina was a bit concerned, but understanding. She had no ill will towards the brunette, and she trusted Izuku.

Izuku heard the cacophony of sounds as he sat on the bench, waiting for his friend. He heard chirping birds, barking dogs, passing cars, and laughing children. He kept checking his phone for the time and to see if Ochako had texted him. He also wanted to check in with Mina. She was currently helping her mother clean the house for company, but they both agreed it was probably best for Ochako and Izuku to talk on their own for now.

"Is this seat taken" a voice shook Izuku out of his trance, causing him to almost drop his phone.

"O-Ochako! What's up?" Izuku nearly jumped up, smiling with a mixture of awkwardness and genuine happiness to see a friend.

"Not much, Deku." She smiled as she sat down. Both hers and Izuku's smiles faded as they tried to find the words to address the issue at hand.

"What should she say? That she was heartbroken? That she felt betrayed despite giving her blessing? That she should have thought that through a whole lot more? That she didn't want to feel this way because Izuku mattered a lot to her and she didn't want to lose his friendship over unrequited feelings? Why was this so hard?

"So…"

"So…"

"I just wanted to say I'm happy for you and Mina." Ochako plastered on a fake smile. I mean, she did support them. She wanted to. They were both her friends, though one she happened to be closer to, and she would like to keep it that way. It was probably better that she just forget it and move on.

"Yep! Well, later, Deku." She went to get up, trying to hide what she was really feeling. She was way to scared to let it all out, and what was worse, it was scratching at the door right now. Given how awkward Izuku could be, she expected him to have some concern, then get too nervous to say anything and drop it. She should have known better. She had seen him in action. She had hoped he could just drop it. "Dammit. One of the reasons I love him and it's the one thing I don't want to deal with right now." The brunette thought. "What's wrong with me right now?" she thought. She had to get home and think, maybe write in her diary or vent to her mom. Anything but this.

"Uraraka, wait!" the boy gently caught her arm and looked at her, emerald orbs shining with concern. He saw through her excuses. He saw her struggling with something, and he wanted to help.

"when you texted me, I knew there was something up. It would be awkward, and hard to talk about, most likely, but you wanted to talk and I'm here. If it was just that, it could have just been a text sent to me and Mina…. please. Tell me what this is really about."

"Please…get your hands off me…. you broke my heart, Izuku."

"But." He tried to interject.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she shouted! She wanted to just run away and hide. How could she yell at Izuku like that? Ochako herself didn't know where this was coming from. Well, that was a lie. She knew where it originated, but still she was shocked at herself. She slumped into the seat next to Izuku and felt her face flush hot and tears start to well in her eyes. Izuku placed his hand on her shoulder, eyes switching from shock and confusion to a look of empathy and resolve.

"Please tell me." he whispered.

Ochako stared at the ground, her cheeks blushed as she tried to make the words come out. She sighed and did her best.

"I have to…. I…. I like you, Izuku. I really like you. When Mina asked you out…. I mean, I gave her the go ahead…. It still hurts. But I hold no ill will. Towards you or her. I just had to get this off my chest, you know?"

She took a deep breath and continued. "I don't want to lose you. I accept that we aren't a couple. You and Mina seem happy. But, we barely talk anymore and hang out, and it just feels like we're drifting apart, you know? You and Iida were my first friends here, and I worry about losing you guys. I…I get you want to spend time with Mina. You should. You guys are cute together…. I just don't want to lose my friend. And I hope all this doesn't drive you away."

"I-it won't. And you won't. We're still friends. You, me, and Iida-san. I can't tell what the future holds. But I won't leave you guys, You're still my friends. And even if things get hectic, between hero training and having a girlfriend, I won't lose sight of you guys. I promise." He offers a fist and holds out a pinky. Ochako almost snorted out laughter at what a dork this boy was. She lunges at him and embraces the One-For-All user.

"Thanks, Deku. You rock." She hugs him tight, happy that things can start working towards normalcy, or as close as possible in their intended field.

"You're welcome. I…I'm not good with this whole thing. Being hugged by girls is still new to me. Outside of my mom, I mean. But still, yeah. Mina makes me happy and I really like her. She just…I didn't expect to have feelings for someone more outgoing and excitable. I'm not exactly the most outgoing guy myself." Izuku chuckled.

"You have my support, Deku! I still want to talk to Mina, but I'm happy you're both happy."

"Thanks." Izuku gave a curt smile that slowly grew into an appreciative grin. The two friends hugged, happy to have put any awkwardness behind them, besides that which was already ingrained into them.

Well anyway, I'm going to go. It was nice talking to you, Izuku." She smiled softly, walking away, still not able to bring herself to fully smile.

"Ok." Izuku nodded. The awkwardness still lingered. However, things had been resolved, at least on their end. The two had once nursed mutual crushes, but nothing had been said between the two about it. Now, they were happy just being where they were now, as best friends. Izuku stood up and called to the departing brunette.

"Hey Ochako." She turned around, her hair whipping a little as she turned her head fast. "You, me, and Iida should hang out more. Maybe go bowling or something." He had Mina now, and obviously wanted to spend time with her, but those two were his best friends at UA. They were just as important to him and he wanted to do his best to make room for them, Mina, and his hero studies, no matter how difficult it would be to balance those.

"That would be nice. Thanks." Ochako smiled. Things had been awkward, with the gravity girl being a bit weirder lately. But Izuku was glad to have his friend back. The feeling was mutual on Ochako's end.

The next day, Izuku was shaking from how nervous he was. This was new to him. A lot of things were new to him lately. Granted, he had dreamed of being a hero for so long and had pursued that dream. He knew to expect new and unexpected situations and that he would have to adapt. He had his hero notebooks. He had Yuuei. He had All Might. He had good friends in his classes, and now recently, a girlfriend. He had faced unexpected and scary situations before, from the League of Villains encounter to Stain. However, one thing he didn't count on was the anxiety of meeting his girlfriend's parents. What's more, introducing his mother to them. Mina had texted him while he was working on English homework in his room to let him know.

"Hey, so my parents want to meet you. Wanna come over for dinner?"

Izuku froze. He was freaking out internally. "Meet her parents? So soon? Is this how this works? Should I have asked someone for advice? Maybe mom knows. Then again, she will probably end up crying and telling me how much I have grown. Oh man, what if they don't…"

His muttering was interrupted by another text shortly after.

"Calm down, Midori. You can bring your mom, they actually wouldn't mind meeting her."

"How does she know me so well already?" Izuku thought in stunned silence. He texted her back.

"Sure. I would love too. I'll bring my mom over too, so she can meet your family."

"Great! I can't wait! I miss you, Midori. 3"

"I miss you too, Mina." He was blushing to himself. They had not been together that long, but already, this girl felt like an important part of his life. Izuku chalked it up to her being his first girlfriend, but he thought there might be more to it. "3"

Izuku snapped out of his memories as his mom gently shook his shoulder to keep him from walking into a wall.

"You ok, sweetie?" his mother asked, concern in her voice. Between his mother, his girlfriend, and his best friend, he had some positive women in his life and he was grateful for that, especially given his awkwardness around girls.

"I'm fine, mom. Thanks. Sorry, I was just lost in thought." Izuku shook it off.

"Nice of Mina's parents to invite us over for dinner, huh Izuku." Inko smiled at her son as they walked towards their destination.

"Y-yeah. I'm just…" Izuku said shakily. Each stop in this relationship made him nervous. He had no idea what he was doing and he was afraid of screwing up. He genuinely liked Mina, but this was all so foreign to him. It was new to he too, but that didn't quite soothe his nerves.

"Nervous you don't get to meet her family without your mom by your side?" Inko teased, despite knowing that she was just as emotional as her son. The apple didn't drop far there.

"You're a sweet, charming boy, Izuku. I raised you to be. I'm sure, if Mina's family is anything like her, they will love you." She reassured her son. This seemed to comfort him a little, but he still looked pensive. In all honesty, his mother did provide some comfort with her presence. Also, if Mina's parents were anything like her, he was in for hijinks and teasing. He took a breath and walked up the steps.

Mina had texted Izuku the address, so Izuku and his mm took the subway train to her area and walked towards her house. It wasn't too elaborate, but it was a nice, big house, occupied by Mina, her parents, and her two siblings. It was certainly more than the Midoriyas were used to. Two youngsters answered the door, a 12-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. These were Mina's siblings. He did not catch their names, but he was sure he would be introduced. Mina's sister was the one to answer the door.

"Hello." she said, unenthused.

"Hi. I-it's Izuku. I was invited over with my mother." Izuku gave a small wave to the younger girl, who suddenly became more animated as a smile of recognition crept across her face at the mention of that name.

"MINA, YOUR LOVER IS HERE!" the girl shouted up the stairs for her older sister.

"I'm coming!" that familiar voice rang like a school bell as she made her way down the steps to greet her boyfriend. She came skipping down the stairs, dressed in a leather jacket, capris, a white t-shirt depicting zombies crawling from the grave, and some pink hi-tops.

"Sorry about that, Midori. My sister Mite is a pain." She smiled at the boy, but gave side-eye to her younger sibling at the end of her sentence. "Come inside!" She skipped inside as Izuku and Inko followed.

A man and a woman greeted Izuku and his mother. The woman spoke first. "You must be Izuku! And this must be your mother, Inko. Nice to meetcha!"

"Nice to meet you, son. Put her there!" The man smiled, offering his hand to the boy.

Izuku hesitated, nervous about meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time.

"C'mon. Don't be so shy, Izuku." Izuku slowly reached out and shook the man's hand. As soon as their hands made contact, the man made a fart noise with his mouth. Izuku could tell right away that this was Mina's dad. Laughter rang through the house. This would be a long dinner.

Mina didn't resemble her parents too much, except for her father's horns and eyes and her mother's curly pink hair and frame. Her Father, Michio, was a large, broad shouldered man with red hair, styled in a crewcut. Her mother, Kaoru, had bright eyes with golden irises and a bouffant of curly pink hair. She had a similar build to her daughter, which was one of the other traits she had inherited from her parents. And then, there were her siblings. Mite had short, curly blond hair and one horn, while Takure had a mess of strawberry blonde curls hiding his eyes, which resembled those of his father and older sister. Nobody else among them had pink skin but Mina. That was all her.

Mina's mother, Kaoru, was, in all honesty, a terrible cook. However, she tried, for better or worse. In this instance, however, they had just ordered take-out. It was a bit unorthodox when inviting your daughter's boyfriend and his mother over for dinner, but the Ashidos weren't the most orthodox of families by any means. They were eccentric, vibrant, and, while not the most boisterous, they were certainly a more animated family than the Midoriyas. The dinner consisted of variety of meet and noodle dishes from "Excelsior!", a takeout place a few blocks away.

"So, how did you meet our daughter? I mean, besides classes?" Michio took a plate of food and shoveled it energetically into his mouth.

"W-well. We first met in classes, but, um…." Izuku was floundering, so Mina came in with the save.

"He was at the book store one day and I went up and said hi. We started dating ever since."

"We didn't officially start dating then." Izuku insisted

"We kinda did." Mina chimed in.

"Ah, young love. Kaoru, dear, pass the Udon." Michio laughed deeply.

The conversation carried on for a couple hours, with everyone eating their fill. Kaoru and Inko hit it off well enough, though both women shared similar personality traits to their offspring, so Ink was crying tears of joy, while Kaoru calmed her down. Michio asked Izuku how he liked classes and about his quirk, joking that it's good in a way that his power hurts his arms like that.

"This way I don't have to worry about doing it myself if you touch my Mina."

"DAD!"

"I'm busting the kid. It's fine." Michio laughed as he slapped Izuku on the back, nearly sending noodles across the room. "Besides, how would he give me grandkids later?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, dad. You taught me about protection. Remember." Mina teased back, giving a glance towards her boyfriend.

Izuku could feel his soul leaving his body. Was this conversation really happening? The two teenagers hung out in Mina's room for a bit where she gave him a tour, showing off her love for the color Pink, her adoration of sci-fi and horror, and her video game collection, as well as some anime collectables she had. She of course also had pictures and memorabilia of various heroes and some Yuuei stuff. Izuku had known it a little before, but this erased any doubt that his girlfriend was as big of a nerd as he was. It almost made up for the fact that he was in a girl's room for the first time. Even if they were dating, it was a lot to take in.

"Welcome to the chamber de Mina, Midori." Mina announced enthusiastically. She was ready to tease him about being where she slept and got dressed, and bathed, as she had her own bathroom. However, that would be too predictable. If she was going to fluster her fluffy green bean, she would do it when he least expected it. Besides, she was ecstatic about showing this boy around. He was her first boyfriend and just as big a nerd about shit as she was, if not more so. "Let me give you the tour!" Her room was covered in Pink, matching her appearance in a way. However, there were several posters for video games, sci-fi and horror films and shows, Hip-hop and EDM records, and some hero posters, including one of All-Might. She had shelves filled with video games, movies, and books, including several graphic novels and manga. Her comic collection paled in comparison to Izuku's, but one thing caught his eye that kept him from fainting, given his presence in a girl's room for the first time.

"Is that?" his eyes widened with enthusiasm. Mina grinned and struck a pose, happy that Izuku was impressed.

"Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. One of my faves. I also have some Green Lantern and some of the Doctor Who comics." Mina beamed with pride. She was excited to talk to people in general, but especially if they had stuff to bond over. Izuku was happy to do the same, despite being far less of a social butterfly and more of a nervous moth.

"You like sci-fi a lot, huh?" Izuku chuckled. It was certainly hard not to get that impression.

"Can you tell? I mean, I do look like an alien." She stuck out her tongue and winked, striking a silly pose.

"A pretty one." Izuku said to himself. However, he had accidentally said that aloud, causing him to die of embarrassment while Mina blushed and averted her eyes. She quickly recovered and changed the subject.

"I-I'm sorry if I was, um" Mina cut him off. Not because she was annoyed. No. She was amused, however, she figured she would throw him a bone to distract him from turning into a miniature sun, fueled by embarrassment and shyness.

"So how did it go with Ochako?" Mina asked, sitting on her bed, grabbing one of her assorted sci-fi plushies.

"It went well, I think. She just wanted to set the record straight and let out some feelings she had. We agreed to stay friends. I told her that we should do something, me her and Iida, like how it started out."

"That's a good idea. Obviously, I want you to myself as often as possible." She gave a sly smile. "But we're allowed to have friendships outside of each other. So yeah, I'm glad it worked out."

"Thanks. I'm glad too." Izuku knew her to be pretty easy going but Mina being cool with it still came as a relief." She wants to talk to you too, to clear the air."

"Oh. Cool." Mina stated as she brought the plushie down and placed it next to others. She felt some guilt for asking Ochako if it was ok to date Izuku and going for it anyway, but she did give her blessing. Still emotions could be complicated, and she did genuinely like the girl, "Should I text her?"

Izuku shook his head. "She'll text you most likely. Give it time."

"Yep. So, no that you're here." Mina got a look of mischief on her face as she grabbed Izuku's hands and dragged him to her computer desk. "Have you ever played Doom?"

"N-not really." Izuku admitted. He wasn't as avid a gamer as Mina, so this didn't shock her too much. Still she was excited to introduce her boyfriend to the game.

"Then prepare yourself, dear Midori. It's going to be epic!" Mina professed gleefully

After a few turns playing Doom (where Mina helped Izuku learn the ins and outs of the game), it was time to say goodbye for the night.

"Thanks for coming over. My parents seemed to like you." Mina kissed Izuku on the cheek

"T-thanks for having us." Izuku blushed and kissed her back. The Midoriyas soon departed as Mina waved goodbye.

Mina's parents were a bit perplexed by how their outgoing and spunky daughter brought home such a timid and awkward boy, but they approved of him nonetheless. As was the way of the Ashido, she was lovingly teased over her boyfriend. This time, it was her turn to blush. She gazed off into the distance and smiled. She knew her parents would like him, but she was still glad anyway. She hadn't been dating this boy for that long, but she could feel it. She was already in love. It was a weird feeling, one she had often imagined, and even then, it was different than that. Still, she embraced weird and she embraced this.

Izuku divebombed his bed, making a dash for his pillow so that he could rest his head and relax a bit. He had some homework to get to still, but it wasn't anything he couldn't manage. He wasn't at the top of the class, but he was still high up there, with the best of them, so he was doing fine. He and Mina texted for a while, before they decided to go to bed.

"How was dinner? I know you're probably used to homecooked meals, but my family isn't skilled in the culinary arts."

"It's fine. My mom and I had fun. That place you ordered from was good. You'll have to bring me a menu. 😊"

"Yay! Glad to hear it. And will do. Again, don't mind my family. They're rambunctious."

"Yeah. A little. Ha-ha."

"Don't underestimate the power of the Ashido clan, Midori. We are very good at teasing each other."

"I noticed."

Izuku paused. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but regardless, after a bout of hesitation and clenching his eyes closed, the awkward hero in training pressed send.

"Hey, um, Mina?"

"Yeah Midori?"

"My mom would like to have you over for dinner next weekend. She thinks you're great."

"Hell yeah! I would love to!"

"Great! I'll let her know!"

"Awesome! Thanks Izu 3"

"You're welcome! 3"

After a few hours of talking back and forth, the two fell asleep, the promise of a new day just around the corner.