Chapter 9
When Mari woke up; she was a little disappointed to see she was alone. Logically she knew that Katsuki and Eijirou would have had to go back to their dorms, seeing as they had class this morning and all, but it still sucked.
Pulling herself out of bed; she quickly gathered the pieces of her uniform, pulling them on, and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She ran her straightening brush through her hair; then proceeded to put on her makeup.
She was putting on her eyeliner when there was a knock on the door.
"Oi! Short Stack; you up? We're gonna be late!"
"Ow! Son of a…" Mari hissed; the surprise causing her to poke herself in the eye with the pencil. "Yeah, yeah. I'm up! Give me a minute." She quickly finished up; then slipped her feet into her shoes and grabbed her bag.
She opened the door to see Katsuki and Eijirou waiting for her; just as they did every morning.
Peeking to make sure they were the only ones in the hallway; Mari stood on tiptoe to give them both a kiss. "Morning."
Eijirou took her hand, linking his pinky with hers. "Morning; baby. Your eye's all red." He said, looking at her with concern.
She laughed. "Yeah; I poked myself in the eye with my eyeliner. It'll be fine, but someone should tell Blasty that it's not nice to startle people."
"Hey! It's not my fault you jump so easily." The blonde griped; his hands in his pockets. Then more quietly. "Besides; you don't need to put that shit on your face anyway, dummy."
Mari smiled, but didn't answer. She dropped her hand from Eijirou's as they approached the classroom door. He let out a disappointed sound at the loss of contact.
"I know; Eiji. But we agreed that it was best to have 'business as usual' while we're in class." She said; rubbing a finger over his knuckles soothingly.
The redhead pouted and Mari laughed. "Besides; you can't exactly hold my hand in class anyway. We don't sit anywhere near each other."
He sighed in defeat; opening the door for her. Despite running late; they were one of the first people in the classroom. Mari sat on top of Katsuki's desk; Eijirou occupying Midoriya's empty seat for the time being.
"Just look at it like a test or a mission." Mari continued; swinging her feet. "Like going undercover for something."
"That's a good way to think of it; I guess." Eijirou said, but she could see he was still disappointed.
The classroom filled around them; and soon Mr. Aizawa came in as well, signaling their return to their respective seats. Mari smiled at her partners; discreetly brushing a finger over Eijirou's knuckles again. "See you after class." She said, taking her seat in the back.
If you had asked Mari about anything that happened in class that week; she wouldn't have been able to answer you truthfully. Her brain was so muddled from the fact that she was actually dating Eijirou and Katsuki now; trying to remedy the fact that it wasn't a dream, that everything kind of blended together. She vaguely remembered going to English and math, and she was sure that there had been a training class or two somewhere in there as well, but the details were all a gluey, hazy mess.
It seemed like she blinked and it was Friday again. She was in the kitchen making herself an after-class snack; when Eijirou walked in. His hair was tied back in a messy bun; and he had a nervous look on his face, twiddling his thumbs.
She smiled at him. "Hey, Eiji! You okay? You look kind of…constipated." She tilted her head; taking a bite of the pork bun she'd heated. She held it out to him. "Want some?"
He took it; taking a large bite and finishing it off. "Thanks, babe." He swallowed; the nervous look returning to his face. "Umm; I have a question for you. Well, actually Kats and I both do, but you know how he is…"
Mari raised an eyebrow. "Have you been hanging out with Midoriya again? You're rambling."
"Oh, right! Sorry!" He scratched the back of his head; a habit Mari herself had adopted. "We were both wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date? I know this great restaurant that FatGum recommended that I've been dying to try, and Katsuki said he wanted to go rock climbing."
Mari could feel her face coloring. Her mind blanked for a moment; but when she registered Eijirou starting to panic, she mentally kicked herself to get her brain working again. She wrapped her arms around his waist; smiling up at him. "I would love to." She said, watching the panic drain from his face.
"Ok! Awesome! I'll pick you up tomorrow at lunchtime!" He said; a twin smile splitting his face.
She laughed, shaking her head. "My room's right across the hall from yours; silly."
He shrugged. "Yeah; but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give you the whole date experience." He brushed some of her hair behind her ear.
"Always the gentleman." Mari said, placing a kiss on his cheek.
He chuckled. "What can I say? Chivalry is manly. Anyway; I was on my way to the gym, but I wanted to catch you before I went. Did you want to come with me? Maybe get some reps in?"
Mari shook her head. "Nah; you go on ahead. I'm still sore from practice this week."
"If you say so. I should be back in a few hours; I know Sero mentioned wanting to play some Smash Bros if you wanted to join us."
She watched him leave; then the weight of his words finally kicked in. They were going on a date. She, Eijirou and Katsuki were going on their first official date.
She needed backup; and she knew exactly who to go to.
"I don't know why you're panicking. Kiri and Blasty are gonna love whatever you wear." Mina said; going through Mari's closet, assessing her clothes.
She groaned, raking her fingers over her face. "I know. But this is different. This isn't class or hanging out around the dorm. This is a date!" She let out a sigh; staring at her ceiling from where she was laying on the bed.
"Well, we know you're going rock climbing; so a skirt or dress is out of the question…" Mina hummed; then pulled out a pair of cargo pants from the back of Mari's closet and held them up. "What about these?"
Mari lifted herself onto her elbows and stared at them. "Maybe. They are comfy." She said, chewing her bottom lip in thought. Her teeth caught the bite Eijirou had placed there last night; and she hummed inwardly at the memory.
Mina laughed, pulling her from her thoughts. "Focus, girl. There will be plenty of time for that later."
Mari blushed. She was glad Mina was in the know about what was going on; although she had know doubt the pink girl would have figured it out either way. "You're right." She said, making her way over to her closet as well. She pulled out a pair of well worn blue jeans.
"Oh! Go with those! They make your butt look great!" Mina said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Mari scoffed; giving her friend a light shove. "Oh my gosh; Mins! You're horrible!"
The other girl laughed. "I'm just glad you three figured your shit out. I don't think I've ever seen Kiri this happy." She said, sitting backwards on Mari's desk chair.
Mari pulled a pair of sneakers; as well as a faded Fleetwood Mac t-shirt. She placed everything on the bed, surveying the outfit. "I think this is the winner." She said. "I'll leave the cargo pants out anyway. Just in case I change my mind."
"That's perfect. Now; what about your hair?"
Mari frowned; rubbing her hand through her undercut. "There's not really much I can do with it besides what I do everyday." She said, suddenly hating her short hair. "Besides; I'm probably gonna wear a hat anyway. You know; anonymity and all that." The last thing she wanted was for a picture of the three of them to wind up in some tabloid. She could see the headline now; loudly declaring the news that sidekicks from the FatGum, Endeavour, and Traveler agencies had been spotted on a romantic outing.
"I didn't think about that. That's a good point." Mina said; spinning in the chair slightly.
"Occupational hazard; I guess. I know it'll only get worse when we're all pros too." Mari said, grabbing her black beanie off the floor and putting it with the rest of her clothes. "Also; I don't want to hear that you're nauseous from spinning. If you're gonna barf; please do it in the bathroom."
Mina laughed; still spinning. Mari shook her head. "Seriously though; thanks for helping me, Mins. I'm out of my depth when it comes to this stuff."
Mina stopped spinning; dragging her feet across the floor. "It's no problem. I probably would have insisted on helping you even if you didn't ask. I knew Kiri was gonna ask you." She said sticking her tongue out.
"Of course you did; why am I not surprised." Mari chuckled. "I think that's everything." She looked at her phone, checking the time. "Wanna go watch me kick Denki's butt in Smash again?" She said, smiling at Mina.
"Always. But maybe you should lay off the edibles tonight." the other girl teased; nudging Mari as they headed out the door.
"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Mari groaned. "Although I should probably thank Kyo at some point…"
Eijirou knocked on her door the next day exactly when he said he would; at noon exactly.
"I'll be right there!" Mari called. She looked around her room; frantically trying to find her flannel overshirt. "Come on; where is it?" Huffing when she couldn't find it; she grabbed the sweatshirt Eijirou had "given" her when she helped him dye his roots last time. He had said it was too small for him now; but that didn't stop it from still being huge on Mari. She tied it around her waist; opening the door.
Eijirou was standing there in a blue shirt; a color she had never seen him wear before. It suited him though; somehow. His hair was loose around his shoulders; and he had a giant smile on his face. In his hands; he had a bouquet of flowers.
"Hey baby." He said, handing her the flowers. "You look beautiful."
Mari blushed; taking the flowers. "Thank you. You look great too. I like that color on you." She smelled the flowers, grinning. "How did you know lilies are my favorite?"
"I have my sources." He said, winking at her. "Are you ready to head out? Katsuki's already downstairs."
Mari laughed. "Why does that not surprise me? Just let me put these in water and we can go find him."
She turned back to her room; thinking. She grabbed a relatively clean coffee mug from her desk, and rinsed it out in the bathroom. Then she filled it with water; placing the flowers inside. She set it on her desk, grinning. "That should hold them for now. Let's go." She said; grabbing Eijirou's hand.
Most of their classmates were either visiting family or hanging out in various dorms; so the coast was clear for the most part. They found Katsuki in the common room; scrolling through his phone. He looked up when he heard them approach.
"Finally. You two ready to head out?" He said, putting his phone back in his pocket. He was wearing his usual skull t-shirt and jeans. Mari noticed the slight blush that colored his cheeks as he took them in.
"Definitely. I was so excited, I could barely sleep last night!" Eijirou said; his face lit up like a kid on Christmas. It was adorable. Katsuki clicked his teeth.
"You gonna be able to keep up rock climbing; Shitty Hair?" He joked, his tone teasing.
"Of course! I'm just still surprised you both agreed to go on a date!" The redhead teased back.
Mari shook her head at them. "Come on; let's head out. I can't wait to kick both of your butts at rock climbing."
The rock climbing facility was relatively close to their dorms; only being about a fifteen minute walk in total. Katsuki insisted on paying for all of their rented equipment, saying it was no big deal when Mari smiled and thanked him.
She rigged herself up in the safety harness and pulled the climbing gloves on. "Man; I can't remember the last time I did this." She said; tapping the toes of her climbing boots on the floor.
Katsuki looked at her; surprised. He seemed to have relaxed a little now that it was just the three of them. "You've done this before, Short Stack?" He said; eyebrows raised a little.
"Oh yeah! I love this kind of stuff. I just haven't had time recently." She said, stretching her arms behind her head.
The blonde chuckled, shaking his head. "You never cease to surprise me. Either of you."
"I really want to try cliff diving next." Mari said, hooking her harness to the clip. "But definitely not until it's warmer."
"I think I remember you mentioning that." Eijirou said from her other side. "We can see if my grandparents will let us use their cabin over spring break. There's a lake with some outcroppings that would be perfect."
Mari's face lit up. "That sounds awesome! Do you think they would?"
He shrugged. "I don't see why not. They barely use it themselves." Then grinning; "Race you two to the top!"
"Hey! No fair! No headstarts!" Mari cried; climbing after him, Katsuki right behind her.
The blonde quickly passed her as well; closing the gap between him and Eijirou. "Oh come on!" She called after them.
Kasuki looked at her over his shoulder. "Come on; Short Stack. What happened to kicking our butts at rock climbing?" He called back; a smirk on his face.
"It's not my fault my arms are shorter than yours!" She griped. "Not all of us were blessed with tree trunks for legs either!"
Eijirou laughed. "Come on; babe. You're plenty strong yourself, I'm pretty sure I've seen you do fifty push ups without stopping."
"My point stands! You two have an unfair advantage!" Mari called back. She frowned as both boys reached the top. She followed shortly after. "Alright; I concede defeat. This time. But this just means I'll have to work harder to catch up with you two." She said, a smile forming on her face.
They repelled back down; and Mari wiped her brow. "That was awesome. Definitely worked up an appetite though." She said; and as if on queue, her stomach growled in agreement.
"Let's return our gear and head over to the restaurant. I can't wait for you two to try it! I was waiting to go until we could all go together!" Eijirou said, walking to the return counter. He placed his gear on the counter. The girl behind the counter gave him a small smile; returning his shoes.
"So what I'm hearing is you've never actually been to this place? How do you know it's not a dump?" Katsuki teased; placing his gear on the counter. The return girl smiled at him too.
Mari's eyes narrowed as she placed her own gear on the counter. "Come on; Kats. Eiji said that FatGum recommended this place; so it has to be good." The return girl looked her up and down as she placed Mari's sneakers on the counter.
They quickly pulled on their shoes and left; following Eijirou to the restaurant. While they were walking, he told them all about the food there; making sure to note that there would be mapo tofu for Katsuki. "I know that's your favorite; babe. I know it probably won't be as good as you said Todoroki's sister's was; but it should still be pretty good."
The restaurant was small; but it was still pretty empty. The owner recognized Eijirou as one of FatGum's sidekicks immediately; leading them to a table and letting them know that their lunch was on the house. Eijirou blushed as red as his hair; thanking the man.
"You've been awfully quiet since we left the rock climbing place." He said to Mari after they'd placed their drink orders. "Penny for your thoughts, baby?" He reached across the table; grabbing her hand.
Mari shifted in her seat. "It's silly. I'm probably just being paranoid." She ran her hand through her hair. "But it seemed like the girl at the return was checking you two out. She gave me an ugly look when I was returning my gear."
Eijirou's eyes softened. "Is that all? Beautiful; you have nothing to worry about. We both love you; you know that." He rubbed his finger over her knuckles; his large, calloused hand dwarfing hers.
Katsuki snorted. "What Shitty Hair said. Don't even worry about that extra." He nudged her foot under the table.
Mari sighed. She knew it was true; but it was still nice to hear. This was all still so new to the three of them; so she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I guess I just needed to hear you say it. I'm sorry; I guess I got a little territorial there for a minute." Their waiter returned; setting their drinks down and taking their orders. As expected; Katsuki got the mapo tofu, Eijirou ordered some beef and broccoli dish; and Mari ordered some katsu curry.
She took a sip of her tea; then a thought occurred to her. Eijirou had said they loved her. That was the first time she'd heard him say it. Her heart stuttered in her chest.
"You said you loved me…" She said quietly; almost a whisper.
Katsuki laughed. "Took you long enough to catch up."
Eijirou shot him a look. "Don't tease her; Kats." Then he turned to Mari. "I was serious. I know this is still new territory; and I don't want to pressure you, either of you, to say it back until you're ready."
"I love you too. Both of you. I have for a while now." Mari said; her eyes wide. "I think I even loved you since before I switched classes, if I'm honest about it." She smiled warmly.
Katsuki took a sip of his soda; then smiled himself. "Yeah; I love you dummies too. Or whatever." He said.
"Articulate as always; Blasty." Eijirou laughed, shaking his head. Their food came; and they were quiet for a moment, enjoying their food. Mari reached across the table; stealing a piece of Eijirou's broccoli. "Yoink"
He laughed. "You can have my broccoli; babe. I don't mind."
Mari shook her head. "Uh uh; I just wanted a piece. You have to eat more than just the beef." She popped the broccoli in her mouth. "Okay; one more piece. But that's it!"
They passed the rest of the meal like this; stealing food off each other's plates occasionally. Mari did wind up eating the rest of Eijirou's broccoli; but she wound up giving him the rest of her chicken, so it evened out.
They finished up; and Eijirou left a tip on the table, saying it was the manly thing to do.
"We still have some time before curfew. Why don't you pick what we do now; beautiful." He said; as they left.
Mari hummed; thinking. "I think I saw an arcade a few blocks back. How does that sound?"
"Lead the way, babe."
"Okay; I have one token left. What should we use it on?" Mari said. They'd been at the arcade for an hour at this point. She'd lost to both boys at air hockey; and at the various shoot-em-up machines. Not that she minded; she was having a blast.
"I think I saw a photobooth over there. What about that?" Eijirou said; already pulling them over to the machine.
"One issue; Shitty Hair. There's no way we're all gonna fit." Katsuki said.
Mari snorted. "That's what she said."
"Short Stack; I swear to God…"
"Oh come on; Kats. You set yourself up for that one. And besides; we'll be fine if I sit on one of your laps." Mari said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Both boys faces colored. Mari rolled her eyes. "Oh come on; it's not like I haven't before when we have movie nights. And besides; no one will see us behind the curtain."
They piled into the booth; Mari planting herself on Eijirou's lap. "Okay; it looks like it'll take four pictures to a slip…" She leaned forward, placing the token in the slot. The screen blinked to life; and she quickly chose the format and amount of printouts. A countdown showed on the screen.
"Let's do a silly one first!" They all made faces at the camera as it went off. "Kats; your 'die die die' face doesn't count as silly…"
The countdown started again. "Uh hey guys…" Snap.
"Oh come on! I wasn't ready!" Snap another picture.
"There's one left!" Eijirou said, looking at Katsuki over Mari's head. They smiled at each other in solid agreement.
Just as the snap of the last picture went off; both boys leaned in, each planting a kiss on Mari's cheek. The picture perfectly captured her surprised face and blush.
The screen dimmed, and they could hear the printouts being printed. Mari grabbed them from the slot, smiling. "These are perfect." She said; handing them each their copy.
"The first one's my favorite." Katsuki said, laughing at the picture.
"You would like that one best." Mari said. "I think I like the last one best." She tucked the photo strip inside her phone case. "There. Now I'll always have it with me."
"I hate to say it; but we should probably head back soon. It's almost seven." Eijirou said, staring at his own phone.
Mari pouted. "I don't want to go back yet. I'm having too much fun."
The redhead wrapped his arm around her. "It's not like we won't have more dates after this; babe."
Katsuki nodded. "Besides; we have to study tomorrow. We have that math test on Tuesday."
Mari paled. "We do?"
The blonde sighed. "You forgot, didn't you?"
The truth was, Mari hadn't even heard their teacher mention a test. But she wasn't going to admit that. "Yeah; totally."
Katsuki stared at her; as if he was trying to tell whether she was lying or not. "Just because you hate math doesn't mean you can slack off."
"I know; I know! My brain's just more language wired! All those numbers make my eyes cross." Mari said, following them out of the arcade.
"And that's why we're such a good team! Katsuki helps me with math; and you help me with English!" Eijirou said, smiling brightly.
"You're doing a lot better than you used to; though. Pretty soon you might not even need our help." Katsuki teased.
"Nah; I think I'm always gonna need your help." the redhead replied; shaking his head. "Besides; even if I didn't, I wouldn't give up our study dates."
When they got back to the dorms; Sero, Mina and Denki were hanging out in the living area; along with Ochako and Midoriya. They appeared to have made a game out of seeing how many things they could stack on Todoroki while he slept. So far; they had managed to stack two textbooks, three blankets and the TV remote.
Denki spotted them as they entered; he had a game controller in his hand. "So; where have you been?" He asked; giving them a knowing smile.
Mari could feel Katsuki start to tense beside her. "Nowhere that concerns you; Duracell." He quipped back.
Denki hummed. "I dunno; must have been pretty special if Kiri kept his hair down…" He gently placed the controller on the stack; fist pumping when it didn't fall over.
"We went rock climbing; and Kiri wanted to show us this restaurant FatGum recommended. Then we killed some time at the arcade." Mari said. It seemed innocent enough to tell the truth.
Apparently she forgot just how much of a menace their friends could be.
"That sounds like a date to me." Denki said; smirking. Sero nodded; a twin expression on his face.
Katsuki glared at them while Eijirou looked anywhere but at their friends. Mari chewed her lip again.
The room was silent for a moment; then Denki said "Wait? Was it? I was kidding. Mari; Kiri, blink twice if you need help."
"So much for keeping it on the downlow for now." Mari mumbled. She looked at her partners; Eijirou nodded and Katsuki shrugged, staring at the floor.
"You're right; Denki. It was a date. The three of us have been together for about a week now. We just didn't want to say anything yet since it's still so new." She said.
There was another pause. Denki slowly reached into his pocket and slipped Sero a five dollar bill.
"Oh come on! Were you all taking bets on our love lives?!" Mari exclaimed; throwing her hands up in the air.
"Actually; we all thought you'd been dating for a while. This bet was to see if we could get you to admit it."
Mari groaned; but relaxed when Eijirou put his arms around her. She giggled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Guess I get to do that even more now." He said; earning swooning noises from their friends.
"Okay; but I gotta know." Denki said. "I get this," he pointed at Mari and Kiri, "and I get this," he pointed at Eijirou and Katsuki, "but how does this work?" He pointed at the three of them.
Mari shrugged. "It's really not that complicated. Eijirou and I love each other; and we both love Katsuki. It's what makes sense for us."
"Well, I'm happy for you guys. Especially you; Kaachan." Midoriya said, smiling.
Katsuki made a noise. Mari shook her head. She knew Katsuki and Izuku were in a better place than before; but she also knew they had a long way to go. "I think that roughly translates to 'thank you' in Katsuki-speak." She said.
"Oi! Don't put words in my mouth." The blonde said, pinching her side. She squeaked; jumping slightly at the touch.
"Anyway; we're gonna head upstairs, maybe watch a movie. Good luck with that…" Mari said, gesturing to the pile of junk on Todoroki's back.
"That could have gone worse." Mari said; setting up a movie in the DVD player. She sat on the bed, tucked in Eijirou's lap; Katsuki sitting on the floor in front of them.
"Still can't believe Dunce Face and Soy Sauce had a bet going." He muttered.
"I'm not. Mina; Ochako and Kyoka all had one going on if I had a crush on you or not." Mari said; reaching forward and running her hand through the blonde's hair.
Eijirou laughed. "Seriously? Who won?"
Mari shrugged. "I honestly don't remember. I think it was some sort of tie."
"Maybe it's better that they know." She said after a minute. "Obviously we'll still have to be low key in class; but at least now we can relax around the dorm."
She could feel Katsuki's head start to dip under her fingers. "Kats? You gonna be okay to watch the movie?" She asked; getting a mumble in return.
"Why don't you hop up here with us; babe? That way you're more comfortable." Eijirou said; scooching himself and Mari to make room.
Katsuki groaned; but he positioned himself on the bed so that his head was on Eijirou's leg. "Keep scratching my head; babe. It feels good." He said; pulling Mari's hand back to where it was.
She smiled. "Of course; Kats."
They didn't even make it to the middle of the movie. Katsuki passed out five minutes later; with Mari and Eijirou close behind. They knew they'd all be sore and cramped tomorrow from the awkward positions; but that was a problem for future them. Tonight; they slept soundly, wrapped in each other's company and warmth.