NOTE: Hi there! Life has been a bit unkind to me and I am REALLY SICK right now... Luckily I had this chapter done in advance and it's even a little longer than usual so I guess that works out! BUT I want to write next week's (and others to be ahead of school that starts monday) though I don't think in this condition I'm going to be able to...

It really sucks to already have to cut back on posting once a week and I hope I don't have to but if you don't get another chapter by friday next week you'll know why!
ALSO please excuse any typos, I didn't have the mental capacity to proofread like usual so if you see something really glaring please let me know!
Okay, now, on with the story!

"Momo…" The aforementioned girl just hums at him in response, the lilting lift of a question at the end of the little noise, that along with the devious little glint in her eye has his blood running cold. "What did you do?"

She had asked to use his phone to check something when they stopped for some water because she'd left her own in the changing rooms today in order to avoid distractions. In hindsight, Shouto should have done the same, especially with how little sleep he'd gotten the night before once again, but every time he thought about maybe getting a text his stomach did something weird. So, he just kept it on a corner of the room on silent and he'd occasionally check it between short breaks.

"Well… I hope you don't mind but…" She trails off with a nonchalant little shrug and Shouto can feel himself paling even more than usual.

"But what, Momo?" His voice sounds like it is somewhere between steely and scratchy and he barely recognises it when it comes out of him.

"You were saying that he had to fix it, so I just told him how. I think I did a pretty good job of impersonating you, I've known you basically my whole life after all."

"You did what?" Snatching the phone right out of her hands he looks at it just in time to see Midoriya replying and nearly drops it to the ground. "Why is he asking me when I'm free? Momo, why did you ask him out for coffee for me? What on earth told you that this was even remotely a good idea?"

Yaoyorozu's dismissive shrug serves only to spark both his irritation and panic. He stares back at the texts for a second time only to realise that, quite honestly, he was almost implying it himself in his previous ones. Sleep deprivation really isn't good for him alongside a whole night of shamelessly staring at Midoriya dancing.

"Let's review the facts, shall we?" She stands up, counting on her fingers as she pointedly ignores the stares of someone who really wants them to get back to practice. "You can hardly sleep thinking about him, you're driving nearly everyone insane because of it and were already pretty much asking him to help you out. Coffee is a solution to at least one of your problems, this way you get to see him again and it can go one of two ways." Shouto raises his gaze from her fingers to her sly smirk. "You either satisfy your hearts' desire and finally get some sleep, or it makes it a lot worse from how bad you've got it."

"It's not like that." He repeats for the twelfth time since this started. Yes, he's been keeping count. And yes, every single time, he gets that sarcastic 'Of course not' in response that's honestly starting to get a little on his nerves.

"Are you going to answer it or not? We need to get back to practice if we want to get this right any time this month. Or year."

Sighing heavily, Shouto swallows his pride and resigns to sending Midoriya the time they usually get off.

If he wasn't a mess before then… Well, Shouto doesn't think he's been this bad ever since his mother got admitted to the mental hospital after her breakdown and his 'accident'. And that's really saying something, because he's somehow doing worse. He could hardly move then, even after recovering from his injury he was stuck in a mental loop of feeling like the whole world was crashing around him and trying not to feel anything at all. His way of dealing with it was to ultimately shut everything off and focus on nothing but his father's lessons, as much as he hated them. It was still better than dealing with the unbearable guilt he felt.

But eventually Yaoyorozu had come into his life to become his dance partner. He wasn't too keen on it at first, seeing as she was hand-picked by his father and he wanted nothing to do with her because of it. Yet, she never gave up on him, kept pushing against his walls until she broke through and became his first real friend. She helped him through his hardest struggles and managed to make him break out of his self-constructed shell and actually start functioning more like a human than an emotionless robot.

And though he still had a long way to go, Shouto was starting to wonder if it wasn't better to just not have feelings. Because right now, all of his were confusing and utterly distracting. Instead of thinking where he had to be stepping, which way he had to turn or how to lead Yaoyorozu, he is focusing on the cold sensation at the pit of his stomach. Shouto steps on Yaoyorozu's toes while trying to ignore the itch he feels to check if Midoriya had responded. Staring off to the corner of the room where his phone sits rather than watching what he is doing he nearly drops his partner to the floor while dipping her.

"Shouto!" He curses under his breath, pulling her up immediately before he actually lets go. He stares at her with the mildest hint of panic and she just rolls her eyes at him, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's take a lunch break."

He welcomes the out and takes it like a starved man might take a loaf of bread, making a point of ignoring the sly looks as he calmly makes his way to his phone and sits down to look at it. Shouto shapes his expression into a meticulously calculated neutral that not even Yaoyorozu is able to read. He's worked hard on it for that particular purpose.

Although, as soon as he sees that Midoriya's answered with an astoundingly barely intelligible 'sounds perfect, where to?', his heart goes into overdrive. It's all he can do to keep his face from showing it, just suggesting some coffee shop he knows isn't too far from All Might Dance Studio in order to make sure Midoriya can easily find it. The reply is almost instant, this time followed by a couple of smiling emojis and Shouto feels heat rising to his cheeks from the image of Midoriya's own smile popping into his head.

Sadly, he's not quick enough to look down at his shoes and definitely doesn't miss Yaoyorozu's snort. That is most likely going to earn him a lot more teasing than he's already been enduring for the past couple of days.

Even after knowing that Midoriya has accepted his (well, technically Yaoyorozu's) invitation for coffee, it doesn't ease his mind in the slightest. If anything, Shouto thinks that it actually made things slightly worse. Because now, all he can think about is that. He's going to see Midoriya again in a couple of hours, and it feels like his insides are doing backflips left and right. His chest is swarmed with infinite butterflies as his heart flutters uneasily each and every time he thinks about his bright green eyes and brilliantly blinding smile.

Did he ever feel this way about meeting Yaoyorozu outside of practice when they first started strengthening their relationship? He honestly doesn't remember feeling this way in his entire life, like his whole body is going haywire with all these strange reactions. In fact, he is almost entirely certain that this is a first for him when it comes to these feelings. But that's not so strange, though, is it? After all, Midoriya is entirely different from everyone he has interacted with all of his life, it's only natural that his reactions are also equally distinct.

On top of all that, as if it wasn't enough, it seems like time has simply slowed down to a stop. Practices, as arduous and fatiguing as they usually were, tended to pass by in a blur. However, that was likely due to Shouto's unwavering focus, motions blending together into one seamless routine that they repeated time and time again until they had it committed to memory. Since now Shouto is instead unbearably distracted, no matter how long they dance, each time he glances at the clock hanging high on one of the walls, only a few minutes have passed. And this keeps going. And going. And going.

It goes on until it feels like he's fit to burst into a frustrated growl and just snatch the clock out of the wall to chuck it to the floor and stomp it into dust. It's a very uncharacteristic urge that Shouto is entirely unfamiliar with. Yet, that particular fact makes it no less appealing. Especially when his very skin feels like it's burning with an itch that he doesn't know how to scratch. Without realising it, he's squeezing Yaoyorozu's hand just a little bit too tight and the muted little 'ow' is the only thing that brings him back to reality long enough to let up his grip.

Shouto mutters an apology, only to go right back to being distracted by the slow passage of time. Clearly, the end of their practice simply does not come fast enough.

Things take a turn for the worst when they're interrupted by his father's arrival once more. Despite everything, Shouto is undeniably shocked to see him twice in just as many days, thinking that he'd managed to somewhat get a hold of himself after lunch.

"Shouto." He lets go of Yaoyorozu, backing away and bracing himself for whatever scolding his father is thinking of giving him, expression neutral but firm. "You two will have a second set to practice from today forward."

Shouto blinks in surprise, working them like dogs is not necessarily anything new, but usually when they're not 'up to par' all he does is increase practice hours on the same routine to ensure that everything is perfect down to the finest detail of their movements. Giving them another one to divide their attention is something that never happens. Before either of them can begin to think of asking why and what for, Enji is once again talking.

"There will be an event in three months' time to showcase the talent present in my company. You are obviously my greatest asset, so I expect nothing less than absolute excellence and precision," he pauses to scowl at him from his place above Shouto "not this sorry excuse for dancing." The last part is spat with the deadliest of venoms and the frustration that's been building within Shouto nearly makes him snap.

The only thing that stops him is Yaoyorozu's hand wrapping around his wrist to stop him as she steps forward with her arms crossed over her chest. "And this new routine, what is it supposed to be?"

Enji turns his gaze towards her, giving nothing away but for the demand of obedience. Shouto is overwhelmed by the need to straighten himself up in defiance, exuding a confidence he doesn't necessarily feel and raising his chin to stare him down by Yaoyorozu's side.

"I will entrust that decision to you. I assume you have some semblance of skill in that puny form of yours. You are expected to begin working on it tomorrow, while still practicing for the next competition. Do not disappoint me." Before he makes to leave from whence he came, his father glares back at him, likely noticing the way his posture just screams his affront. "Or your mother."

That is enough to immediately make Shouto shrink down to something akin to a kicked puppy and he curses himself with his thoughts, clenching his jaw and biting back the retort that hung on the tip of his tongue. His father disappears from sight as they're told to get back to work and Shouto has to take a moment to breathe.

After that, the waiting becomes even more unbearable. The anticipation is replaced by a sickening feeling that he tries his best to swallow down. He can only hope that meeting with Midoriya will help ease his mind.

Shouto's mood only seems to have soured further the longer their practice went on. By the time he was finally free and ready to leave with little more than a 'See you later' to Yaoyorozu, he's practically seething with the events of that day playing through his mind. But he was waiting outside the coffee shop now, expecting Midoriya at any moment, and his anger would have to wait.

To be quite honest, Shouto hadn't expected more waiting. If anything, he had an apology ready for making the other wait, given that he'd taken a little longer than expected on his commute to the place. However, when he had finally arrived and looked inside the little shop in the corner of the street, Midoriya was nowhere to be found.

He sent a quick text to let him know he was there, and then waited. That was more tortuous than Shouto could have imagined. Any little noise happening on the streets around him, which at this time of day allows for a cacophony of sound at every other second, has his head snapping up to look for a mess of wild and dark curls. When he sees nothing of the sort, he simply goes back to scrolling through his phone, noting with a hint of ever growing anxiety that he hasn't got a single reply. He isn't even sure if he saw the text to begin with, only that it was delivered as soon as he sent it which meant that his phone hadn't died either.

Foolishly, Shouto wonders if something happened to Midoriya, refusing to consider the much more likely option that he has been, quite simply, stood up. The fleeting thought that his father may have something to do with it is instantly shot down, seeing as he has no knowledge of the other, and therefore no interest whatsoever in getting rid of him. At least not yet. But with the blatant threat to his mother's wellbeing earlier that day, his insides are riling up with unease and he can't help but suspect something awful, no matter how stupid and unlikely that may be.

A familiar voice going through a series of "Sorry, coming through, excuse me" has Shouto glancing up from his phone, spotting Midoriya's frazzled form as he wades through the crowd at a worryingly fast pace. Almost instantaneously, Shouto feels the corners of his lips tug slightly upwards, his heart skipping a beat when Midoriya's eyes widen in recognition upon laying them on him.

He rushes towards him, barely getting himself to a safe halt before crashing into the wall by his side and leaning down with his hands on his knees, breathless. Shouto tilts his head curiously, not missing the way it seems like just the sight of Midoriya is enough to make all of his negative emotions dissipate into meaningless worries.

"I'm so sorry…" Midoriya pants, lifting his head to look up at him with a crooked little apologetic smile. Shouto is a bit taken aback when suddenly the other is talking a mile a minute with barely a breath in between. "I didn't mean to make you wait, I had lunch with Ocha and that in itself stretched on a little longer than intended, then I took her to work and I just lost track of time talking to her and when I noticed how late it already was I just bolted out the door.

"I should have at least said I was going to be a little late but I was so caught up with getting here that I didn't even think to check my phone," with that part he looks at his phone in his hand to see the light blinking with a notification then stares back at Shouto.

"shit. You texted me. I probably made you think I was ignoring you, didn't I? Damn it, I'm so sorry, you thought I was standing you up and I'm like what? Half an hour late? I'm actually surprised you're still here, I wouldn't have blamed you for leaving after something like that, and after making you lose sleep too.

"I feel like I should apologise for that as well, even though I'm still a little confused as to how someone like me could possibly keep someone like you-"

"Midoriya…" As awfully amusing as Shouto might find his ranting, he feels like he should probably stop him at some point before he goes on another tangent. Midoriya's endless speech comes to a grinding halt as lets out a questioning little yelp, realising that he had started rambling. "It's fine, don't worry. It's nice to see you again." Outside of a phone screen, his mind supplies right after.

As unexpected as they may be, his thoughts do have a point. Midoriya's surprised blinks followed by a light pink blush painting under his freckles are something that those videos can never hope to recreate in such detail, no matter how high the quality. He looks away momentarily, only to return his gaze to Shouto and avoid it again.

"Y-yeah. You too…" He fidgets with the hem of his sleeveless hoodie and Shouto has to fight against his lips to stop the little smile playing at them from stretching further. Midoriya points his head towards the door to the coffee shop. "Shall we go in? I still owe you that coffee."

Nodding with a hum of agreement, he holds the door open for the other to duck his head inside, still inspecting his shoes as if they're telling him the most interesting story and it would be rude to look away. Following right after, they make their way towards the line, standing side by side.

Shouto notes that Midoriya's demeanour right now and from the night at the club differ in one particular fact that makes their interactions entirely different, though not at all in a bad way. Midoriya, as it turns out, is extremely shy. At least when he's sober. Shouto smiles to himself, unable to continue resisting the urge, and shoves his hands into his pockets with a little sigh.

"You don't have to look so scared, you know? I don't bite."

Midoriya's head shoots up to look at him, his blush burning a little brighter and his eyes growing a little wider.

"S-sorry, I just…"

His voice trails off, a little small and very timid and Shouto feels himself relax, strangely enough. It feels reassuring to know that he's not the only one who's feeling the anxiety of interacting with someone that's still so new claw at his insides. When they get to front of the line, the redhead behind the register grins so widely that Shouto thinks it might hurt.

"Deku! Hey, what's this, you on a date?" Shouto furrows his brow at the interaction, wondering who he's talking to when he notices Midoriya sputtering.

"What? That's not-" Midoriya cuts himself off by clearing his throat and looking away. "Kirishima! You're working today? I could've sworn it was your day off…"

"It was, but someone called in sick and I figured I could come in and lend a hand. For cash, obviously. So, what'll it be?" The guy, who Shouto can only assume to be Kirishima, is quick to get on with their order, no doubt getting angry looks from those behind them who might be in a hurry.

"I'll have a latte macchiato please, and… Uh…"

Midoriya turns to him with a question in his eyes. Shouto doesn't even look at the options, no matter what he might want, he needs something strong. "Just a black coffee, if that's alright."

The grimace that Midoriya sends him coupled with the 'How manly' comment from Kirishima almost makes Shouto laugh. He simply shrugs, leaving the reason for his choice unvoiced. Before Midoriya can reach into his pocket to get his wallet, Shouto's already handing the money to the redhead flashing him a very toothy smirk followed by a wink. He's a little confused at that, but Midoriya's darkening flush is a nice result that he definitely won't be complaining about.

"I thought I was buying you coffee."

"You can get the next one." The words are out of his mouth before he can actually think of what he's saying, yet he manages to keep a straight face after he hears himself uttering them.

"And that's what I call sealing the deal." Kirishima grins at them and Midoriya looks as if he's suddenly turned into a tomato while glaring at the other.

Shouto chooses to ignore the comment altogether while he stands to the side as they wait for their coffee to be done. He turns to Midoriya, who's still blushing fiercely and trying his best to hide it.

"Deku?" He questions, the name not sounding at all friendly for some reason, despite the way Kirishima had said it not being malicious in the least.

"Ah that's… A long story. Let's just say it sounds like 'you can do it' and leave it at that."

Not wanting to pry and risk scaring Midoriya off again, Shouto nods wordlessly, scanning the place for a table they can sit at to enjoy their drinks. Well, for Midoriya to enjoy his drink. He hates black coffee, but he hopes the shot of caffeine can do him some good to fight off the urge to let his eyelids droop closed. Shouto supposes that Midoriya's presence also helps in that department, given that he doesn't want to miss a single moment of this outing.

Once they get their drinks, they move to a table that's just freeing up and sit across from each other. Midoriya is playing with the cup in his hands, drawing patterns over the surface with the tips of his fingers in a way that Shouto notices is very reminiscent of his dancing. Perhaps he's thinking of something to work with at a later time, or going over moves from a previous arrangement he might have been practicing. Things are quiet for a moment as each of them takes their respective drinks to their lips, Midoriya closing his eyes in delight as Shouto tries not to choke on the awful taste.

They both look at each other and Midoriya looks like he wants to say something but isn't entirely sure how. To be frank, Shouto must have about the same sort of expression, small talk was one of the many things he had never truly grasped the concept of. Luckily for him, his company seemed to be a little more well versed and, after getting over whatever mental block was keeping him from speaking, asks him about his day.

Shouto tries not to frown too deeply but isn't sure if he's successful in that regard. "Tiring. My old man is a constant pain in my neck, but I'll live. Yours?"

Midoriya hums with a small nod, scratching at his cheek with a little awkward smile. "I'm sorry to hear. Mostly uneventful, some highs and lows, the usual…"

His voice trails off and the conversation is once again stunted. Shouto doesn't exactly know how to steer it towards something that might make them more at ease with each other. But as he opens his mouth slightly to say anything that might come to mind, he's interrupted by Midoriya's phone. He excuses himself to look at it, saying he was told was urgent as he sips from his latte.

Then, without warning, the other chokes on said drink, setting it on the table to cough into his hand. Shouto immediately gets up and goes to his side, giving him little but strong pats on the back to help him. However, that only seems to make the choking worse and Shouto backs off with his brows furrowing in concern.

It only gets worse when Midoriya looks at his phone again, then at him as if he's grown a second head, only to look back at the screen and up at him once more with an even more shocked expression. Shouto uncomfortably shifts in his spot, trying to stop his hand from covering up the left side of his face. It's such an instinctive reaction that his arm is already halfway there before he forces it back down, telling himself that Midoriya isn't staring at him because of that.

Even still, he feels the need to ask what's wrong just to be sure. Finally recovering from his drink deciding to take a detour to his lungs, Midoriya whisper-shouts the answer at him.

"You didn't tell me you're a freaking world champion!"

Blinking stupidly at the other for a few seconds, Shouto raises an eyebrow as he calmly sits back down. That's what this is?

"I didn't think it was important."

"Not important…" Midoriya mutters, letting out a little incredulous laugh, slumping down further into his seat and looking at his phone once more then at Shouto's face as if to confirm that it was the truth. "So, you really won the world championship for Tango and Waltz last year?" Shouto nods, taking a sip from his own coffee and doing his best not to scowl at the bitterness once more. "Wow…"

Midoriya's expression takes on an awed look to it, his eyes shining slightly with something that Shouto can only peg as admiration and he feels himself shrink under that gaze. "It's really nothing important…"

"What do you mean? You're amazing! You're so young and you have such an awesome achievement already? Some people can only dream of something like that, and here you are, acting like it's no big deal! You must be so humble… If it were Kacchan-" As soon as that last part leaves his lips, Midoriya quickly covers his mouth, eyes wide in shock before his whole face falls and he diverts his gaze somewhere else.

"Your mother?" Shouto asks, confused, and the only response he gets is a short bitter laugh and a 'god, no'. Midoriya looks like he's about to cry, the shift in his mood so sudden it almost gives Shouto whiplash, and he leans forward with worry painting his features. "Are you okay?"

Midoriya nods stiffly and Shouto doesn't believe it for a second but is at a complete loss to what to do. He was never good at comforting people on a good day, let alone sleep deprived and frustrated at his own life. Out of nowhere, one of Midoriya's answers to his questions back at the club comes to the forefront of his mind.

"What brings you here?"

"Drowning my sorrows, pretty much." He said before taking the shot of vodka in front of him and shooting him a lazy smile. "And you?"

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Shouto rubs at the back of his neck, his eyes never leaving Midoriya's hunching figure. With a deep breath and another gulp of disgustingly bitter coffee, he scoots his chair closer to the table and, consequently, Midoriya.

"If you ask me, your dancing is much worthier of such a prize than mine." With painfully gleaming eyes, Midoriya turns to look back at him. Shouto may not know what's going on in his life to make him so upset so quickly, but he can sure as hell try to get his mind off of it. "All I do is memorise routines and recreate them with calculated precision. You live your sets with such passion that I can't help but look at you and want to be like that."

Midoriya blinks away a few stray tears that sneak out of the corners of his jade eyes and Shouto's heart squeezes in his chest as he (not so) discreetly wipes them away with the back of his hand.

"You don't have to say that just to…" His voice sounds as strangled as he looks.

"I'm simply stating the truth. It reminds me of my mother's dancing. Before I was born, she did professional ballet, and she was beautiful. Her body told such wonderful stories with the way she moved to the dips and rises of the music. When I look at you I see that same love for dance. I wish I could be like that."

Midoriya's eyes still look like they're filling with tears, but his cheeks have gained a little more colour and when he looks away it seems like he's once again closer to shy than he is to anguished. Shouto counts that as somewhat of a win, even if it still looks like he's about to break down into sobs.

"T-thank you… That's… really nice of you to say. Especially when you're clearly so amazing yourself." Midoriya sniffles a little, but seems to mostly manage to compose himself and it is now Shouto's turn to look away in embarrassment.

"I really wouldn't say that. I just did what I had to." Perhaps that was a little too honest, but vague enough that he doesn't feel like he's emptying his heavy emotional baggage on the other.

"Well, I think you must be great. I'd love to see you dance too." Midoriya offers him a small smile and Shouto returns it with one of his own. "Maybe you could even come to our studio. My friends would love to meet someone like you. Just ask Kirishima."

Shouto gazes at the redhead in question and is met with a bright grin and a quick wave, turning back to Midoriya right away. There's something about the hopeful glint in his eyes that makes Shouto's brain short-circuit and he doesn't consider the consequences of what spews out of his mouth.

"Sure. That sounds great." Midoriya beams at him, once more wiping at the corners of his eyes but looking a lot lighter already, and Shouto feels a warmth in his chest he seems to become more acquainted with as the days go by.

Now all he has to do is to figure out how the hell he's supposed to find the time to actually do that in between practicing for two routines, one of which he and Yaoyorozu still have to come up with.

Nothing could go wrong.

NOTE: And that was that! Coffee date has gone by with only a minor hiccup so- who knows what might be next!

Hope you enjoyed, again, let me know if you saw any glaring mistakes that I couldn't proofread to detect! And as always, feel free to leave any feedback you may have! ^-^