"Hey Izuku."
"Hey Blake, what's up?"
"Figured it'd been a little while since we got together to read for a bit. I don't know if you've read anything yet but, well, I thought we could just sit and read together. Just hang out a little."
"Oh, uh, actually I was going to head to my mom's apartment. She just left for her vacation so I should probably go pick up the key and check over the apartment to take stock."
"I see, that's perfectly understandable. Maybe we could do it some other time when you're not busy, then?"
"... Uh... actually, Blake? Maybe instead of reading here... we could read over at my mom's apartment? It'd kill two birds with one stone and... well, we'd have the apartment to ourselves."
...
"Uh, Blake? It's okay if you don't want to, uh, I figure that must be pretty weird for me to have asked, right, sorry maybe I shouldn't have said anything I think I'll just-"
"Sounds fun."
...
"Huh?"
"Sounds fun. Let's go."
That conversation about summed up how, after classes, Izuku and Blake were left somewhat awkwardly walking down the streets of Mountain Glenn, heading out to his mom's apartment. To anyone looking, even those who knew Blake, they would have noted some of that awkwardness... and not just because of how tense and nervous Izuku ended up feeling the entire way. Yeah, Izuku was a little bit uneasy going into it; after all, it would be the first time he ever brought someone into his home when his mother was nowhere to be seen; at all other times, Inko Midoriya had been there to oversee Izuku and his friends... that was also a long time ago too, when Izuku thought about it. He hadn't brought someone home ever since he and Bakugou stopped hanging out...
Yeah, he brought his team home to meet his mom but, well, there was a certain different feel to that given that, again, his mom had been there and it'd been more a group exercise in introducing them to her. Now though? Now he was bringing someone home. Alone... and it was a girl on top of that.
Blake Belladonna to boot, a girl that he'd already said was pretty...
'Does everyone understand why I'm nervous!' he screamed inside his head.
It wasn't just him though, Izuku realized. If it was just Izuku being nervous and a bit silly, Blake would've tried to pull him out with some conversation here and there. It must've seemed absurd to her; someone who was probably used to being alone and not talking so much being forced to be the more talkative out of the two, but she'd done so before and... well, the small talk had alleviated Izuku's nervousness before. It wasn't that there was a complete lack of small talk, of course, Blake still did her best to talk to him and he chatted back... but there was a decline of it. Blake was stiff; not blushing, not doing anything obvious that might signal her nerves... but it was Blake. He'd come to recognize that Blake wasn't open or vocal about what was going through her mind unless she was under some serious duress, or at least, that'd been what he'd gotten the feeling of.
But Blake did give little signs. Usually Blake was tense, sure, but in that way she was constantly on edge and ready to jump on her feet at a given moment, a danger-sense in a word. She usually carried herself in an otherwise casual and even-toned way. There was a certain stiffness to her now, the way she'd constantly brush strands of hair behind her ear even when it was all in place. It was somewhat easy to tell that she might've been as nervous as him. He really hoped he hadn't creeped her out or something, he'd meant it pretty innocently enough... a place where just the two of them could hang out without anyone else potentially disturbing them, giving them both a measure of peace and allowing them to go about reading or whatever comfortably...
Which was exactly why they were both probably so tense, when Izuku really broke that sentence down.
Still, Izuku didn't want to go back on it; he had meant it when he said he wanted to hang out with Blake and he wanted her to be comfortable. Like he said, she was always on edge at school due to her past and her secrets... here in the privacy of his apartment, maybe the two of them could hang out and Blake could just... unwind? Relax? Be herself?
Izuku really hoped so. It'd be nice to be able to give her that, at least...
Nevertheless the both of them continued to exchange somewhat tense and short small talk as they went along, a way for both of them to vent their nervous energies, before they finally arrived at the front door to Izuku's apartment.
"Alright, here we are!" He declared, with a somewhat shaky laugh, as he quickly kneeled down and started checking under a few things his mom had set outside the apartment. The welcome mat was barren of any sign of the key as was a little potted plant she'd left outside. So Izuku stood up and got on his tip toes, reaching up with a stretch and, smiling, plucked the key to the apartment from on top of the little overhang above his apartment's door. "There's the key... mom must've pulled out the stool." Izuku commented with a slight laugh, though it sounded slightly off, as Blake just offered a quick nod; she hadn't met or seen his mother so Izuku didn't imagine she knew just how short she was, even compared to him. With a slight cough into his fist he unlocked the door and quickly opened it, smiling as the slight warmth of a heated apartment blew out against his skin, contrasting heavily to the autumn air. "So, uh, come right in Blake... make yourself at home..." He offered up, a slightly nervous smile on his face as he stepped through the door.
Izuku paused a few steps in, not having heard Blake follow him in. With a quick turn of his head he saw Blake outside the apartment, the girl's amber eyes just staring at the initial step into the apartment, seeming a little bit nervous. Eventually Blake took a breath, her expression turning into a slight smile as she casually stepped into the apartment soon after.
"Thanks Izuku... I'll try my best." Izuku offered a smile in return, some amount of the nervousness that had pervaded their trip here having dissipated for the moment. As Izuku prepared to take a quick stock of his mother's apartment to figure out what's what, Blake headed over to the couch and set some of the books on the counter, the young woman using the chance to look around at Izuku's mom's living room soon after.
As Izuku tidied up a few things he ended up around the kitchen. Unsure how long he and Blake would be spending at the apartment, Izuku figured that there was a distinct possibility that the both of them could lose track of time and, between that and getting back to Beacon, there was the possibility they might both miss dinner. Izuku blushed a little bit at the idea that was forming in his head... making dinner for a girl he'd invited back to his apartment. Honestly he was glad Blake had been distracted because he practically 'felt' the heat just pouring off of his face as the thought ran through his head. Still he took a deep, long breath before exhaling, doing his best to calm down.
'It's just dinner, right? It... not too... urgh!'
"H-Hey, uh, Blake?" Izuku called out from the kitchen, sticking his head around the wall after he'd done his best to calm himself down. Blake looked away from some pictures on the wall that she was scanning through, her amber eyes locked onto Izuku.
"Need something Izuku?"
"Oh, uh, no I'm actually good on that end... I was just thinking; I don't know how long we'll hang out for and the trip on the train would take a while anyway so... I was maybe wondering if... you'd like it if I cooked you something for dinner?" Izuku rushed to get the last of it out as he tried his best to not get too caught up in what he was saying, the rushed delivery nonetheless managing to spill out of his mouth without turning into a garbled mess. Blake, it seemed, heard what he was offering as clear as day as the cat Faunus went somewhat stiff again, as she reached a hand up to her hair, brushing it behind her human ear.
"O-Oh... yeah, that sounds great Izuku. What do you have in mind, exactly?" Izuku shrugged a little as he scratched at the back of his head, feeling a bit sheepish.
"I was actually wondering if you wanted anything in specific? Maybe some recipe you liked I could try and make?" Blake looked back up at him, an appreciative smile on her face... but a sad one too.
"I see... well, I don't really have anything like that. Didn't exactly spend a lot of time eating well or cooking back in the day and while Yang and Tsu are great cooks... well, I think I'd like trying whatever you'd cook up." Izuku nodded at that, understandable. He supposed being a terrorist constantly on the run and someone whose parents always went around protesting would leave someone with a dearth of good food that they knew and loved... It was sad, honestly but... well, hey, he could try something at least.
"Alright, give me a second and I'll see what mom has around here." He ducked back into the kitchen, feeling a bit jumpy while he looked around. He popped open the fridge... and as one might have guessed, it was empty. It would've been irresponsible of his mom to leave perishable food in the fridge when she'd be gone for the next several weeks so it was sensible. Further inspection found some canned goods and materials that'd stay for that long but it was nothing that he'd thought Blake would enjoy... somewhat desperate he turned to a few books his mom had placed side by side in a corner. A few flips of the pages and... oh yeah, there was that dish his mom made a while back with the fish. It was pretty simple to make but Izuku got the feeling that Blake would still really enjoy it, especially if he made it well...
Still, that just left getting the ingredients...
"Uh, hey Blake? You wanna run down to the store with me to get some stuff? Mom left this place pretty barren so I can't cook up much as is." Izuku turned the corner again, Blake nodded as she dusted herself off.
"We can probably leave our stuff here now that you have the key, right?" A quick nod of affirmation and the two were out the door, locking it behind them as they made their way out to the nearby grocery store that Izuku and his mom dipped into whenever they needed some stuff. It was still a bit of a trip and, no surprise, the both of them shopping around together ended up getting some attention, attention that they both seemed to do their best to ignore in an attempt to not let it affect their small talk.
Which was hard because most of the attention came in the form of hushed whispers but they just soldiered on and tried not to think about it too hard.
"Fish huh... am I really that predictable?"
"You are but, hey, I'm used to cooking what people like; just look at Nora. So long as you enjoy it, that's fine by me."
"... Thanks."
It didn't take long before they had got together everything on their list and they were both able to get back to the apartment. 25 Lien lighter to be sure but it'd be well worth it if they could get everything settled for dinner. Izuku headed in towards the kitchen and unloaded everything, again giving Blake free reign of the apartment while Izuku went to work. His mother's cookbook propped open nearby he immediately got down to business... a boiler for the rice, some pots in order to help prepare the other ingredients, a cutting board, some pans and oil to help cook up the fish, much to Blake's delight.
Admittedly it was his first time cooking it so he'd been careful. For the next twenty minutes he did all the prep work, getting everything set up so as to leave it alone for a while to get back to hanging out with Blake while the ingredients cooked. Izuku found Blake sitting on one of the couches, a book in her hands that she had been reading before he'd walked in. With a quick glance up she offered him a very slight Belladonna smile.
"Sounds like you were pretty busy." Izuku chuckled a little as he nodded, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah... cooking a meal like this is a lot different than baking, but I think I'm getting the hang of it." With that he had a seat himself on another couch; given how awkward it'd been to ask her here, Izuku decided that maybe giving her some space while they both talked would be a good idea. With that Blake nodded, keeping a thumb in her book to mark the page while she looked at Izuku.
"So... like I said, I'm not sure if you've read anything but this seems like as good a time as any to just... talk right? Maybe about one of the books we bought..." He nodded at that, looking directly at Blake... and immediately a thought struck his mind. Something that should've been fairly obvious but that he'd just gotten so used to by then.
"Before that Blake... ummm... you know that no one's expected to be by here, right? No one can see into this apartment either with the blinds and with how high up we are..." Blake furrowed her brow for a moment, a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks for some reason before he barreled through. "I was just thinking... if you wanted to, you could take off your bow and let your ears out. If that'd make you more comfortable."
"Oh..."
When Blake seemed to fully absorb what Izuku said... well, she seemed really uncertain. He watched as her hands fiddled around on her lap, twisting and flexing against each other as she really considered what he'd proposed. Amber eyes cautiously glanced all around, trying to see every window, every corner of the room as if some camera might be there, every possible way she might be exposed. She frowned slightly as she looked back at Izuku...
And when she did, the fiddling stopped. She took a good look at him and he did his best to communicate his sincerity. Izuku watched as Blake took a deep breath, shuddering slightly as she exhaled, before she slowly reached up and combed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear...
'You know, that might be some kind of nervous tick.'
Rather than lower her hands after, however, Blake continued to allow them to climb and, eventually, they reached her bow. The young woman took another deep breath before she gave a pull to the nod, the ribbon falling apart as its structure was compromised. Izuku watched as two still very new to Izuku cat ears seemed to spring off of Blake's head, unfolding from the top as the pressure from her bow was removed from them. They twitched and moved about, seemingly doing so in response to every little noise going on in the apartment, before they tilted slightly, focused toward Izuku.
"Better?" He asked, somewhat nervous from how skittish Blake had seemed during the entire process. Her ears flicked a bit, hearing Izuku so directly, as Blake took a moment to just close her eyes and breath. Afterward, the smile on her lips reached up to her eyes as they opened, a grateful nod offered to Izuku as she chuckled slightly.
"Better. Much, much better. Thank you Izuku." He sighed in some relief as Blake obviously de-stressed, the look of relief on her own face quite plain as she just closed her eyes, allowing her ears to fidget about a bit. Izuku looked over to the stack of books she brought with her in the meantime and paused, tilting his head to the side as he noticed a book the two had bought, or rather that Izuku bought for her, that was conspicuous by its absence.
"Hey Blake, as far as talking about books go... why didn't you bring Ninjas of Love II?"
...
"Huh?" Blake's ears almost immediately spiked up, stiff as a board, as a look of surprise came across her face.
"Yeah, Ninjas of Love II! It sounded interesting and if you like it the book should be something really good, so I figured I'd ask about it. Why didn't you bring it?" Immediately Blake's ears had folded flat against her head, a thick dusting of pink on Blake's cheeks as she coughed into her fist, doing her best to appear nonchalant despite her ears being so expressive.
"Right! Ninjas of Love... II... uh... I didn't bring it because I've actually already finished reading it! No point in bringing a book to read quietly when I've already finished it, right?" Blake commented idly, her ears unfolding again as they just twitched a little. Izuku nodded in agreement, that did make some amount of sense to him.
"Wow, so you must've really liked reading it then if you've already finished it!" Izuku said with a grin as Blake's blush got a bit deeper.
"Yes... I had a good time... reading it. I had a good time reading it." Blake said with a slight nod, as Izuku just put his hands on his knees.
"So I got a little bit of an idea of what it was about looking at that one scene, but you gotta tell me what it's like. Is it good?" Blake just swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Yeah, the story was good... uh, you see, the first book was about the two main characters getting together... well, half of it was, anyway. At first they're not really interested but as they meet during assassinations and missions, ninjas remember, they start to realize they have... ideals in common." Blake combed a strand of hair behind her ear again before she continued. "The book after they realize this is them getting... together. They... spend a lot of time on that. Mostly because they're from two separate ninja clans." Blake added as she licked her lips slightly. "This book is actually a continuation... they're... together a lot but they can rarely afford to be because their clans are at war and... well, it turns out there's stuff just keeping them apart. So they sneak away to have... time together, like that one little scene you apparently saw. The second book is about dealing with that..." Izuku nodded as Blake gave that short synopsis, smiling slightly at it; it did sound like a pretty fun book.
"Oh so they kind of have a similar problem to the... well, I guess since you're a Faunus now, that'd technically make him a human, guy we were talking about before, right?" Izuku watched as Blake's ears just stood right on the very edge, straight up into the air and stayed there. While Blake herself brought her hands up to her face, covering them in the same manner she had at the book store... well, it was clear that his statement had pretty directly embarrassed her as the insides of Blake's cat ears started to turn red. It really was interesting how much more expressive she could seem with her ears out, looking at her.
"... Can we not talk about... him in the context of Ninjas of Love? Please? I'd appreciate it..." Izuku nodded slightly at that, feeling a little sheepish as he scratched the back of his head.
"Right, sorry... I guess you did say that it was technically only a rumor that you liked him and talking about him in the context of a romance novel would be pretty embarrassing." Izuku said with a slightly apologetic tone as Blake just groaned slightly.
"Yes... it's embarrassing to talk about him in the context of a... romance novel." Blake shuddered a little as she shook her head, bringing her hands back down to her lap as she did so. Her face was still definitely red as she looked off to the side, her amber eyes not meeting his.
"Still... I just meant in terms of what else you said. About Human-Faunus relationships and... well, what would happen if he found out more about you. I guess I definitely understand what you meant by the latter now that I know about your history... sorry, I must've sounded really ignorant back then..." Izuku bowed his head slightly and, as he did so, he missed the way that Blake looked down at him, a slight grin on her lips as she shook her head.
"... You weren't as ignorant as you think you were..." Blake coughed into her fist, leaving Izuku to just look up after that as Blake nodded. "Don't worry, it's fine. You were speaking from a position of not knowing about my past... heck, of not knowing that 'I' was the Faunus out of... me and him." Blake said as she slowly combed a strand of hair behind her head. "You were still a little forward in suggesting I go after him to just take a chance but... well, it's not like your advice would've been bad under those circumstances, even if I would've been uncomfortable just 'having a go' at someone I'm not even sure I like that way." Izuku nodded in understanding at that, sitting up as Blake leaned back.
"Plus... well, he might not react like me to the idea that you're former White Fang... I mean, if he's like you describe and such a good guy he might but... I guess I understand why this divide would be so severe for you then, even apart from the Faunus-Human thing."
...
"Hah..." Blake chuckled a little as she shook her head, causing him to blink as she looked off to the side. "You know Izuku... I have a funny feeling that he would react like you to me having been in the White Fang. It's been a while and... well, let's just say I've gotten to know him better since last time." At that Izuku's eyes went wide with a twinkle, a bit of a shine to them as he leaned forward.
"That's great, isn't it? That was one of the big things you were worried about! If he wouldn't reject you then that's just one more obstacle out of the way, right?" Blake sighed again as she palmed her face in her hand, though Izuku could tell it's less from exasperation or embarrassment than it was her being amused.
"Yeah... one out of several, but I guess you're technically right." Izuku nodded at that... right, he supposed that maybe not liking him would be a big deal and maybe so would the Faunus-Human thing...
...
"I mean... I don't know if I can speak for how big the Human-Faunus thing is... but, well, is it really that much of a roadblock?" Blake sighed as she looked down.
"Yes? No... I dunno. It has less to do with the individual people involved and more... well, you know." Blake looked over at Izuku, before she flinched and looked back off to the side again. "I mean... Izuku; back in the White Fang, we'd always joke... no, not joke, ridicule Faunus who'd give themselves over to human partners. Race traitors, animals... 'pets'. We'd throw every rotten word in the book at them. Obviously the kind of Faunus who'd betray their race by being in a relationship with a human had to want it because they 'wanted' to be treated like an animal, right? They wanted a master who'd pet them and tell them how good they were being..." Blake honestly looked a little discomforted as she spoke. "That's how 'we' described our own kind. I can't imagine it's much kinder among humans who dislike Faunus... and it's not like there's a lot of folks in the middle who're super comfy with the idea of humans and Faunus mixing either."
"That alone would be a lot to ask someone to deal with when they could be in a relationship with their own kind... even if I were inclined to."
"... But you don't like him that way, huh?" Blake looked back down at her lap again, her ears tilting forward slightly as she sighed.
"Right... even if I did... well, that would probably make it worse, not better." At that, Izuku frowned, a slight tilt to his head.
"Okay Blake, I'm 'really' confused here. I don't get that at all; how would liking a guy make the decision to ask him out worse and not better?" Blake put her hands in her lap, her thumbs twiddling with one and other as she seemed to take a moment to think that through.
"... Izuku... let's say that I did like this guy. That every praise I sung about him did make me really... okay and want to maybe try something. That him being kind, him being heroic, him being self-sacrificing... that despite him not being... ugh, 'my type' made me try to branch out. To try something new. Remember, 'all' of this is hypothetical." Izuku nodded at that, generally recognizing Blake as being serious. "... Then... why would I want to subject someone like him to someone like me."
"Blake, if this is about the Faunus thing or being in the White Fang-"
"It's not just that." Blake muttered, looking back up at him. "Izuku... it's not just about me being a Faunus and that being just a field of landmines. It's not even about me being in the White Fang... I feel... I know he'd be accepting of that. It's not about all these things circling me... it's about me... it's about who I am as a person and the way I act... the way I try to solve my problems. I tried to push you away when you just wanted to be my friend, I ran away from my parents and the original Fang when I thought they betrayed our ideals, I ran away from the current Fang rather than face what they'd become. Slant it however you want as me wanting to do better but... the truth is I bail. Every single time, I bail on my problems rather than deal with them, even if it means I end up leaving people behind... and..." Blake seemed to hesitate to say anything more on that subject than what she did, instead sighing as she looked out toward one of the windows, even with the blinds closed, as her amber eyes unfocused a bit.
"Well, I wouldn't put someone through that. It's just... not any good. I know that it's true... because this guy? I'm nothing like him."
Izuku folded his hands together as he listened to Blake speak, waiting patiently for her to finish before he said his piece. He then rubbed his hands through his hair, and shook his head while thinking of the right words. In the end he wound up scooting across the couch he was sitting on; he was nowhere near bold enough to get up, walk over to Blake's couch and have a seat right next to her but closing the distance a little bit by scooting over on his own seat would be a gesture of support on its own, he hoped.
"Blake... why does it matter if you're nothing alike?" The cat Faunus glanced up at Izuku, eyes somewhat disbelieving. "Yeah it sounds strange, but really, the world would be a pretty boring and monotonous place if everyone was the same, wouldn't it? What sets us apart is just as important as what you have in common with them. Sure, without unity, we'd never get anything done, but without our differences, we miss out on vital perspectives that can solve problems and overcome obstacles in ways others would never think of. I'd suppose that's even more important in a relationship, where the problems you'd face there might only be able to be surmounted by different ways of solving problems or different ways of thinking that'd compensate for individual quirks, even if it can sometimes cause friction."
"Izuku..." Blake sighed. "I know we discussed that with Victor Frankenstein but... well, on some level a certain amount of common ground's needed. If I can't even stand my ground to solve my problems..." He nodded slightly, allowing her that for a moment before he thought some more.
"I mean, Blake, running away isn't always the wrong solution." Now that really seemed to catch her off guard but he was quick to explain what he meant. "Remember The Tunnels? I'm not sure what it was like for your group exactly but I know that we had the option of immediately running straight for the entrance to fight those Monochrome guys... and we didn't. We went around, trying to find people to help and who could help us because we couldn't tackle that problem on our own. In situations where it really isn't reasonable for someone to tackle a problem head on by themselves... well, why be like a wave smashing your head against the stone when you could follow the cracks? Besides, I think you're being massively unfair to yourself by labeling all your actions as running away." The sincerity with which he spoke caused Blake to smile, though it was very slightly patronizing.
"Izuku, what of all those actions could you possibly-"
"Me."Izuku watched as Blake's words immediately died on her lips as he looked her right in the eye, keeping his elbows on his knees as he bent forward slightly. "Blake... you almost outright admitted to me that you were former White Fang when you took off that ribbon for the first time. You did that not knowing whether I'd accept you or if I'd run off to tell either Ozpin or Toshinori or someone else who would make your life a living Hell. Despite that you stood your ground and told me the truth Blake... and that's brave, Blake. I'm incredibly humbled by the guts that showing such a huge secret to someone showed... and I'm flattered that I was the first person you did so for." The cat Faunus just remained silent after that, the earnest tone of Izuku's voice having carried through as he continued.
"Even still, even when you're capable of that... you're still trying to change yourself every single day, to be better than before. I know how hard it is to try and fix things about yourself... it's almost impossible at times... but I know that I'm changing every single day thanks to my team, my friends... and thanks to you, Blake. I see that change in you too, even if you can't see it in yourself: when we first met, you thought I was a creep and I didn't exactly give you much of a reason to think otherwise... and yet here you are in my apartment, with your bow off... trusting me with all these thoughts you have and all these things about yourself. After all of this Blake, if I didn't believe that you were changing yourself for the better, then Arthur may as well not have trusted in Percival."
"If I'm being frank... if this guy is half the man you said he is, then I doubt he'd say that he'd be 'subjected' to you. He'd probably even say that he was lucky to have you think all this of him. Besides... he's only human too, Blake. He's probably got a lot of doubts and insecurities himself... I mean, that's true of everyone. That being so... I dunno. Maybe the both of you could find a way to get past that together. Maybe you'll find a reason not to run away."
There was a slight silence in the room as he finished, keeping his hands clasped as he did so. He watched as Blake absorbed it all, those amber eyes staying locked on him. After a while a small smile, a warm one, snuck its way onto her usually stoic features as she looked off to the side and sighed slightly.
"... Maybe. It'd be nice but... like I said, I'm just not so sure myself." Izuku nodded understandingly at that, it having been the big thing for Blake he reckoned.
"Well... there's no harm in thinking about it, right?" Izuku asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. With that Blake chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind one of her ears as she looked over at him, her cat ears bent ever so slightly forward.
"... No. I suppose not. Thanks Izuku... despite everything, you do give good advice." Izuku smiled a bit, proud of his accomplishment... before he gave a slight frown.
"Hey what do you mean by despite-"
Beep Beep!
The alarm of the timer Izuku left in the kitchen went off, causing him and Blake to look over there. Izuku sighed as he shook his head, offering Blake a friendly grin. "Sounds like I need to finish up dinner. I'll be right back, alright?"
"Sure thing Izuku..." Blake nodded, seemingly a bit relieved to get a bit of time to herself. Ignoring that Izuku quickly got up and headed back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner... he really hoped she liked it...
Considering moments later when it almost seemed like there were stars in her eyes the moment she took a bite of the fish he'd so meticulously prepared, he'd say that she did.
"Is it good?" Izuku asked, a slight grin on his face in anticipation of the answer. The cat Faunus in front of him popped the rest of the fish she'd taken in her chopsticks into her mouth, a low moan of satisfaction that, Izuku swore, had a slight purr at the back of it escaping her throat as she just nodded.
"It's good. It's 'really' good... thank you Izuku." Izuku couldn't help but laugh at just how pleased Blake sounded, the black haired girl blushing slightly and yet, despite her embarrassment, she couldn't help but continue to eat the food he'd prepared for the both of Izuku. He'd actually greatly enjoyed his own cooking as well, finding it to be quite delicious despite how new he was to cooking dishes like those. Still, that hadn't left Izuku quite as satisfied feeling as watching Blake do her best to simultaneously devour and enjoy the dish he'd laid out for her, trying to take her time to enjoy it while also trying to eat as much of it as quickly as she could.
"Mmm... you know what? I'm never judging Nora for having you make her all those sweets again." Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a little at how obviously pleased Blake sounded, the cat Faunus taking another bite out of the fish he cooked up as she sighed. "This really is delicious... I have half a mind to ask you to cook me fish everyday from now on, if I'm being honest..." Izuku couldn't help but blush a little at that compliment, Blake swallowing the food in her mouth as she gave a slightly nervous chuckle of her own. "Ah, just kidding, I wouldn't-"
"I mean, maybe I could?" Blake paused, honestly paused, at that as she fixed Izuku with a bit of a stare. "We always go off somewhere private to hang out anyway so... I guess I could make us some boxed lunches with fish for us to eat while we hang out. Would that be alright with you?" Blake seemed stunned still, blinking a few times before she leaned forward ever so slightly.
"... Are you sure, Izuku? I mean, I wouldn't want to be a bother..." Izuku smiled warmly at Blake as he shook his head.
"It wouldn't be any bother Blake!" At that Blake just licked her lips for a moment, looking back down at Izuku's fish before she gave him a nod.
"Thank you." Izuku chuckled a little as Blake took another bite of the dinner, the both of them continuing to eat and chat as he continued on.
It didn't inspire the kind of fear in him that watching Nora tear her way through a stack of pancakes could, but it was equally as amusing and vindicating to see. As the two of them ate, a stray thought crossed Izuku's mind and, smiling, he looked up at Blake.
"Hey Blake, listen... I know we're constantly talking about your secrets and what you think about stuff but... well, I figure you might want to get a chance at turning that about for once."
"Huh?" Blake seemed distracted, barely hearing Izuku as she tore her attention away from the fish.
"I mean, how about I answer questions you might feel curious about for a change, tell you things?" At that Blake nodded, lowering her chopsticks, but not putting them down, as she gave Izuku a small smile.
"Izuku... you're already pretty open about most anything anyone could ask of you... you really don't have to offer this as a special thing."
"You're right, I don't have to, but I am anyway." Izuku responded with a slight chuckle, a winning smile on Izuku's face as Blake just sighs a little.
Right... so... questions, huh?" Izuku nodded at that as Blake seemed to take a moment to think.
"... You know... it being such a rare thing, I suppose for most people being Broken might as well be as foreign or strange as being a Faunus. I can't imagine it was easy growing up like that, having everyone think that about you and... thinking that about yourself..."
Izuku nodded slowly... he supposed it was natural for his friends to ask that about him at their own pace; being Broken, a Moon Child, it was one of the rarer conditions across all of Remnant. There were more Faunus, period, than there were Broken Humans or Broken Faunus... a real honest to goodness freak chance of whatever it was that decided that Izuku's Soul would be shattered, unable to produce Aura. To have someone who... well, to be honest, 'was' Broken but who, to them, merely thought he was... it was probably the first time they'd ever seen or met someone like that.
"It was... hard. A normal person's perception on having Aura is that it is a part of them like, for example, an organ. You may not ever use that organ, just like how most normal people never use Aura, but it is a part of your being. So to not have that means that you're not like other people, that you're not normal." Izuku lowered his head slightly as he spoke, causing Blake to lower her own food as she placed her hands in her lap, listening intently. "Growing up knowing that was tough, but the tougher part of it was that everyone else also knew it too. There was no hiding it; even if I wasn't actually Broken... well, I still looked it. Even now I'm pretty short for someone my age who should've had Aura, and I've always been a little on the weaker side. My teachers would always pity me, seeing me try so hard to keep up with my peers when it must've looked so pointless. My peers would ridicule me for being born 'wrong' and 'broken'. Lastly there was... Kacchan, who bullied me throughout the years as he hated to be near such a 'weakling'."
"Izuku..."
"But... all of that made me the person I am today. If I didn't go through those hardships, who knows how I would have turned out. Sure, I loved Toshinori Yagi before and after finding out my 'brokenness', but would have I really cared for the hardships of other people? Or perhaps I would of just wanted to be cool like him, who knows?" Izuku clenched his fist; the truth was it was still a part of him. Not just in the sense that, underneath One For All, his Soul was still Broken... but... all those experiences. They had really helped to shape who Izuku was. "It's strange how people can perceive others differently over slight differences, maybe even not so noticeable ones, and then go on to lord it over them. Like they're above such 'weird' people. While my dream is to protect people, it's also my dream to change and inspire people to new paths of thinking about their surroundings. Sort of similar to your dream of changing people's minds for the better, isn't it?" Izuku ended with a slight smile, to which Blake responded with one of her own.
"... I think so Izuku. I think so." The tension broken, they both returned to their meal.
"So... jeez, this is a bit awkward to ask. We've been talking about my perspective about Human-Faunus relationships but... well, I'm just kind of curious. Are you just supporting me as a friend or... ugh, I guess what I'm asking is what your perspective is." Izuku looked up at Blake, the two of Izuku having finished up his dinner before they found themselves working on the dishes. Izuku'd insisted that he'd be able to do them himself but found Blake to be quite insistent; she'd eaten from the plates too and so she was going to do her part in cleaning up after herself. The question honestly took him a bit off guard for a moment but he stopped to really consider Blake's point. Izuku reached up and tapped his chin, despite the suds and water on his hand, as he gave it a quick think.
"Well... I never really had much thoughts on human-Faunus relationships till somewhat recently, not that I didn't care, but rather because I was so focused in my own little bubble of life before looking out at the wider world." Blake nodded at that, setting a dish aside as she did.
"Understandable, it doesn't come up too terribly often even after all this time so it wouldn't be something in your face." Izuku nodded at that before continuing.
"Still, whenever I would see those kinds of couples on the news or even just everyday life... sure, I'd be intrigued, but I never really ever thought of them as... 'Different' like other people would think. To me they're just people who love each other, not some fantastical, otherworldly thing, but just... people. People who care enough about each other to go through with a relationship. A thing that should be looked at as normal to everyone, but for some reason can't due to some contrived reason. And that's... Horrible." Izuku frowned for a moment before a smile tugged at his lips, one which he beamed at Blake as he spoke earnestly. "People should be able to love for love's sake."
...
Izuku watched as Blake's visage almost faltered, a slight sputtering laughter escaping her throat as she closed her eyes in an attempt to maintain composure. "Hey I was being serious..." Izuku said with a slight frown as the cat Faunus nodded.
"I know you are. It's just... that was so saccharine but... I guess I shouldn't have expected a different answer from you." Were it any other person he'd have gotten the feeling he was either being teased or insulted. However as Blake managed to reel herself back in she just gave him a slight smile as she nodded. "Well... I'm glad to hear you're so forward thinking Izuku. It... suits the future Symbol of Peace." Izuku grinned at that as Izuku nodded, the two of them going back to work on the dishes.
It honestly isn't long before they were both done though, by the time that they are, the both of them found that a lot of time had passed and it'd gotten a bit late into the evening. The book reading they'd both hoped to do would have to be held for another time, it seemed. The two of them quickly cleaned up and got things settled before they headed out to the front door, key in hand and ready to lock the door as he left the apartment. Before they did Blake got her ribbon ready to tie back onto her head... but she stopped.
"Izuku..." Blake sighed as she turned to face Izuku's, a smile on her face. "I just want to say thank you, real quick. For having kept my secret... for being such a caring friend... it really isn't something I thank you enough for so... thanks."
"Well... you're welcome Blake. It's nothing, really." Blake nodded slowly as she reached up and tied her ribbon back into a bow, hiding her ears from the world again.
"To you, maybe." With that they both departed the apartment and headed back to Beacon. Honestly, Izuku was looking forward to getting back: there was still some training he needed done before he could really call the weekend a success.