AN: Thanks for the comments everyone! I know it's going to be a bit before summer camp, but things are absolutely going to go down differently, since that is the first time Himiko's status as a hero instead of a member of the LoV actually matters.
But in the meantime, have some nice relaxing fluff as we start the quiet period between internships and first semester finals.
Himiko didn't even wait for the train to return to Mustafu before she messaged Atsuko. After a few messages, the two agreed to a girls' night that evening, before school began the next day. Moments later they sent out messages, and by the time they had returned home, they had invited Tomoe, Emily, Ochako, and Tsuyu to meet up later that evening to celebrate another year of successful internships.
On a different train, Ochako received a message from Himiko. Looking over it, she was torn. If she wanted to, she could spend the evening with Izuku and Inko, free from her incessant teasing. On the other hand, she enjoyed spending time with the second years. Nodding to herself as she made a decision, she confirmed that she would join them.
Which is how she found herself standing in front of Atsuko's apartment several hours later. She knocked on the door, only for it to quickly open as Tomoe poked her head out. "Come on in."
"Thanks!" Ochako replied as she stepped into the entryway. Tomoe returned to the living room while Ochako removed her shoes. As she did so, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation the older girls were having in the living room.
"So, are you finally ready to admit you have a thing for green hair?" Atsuko asked.
"Shut up!" Emily protested.
Ochako froze, her stomach suddenly feeling as if she had overused her quirk as an image of Izuku appeared in her mind. Oh no. Was she too late? Did she miss her chance? Was Emily planning on making a move?
Dark thoughts filled her head as her insecurities began to bubble up until she was saved by the sound of someone knocking on the door. "I've got it!" Ochako called out, thankful for the distraction. Spinning around, she opened the door with more force than necessary, her friend standing outside.
"Is everything alright, kero?" Tsuyu asked, putting her index finger on her lip as she examined her friend.
"Y-yep! Everything is fine!" Ochako gave a too-wide grin and rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"Kero." Tsuyu examined her friend. Ochako was hiding something, but she decided not to pry. She decided that at worst she could get the information out of her tomorrow. Instead, she simply stepped in and began to remove her shoes.
The two joined the second years in the living room and sat down, the conversation about Emily's crush long forgotten as the girls discussed their internships. Ochako was more than happy for the change in topic and was explaining her training under Gunhead when they heard the door slam open.
"Sorry I'm late!" Himiko shouted from the entryway. "Mom wouldn't let me leave until I told her everything that happened to me!"
"Of course she did." Ochako giggled loudly. "I'm sure she's going to be asking me tomorrow."
"You know, if your mom is that interested we could have met at your place." Atsuko teased.
"Then we'd never leave!" Himiko said in exasperation. "She'd be interviewing all of you!"
"And we'd all go along with it because Mrs. Midoriya is wonderful." Emily pointed out.
Ochako felt that pang of jealousy again, giving a side-eyed glance at Emily. She had a faint blush dusting her cheeks and she couldn't help but wonder what the blonde girl was thinking about.
As Himiko bantered with Emily and Atsuko, Ochako silently resolved to learn the truth tonight. One way or another, she'd find out what the other girl's opinion of Izuku was.
It didn't take long for the girls to finally leave the apartment and walk to the restaurant, claim a table, and order food. While they were waiting Himiko began asking Atsuko about Habiki. With Emily free, Ochako saw her chance and turned toward the American girl.
"How was your internship with Deku?"
Emily looked at the gravity girl and something flashed in her eyes before she smirked. "It was great! Majestic was a great teacher! Both in teaching us what it meant to be heroes, as well as giving us some good pointers about our quirks and how to analyze a fight."
"Did you two get all of the quirk talk out of your system?" Himiko asked pointedly.
"Of course not!" Emily stuck out her tongue at her friend. "We didn't even have enough time to record all of the quirks we encountered over the week!"
"Because of Hosu?" Tomoe asked.
"Yep!" Emily said a little too quickly. "And because of other things."
"What other things?" Ochako asked suspiciously.
"It was nothing!" Once again, Ochako saw something flashing in the other girl's eyes.
"Oh really?" Himiko pressed, leaning over the table. "What could you possibly be talking about with Izu that would be more important than quirks?"
Emily's eyes darted between Himiko and Ochako. "Look. It's personal, ok?"
Ochako felt her stomach twisting into a knot. "Is it- is there something going on between you and Deku?" As the table fell silent, Ochako felt her face heating up. She couldn't believe that she just blurted that question out like that!
"Of course not! Why would you even ask such a dumb question?!" Emily exclaimed.
"I- but what about you having a thing for green hair?" Ochako asked, looking at Atsuko for confirmation.
"You heard that?" Atsuko asked.
Ochako nodded. "And her response. She didn't exactly deny it."
"It's because I like Himiko!" Emily practically shouted. "And those two won't stop bugging me about it." She threw an accusatory finger at Atsuko and Tomoe.
This was news to both Ochako and Himiko, their eyes widening at the sudden confession. Emily's face turned a bright red as she realized what she just did. She practically jumped out of her chair and ran out of the restaurant.
"Green hair," Atsuko said, dragging both girls back to reality as she pointed to Tsuyu. "Green hair." She pointed to Himiko. "Just because you think of a certain green-haired boy doesn't mean everyone else does."
Himiko heard Ochako trying to form a response, but right now her thoughts were occupied with a completely different girl. She bolted upright, knocking her chair over as she ran out of the restaurant. It looked like she was going to have that conversation much sooner than she anticipated.
Fortunately, she didn't have to go far to find her. As she ran down the street checking the alleyways and shops, she spotted the American girl pacing in a quiet alleyway.
"That was so stupid! Seriously, how dumb do I have to be to lose my composure like that? Over such a silly question! Argh!"
"Emmy." Himiko said, walking into the alleway.
"H-hey Himi," Emily said, suddenly becoming very stiff as she spun around to face the other girl.
"Is it true?"
"Of course it's true! Why do you think I'm hiding in an alleyway?"
In a rare moment of weakness, Himiko fidgeted as she felt her confidence vanish. "Because you've been so confusing! Just - why me?"
"Why not you?" Emily asked, a hint of her old personality peeking through.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm an emotional and mental disaster." Himiko crossed her arms and grimaced.
"Himiko Midoriya. Don't you dare." Emily cut her off. "Everything you went through, only to be where you are today? It's- it's quite frankly inspiring."
Himiko felt her face heat up as her eyes locked on the other girl's, her bright blue eyes filled with absolute certainty. "So what took you so long?"
"It's super embarrassing." Emily broke eye contact and turned away from her.
"Worse than getting flustered enough to blurt out that you like me?"
"In my defense, the only two people at the table who didn't know were you and Uraraka."
"That's-" Himiko felt her face heating up as she recalled the moment and realized that she was telling the truth. "So what is it?"
"I didn't know I liked girls until last year," Emily whispered, her face turning bright red.
"Oh?" Himiko felt a smile tugging at her lips. "And you figured this out by falling for me?"
"Is that a bad thing? Of course, I didn't know if it was even possible for you to like me back." Emily sighed in exasperation. "You were always talking with Tomoe and Atsuko about boys. It wasn't until the sports festival when you said you'd marry Uraraka - which hurt, by the way."
Himiko rolled her eyes as she stepped closer to the girl. "I've known since middle school that I'm bisexual. It was just another thing that I had to suppress in my parents' quest to make me normal."
"I swear if I ever meet the Togas I'm going to kick their asses!" Emily sounded genuinely angry.
"Get in line. I'm pretty sure mom has thought up new and creative ways to use her quirk that she is saving just for them."
"If you've known for that long, why are you always talking about boys?"
Himiko shrugged and looked at the other girl pointedly. "Maybe because I've never had anyone to talk to about it."
"That's-" Emily sighed. "-fair. I couldn't exactly talk with you about my crush."
"Who knows? Maybe you wouldn't have spent months pining after me."
Emily felt her face heating up as she made several unintelligible sounds. Regaining her composure, she finally looked at the other girl. "I'm sorry I'm such a disaster."
Himiko cut her off by grabbing the collar of her shirt and leaning into her to kiss her. Emily's surprised squeak was quickly replaced with her enthusiastic response, and she began returning the kiss with her own. Her inexperience was made up by enthusiasm, and after a few seconds the two had found a rhythm, their pent-up emotions finally released. They kept going until they were both out of breath before they separated, both breathing heavily.
"Holy shit," Emily said, staring at Himiko.
"If I knew it was that easy to shut you up, I'd have done that ages ago!"
"And what about if I want to shut you up?" Emily asked with a growing smirk on her face.
"I guess you'll have to try it and see," Himiko said with a predatory grin.
"I'll keep that in mind." Emily's face suddenly became serious. "I know this is out of order, but are we going to address the fact that we both think that we're disasters?"
"I think we're past that point already," Himiko said, trying to avoid the conversation.
"Himi…"
"Fine," Himiko said in a huff. Damn the other girl's stubbornness, especially when she knows she's right. "I know I can be difficult to be around, and you know all about my baggage. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you'd be interested in someone like me."
"Ugh, of course you'd think that." Emily rolled her eyes. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly the easiest person to get along with either."
Himiko laughed. "That's true." She gave the other girl a fond look. "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who can keep you in line."
"That's because you are," Emily admitted. "Before UA nobody ever called me out on my shit, and even now you're the only one who really calls me out. Sure our friends are doing it more, but really…" Emily once again locked eyes with Himiko. "As for your baggage. Just - look at you! Look at where you are, despite everything that you've been through. You're passionate, driven, you've got an amazing family, one of the strongest quirks I've ever seen, and a promising future ahead of you. What isn't there to love about you?"
"Love huh?" Himiko smirked.
"Shut up!" Emily smacked her shoulder. "Look. I'm not good at this. Clearly."
"Can confirm." Himiko bit her lower lip as she wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Which is why you've been so damned frustrating! You're beautiful, smart, confident to a fault and you know exactly what you want. Where has that Emmy been? The one who lets everyone know, loudly, what she wants?"
"Sorry, she's been scared a certain classmate didn't feel the same way about her."
"Oh come on. I saw the footage from Hosu. You get pissed when a freaky bioweapon won't go down, but admitting your feelings is what stops you?"
"Yes!" Emily buried her head deeper in Himiko's shoulder. "Fighting bad guys is easy, love is hard."
"Well, lucky for you, I've apparently got a thing for girls who don't know when to quit," Himiko whispered into the other girl's ear and she felt her shudder in her grasp. "Because I know that means you'll fight just as hard for me."
"Of course I will!" Emily's head shot up, nearly hitting Himiko. "You deserve it!"
Himiko once again felt her heart racing at the words. She knew it was selfish of her, but she had always longed for someone in her life who was willing to fight tooth and nail for her. And she knew with Emily that those weren't just empty words.
Sliding her hand up the other girl's back to find the back of her head, Himiko guided her into another kiss. Their second kiss started slower as they fully explored the sensation of the other's lips. Himiko found the other girl tasted of mint and smoke. A strange combination, but one Himiko decided she couldn't get enough of. For a second time, they pulled away panting heavily, staring at each other.
"You deserve it too, Emmy," Himiko said, her catlike eyes narrowing as she looked at her fri- no, girlfriend.
"Well, it's a good thing I found someone who can keep up with me then," Emily smirked as she loosened her grip on the other girl.
"You mean you found someone who will put up with you."
"I don't see you complaining! Quite the opposite in fact."
"Maybe I'm just looking for more excuses to stab you." Himiko gave her a predatory look. Emily let out a strangled sound as she turned bright red, and Himiko threw her head back in laughter. "I'm never going to get tired of that."
"Glad one of us won't." Emily crossed her arms and pouted.
"Oh please, as if you're not going to enjoy it."
Emily turned bright red but refused to give Himiko the satisfaction of a response. Himiko didn't seem to care though as she gestured towards the entrance of the alleyway. "As romantic as this alleyway is, our friends are probably worried about us. After dinner, we can ditch them and find someplace nicer to continue."
"What? Don't want to hang out with our friends?" Emily asked as she unfolded her arms.
"I do! But I suddenly discovered I have a girlfriend." Himiko grabbed one of Emily's hands, entwining their fingers as they began walking out of the alleyway. "And feel the need to give her some extra attention."
"I told you I'm bad at this," Emily complained.
"I'm sure you'll stubborn your way through this just fine," Himiko said, unable to keep a smile off of her face.
As they walked back to the restaurant hand in hand, Himiko kept stealing glances at Emily and saw the other girl doing the same. After the third time, it became too much for her and she suddenly stopped, breaking out in laughter.
"What's so funny?" Emily asked, a pout on her face.
"How absurd is it that the two of us are acting like lovestruck teenagers?"
"I don't know, maybe it's because we are lovestruck teenagers?" Emily asked, having rediscovered her 'why are you asking stupid questions' tone, before leaning forward and stealing a quick kiss from her girlfriend.
"I guess you're right." Himiko smiled happily at the other girl.
"Just - let's enjoy this," Emily said almost bashfully.
"That's fine by me." Himiko agreed as she squeezed the other girl's hand before they resumed their walk.
When they returned to the restaurant, they saw that their friends had changed positions, leaving two adjacent seats free with their meals waiting for them. While Ochako was still bright red, the other three were looking expectantly at the couple.
"I see you two finally worked it out," Tomoe said pointedly as she eyed their joined hands.
"Yep!" Emily said as she released her grip on Himiko and collapsed into a seat.
"I'm happy for the two of you," Atsuko said. "You two deserve each other."
Himiko laughed. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or insulted."
"Why not both?" Tsuyu asked from across the table.
"Both sounds right." Himiko gave her friend a fake glare, and Atsuko responded by sticking her tongue out at her friend.
"I'm sorry for my outburst." Ochako finally recovered enough to speak coherently. "But everything turned out alright in the end. That counts for something, right?"
"Yes, it does!" Himiko chirped, before leaning over the table to glare at Ochako. "As for you, I hope it's obvious that my girlfriend has no interest in Izuku."
Ochako gave a too-wide smile as she nodded in agreement. The message the older girl gave was clear, even if she had to deliver it in her way. She felt a different feeling in her stomach now. Hope. All of her insecurities that she carried about the American girl were misplaced, and if she wasn't under Himiko's glare she would laugh at how silly they felt now.
Thankfully, Atsuko asked Himiko a question and pulled the girl's attention away from her, and for the rest of the evening the focus was on the new couple. Atsuko and Tomoe couldn't help but tease both girls for how blind they were to the other's feelings, and even Tsuyu pointed out that she saw it.
Neither girl seemed to care.