AN: Thanks for the interest and reviews everyone!
I'm glad everyone enjoyed Green Tea finally figuring things out.
For Izuku, it felt like everything and nothing had changed. As they walked back to his apartment hand-in-hand, it felt like yesterday's events had already become a distant memory, replaced by Ochako's bright smile, the feel of her hand in his, and the taste of her lips.
Next to him, Ochako giggled. "Deku, you're blushing!"
"Sorry," Izuku placed a hand on the back of his head as he tried to hide his face. "I just… never thought someone as amazing as you could feel that way about me."
He heard a squeak and then silence. After a few seconds of concern, Izuku dared a glance and saw that Ochako's blush had spread, and she was now nearly as red as he probably was. He then heard giggling behind her.
"We're ridiculous, aren't we?" Ochako said with a goofy smile on her face.
"I-yes, we are," Izuku said before he joined her in laughter.
When they recovered, Ochako tightened her hand around Izuku's, ensuring her pinky finger was raised. "I feel the same way though." Pushing herself up on her toes, she kissed Izuku on the cheek. "We should probably get back before Himiko comes looking for us."
"Y-yeah," Izuku agreed as he recovered from the kiss.
As the two began walking again, Izuku could still feel the warmth of her lips upon his cheek, and he knew that he wasn't going to be used to Ochako - his girlfriend - kissing him anytime soon.
He also realized that he was ok with that.
When they returned to the apartment, Izuku opened the door and they stepped inside before disentangling their hands to remove their shoes, but they weren't fast enough.
"So…" Himiko appeared from the living room, a knowing look on her face.
"Himi," Inko warned her daughter, a single look at the growing blushes on Izuku and Ochako's faces telling her everything she needed to know. "Let them take their time."
"Fine," Himiko rolled her eyes before collapsing into a chair and curling up in it, pulling out her phone. In truth, she was excited for the pair and wanted all of the details, but her mom was right - they weren't like her and Emily.
"Did you have a nice walk?" Inko asked the pair as they finished removing their shoes and made their way into the living room.
"Yep!" Ochako said with a too-loud voice. "It was perfect!"
"I think we needed that after yesterday," Izuku explained, looking at Ochako warmly.
"Mhm!" Ochako rapidly bobbed her head.
Izuku gave Ochako a questioning look, and she gave him a nervous look back, her eyes darting between Inko, Himiko, and Izuku. Izuku and his family had done so much for her this year, and she felt they deserved to be the first to know. She gave him a single nod. "We have to call my parents afterward, though!"
"Of course!" Izuku insisted before taking a breath. Turning toward his family he stepped closer to Ochako, his hand seeking hers out. "And um, while we were out we talked, and… we're dating now."
"I knew it!" Himiko jumped out of her chair, a fanged grin splitting her face.
Inko on the other hand was already on the verge of tears. "Both of my babies are growing up so fast!" She lunged forward and pulled the new couple into an embrace.
After a chaotic period where tears were shed, parents were called, and questions answered, normalcy began to return to the Midoriya household.
Looking at the clock, Himiko realized she needed to leave to meet up with her friends. Grabbing her phone, she turned to Ochako. "Do you want to come to lunch with us?"
"Me?" Ochako asked in disbelief.
"Yes, you!" Himiko gave her a predatory look. "I'm gonna grill Izuku later, but we need to talk too!"
Ochako paled at that. "I-" She looked at Izuku sitting next to her on the couch. "-'d rather spend the afternoon with Deku. I still don't want to let him out of my sight after…"
"That- yeah," Himiko couldn't argue with that. She bobbed her head in agreement with the brown-haired girl. "You keep watch over Izu then."
Not waiting for a response, Himiko dashed toward the door, where she grabbed her bag and shoes before exiting the apartment. As she checked her phone, she saw that she was already late, and took off running to meet her friends.
As Himiko ran out of the station, she saw her friends standing around talking as they were waiting for her. Not stopping, she adjusted her direction slightly as she crashed into Emily.
"Sorry, I'm late!" Himiko said as Emily flawlessly recovered from her assault. She tried to go in for a kiss, only for Emily to place a hand on her shoulder, blocking her from closing the gap.
"You should have gotten here earlier," Emily said with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice.
Himiko knew why, of course. Normally the two of them tried to arrive early before their friends. Since she was caught up with her brother and Ochako, that meant Emily was stuck alone waiting for her. And Himiko had forgotten to text her until she was already on the train.
Himiko turned around and pouted. "It's not my fault Izu kept me busy this morning. I left as soon as I could."
"Well, you'll have to wait now," Emily said as she came up behind Himiko and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. Himiko closed her eyes and melted into the taller girl's embrace.
"Get a room you two," Atsuko called out.
"Not you too," Himiko complained as she cracked an eye open to see her best friend standing there with her arms crossed.
"We already know you're going to be spending all evening together," Tomoe added.
Himiko opened her other eye and tried to glare daggers at her friends, only for Atsuko to counter by sticking her tongue out. Rolling her eyes at her friends' antics, Emily gently forced Himiko off her and stood her upright. "Oh please, it's not like you didn't know this was going to happen when you two were trying to get us together."
"We knew," Tomoe conceded. "And this is still better than watching you two being completely oblivious about your feelings toward each other."
"I don't mind, either way, it's like watching a movie in real-time," Atsuko said playfully.
"You two are the worst," Himiko complained as she separated from her girlfriend and took her hand.
"So what did Izu do this time?" Atsuko asked as the group began walking to the restaurant.
"It was just more of yesterday," Himiko lied. As excited as she was for her brother and Ochako, it was their story to tell. "He needed time to unwind."
"I can imagine," Tomoe visibly shuddered.
"He'll be ok, right?" Emily asked, concerned.
"Izu's strong, he'll be ok," Himiko said with a smirk.
And if Ochako can't help him I'll make sure she never lives it down.
After they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food, the four girls sat down at a table and the topic shifted to more serious conversations.
"Is anyone else worried about the Provisional License Exams in a few weeks?" Atsuko asked as she looked nervously at Emily.
Himiko and Tomoe had no such reservations and glared at the blonde girl, whose face heated up as she raised her hands. "This'll be different!"
"Is it?"
"Besides the fact that Himi would probably murder me in my sleep, yes!" Himiko gave her a fanged grin in response. "And Himi's quirk has awakened since then! She basically lets us double up on our entire class! Plus some of Izuku's!"
"That's true," Atsuko admitted.
"However!" Himiko leaned in. "I need one of my nerds to help me with mid-battle quirk analysis. And Izu's not going to be there."
"Who are you and what did you do to my best friend?"
Himiko broke out in laughter as she leaned back in her chair. "Emmy has gotten much more tolerable now that I know how to shut her up."
"Kissing her in the middle of a fight isn't exactly the smartest idea," Tomoe pointed out, a playful smile on her lips.
"Hey! I'm right here you know!" Emily practically shouted as she crossed her arms.
Himiko turned to her girlfriend, her face softening into one of fondness. "I mean it though, you know I can't think fast enough to know who I should Transform into mid-battle yet. I need you there to talk me through things like that."
Emily felt her insides melt under her girlfriend's gaze. She had been practicing with Himiko ever since the sports festival, and she knew the shapeshifter's limits. If they were testing against hundreds of other students, she would have to remain focused and not let herself get distracted the way she did during the sports festival.
Sliding her chair back, Emily stood up, slamming the palms of her hands into the table, rattling their dishes. "I swear that I'm going to make it up to everyone. All four of us are passing the exam, even if I have to drag you across the finish line myself!"
Sitting back down, the girls talked for a while longer about what the Provisional Exam could entail before their food arrived. Breaking their chopsticks, they dove into the food, and the conversation shifted back to lighter topics.
"You two have fun!" Atsuko waved to her friends as they left the restaurant.
"We'll see you at school tomorrow!" Tomoe added.
"See you then!" Himiko chirped, before their friends walked off, leaving Himiko and Emily alone in front of the restaurant.
"Ready for our training?" Emily asked, a playful smile on her face.
"You train, I'm going to enjoy myself," Himiko countered as she grabbed the American girl's hand. "We both know you're just lying to yourself anyways."
"It can still be both," Emily protested weakly.
Himiko rolled her eyes. "You know that excuse won't work with me."
"I know," Emily finally sighed. "Fine! Let's go enjoy ourselves!"
"Better!" Himiko grinned at her girlfriend before she took off running, her girlfriend easily matching her pace as they ran to the arcade.
Once there Himiko pulled out a stack of bills and converted them into tokens, before handing a stack to her girlfriend. "Where should we start?"
"Your game is free," Emily said, using her head to indicate where the rhythm games were set up. Sure enough, several machines currently stood unattended.
"Yes!" Himiko saw one of the two-player cabinets was free and bodily dragged Emily along with her.
"No!" Emily protested.
"Oh come on, you know I love playing these with you!"
"But I suck at them!"
"Then play at a lower difficulty!"
"Never!"
Himiko laughed as she inserted the money and started scrolling through the list of songs. Normally she would jump right into her favorites, but since Emily was joining her she took pity on the other girl and chose a good warmup song. One of the few Emily had figured out how to beat on Extreme difficulty.
"You don't have to cater to me, you know," Emily said as she stretched next to the machine.
Himiko merely rolled her eyes as she hopped on the pad and quickly stretched as well. "You're the one who insists on learning the songs this way."
"I'm a hero student! Something like this should be easy!"
Instead of arguing with her, Himiko reached forward and hit the button to start the song. Both girls immediately found themselves hyper-focused on the screen as the song began to play and arrows began to appear.
The pair settled into a comfortable rhythm where Himiko would select a song and complete it with ease, while Emily attempted to keep up. Even if she failed most of the time, Himiko couldn't help but admire her girlfriend's persistence and efforts. Despite that, week after week the American girl slowly improved at the games.
"I beat one!" Emily cheered when she had finally cleared a particularly difficult song, one that she had consistently failed at before. Her energy bar was only a few pixels in size, blinking a dangerous red on the screen, but it didn't matter, she had done it.
"That's my girl!" Himiko cheered, swooping in to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek, causing her to blush. "Now ready to do another one?"
"Always!" Emily said with a renewed fire in her eyes.
After a few more rounds, Emily finally tapped out. Stepping off the machine, she leaned on the back of the bar while watching Himiko continue. With a playful glance, Himiko looked at her girlfriend when she selected some of the more difficult songs - it was time to show off.
Once Himiko's stack of money was exhausted, it was Emily's turn to pick the game. The couple walked over to the shooting games, where Emily began inserting enough coins for a two-player game as Himiko leaned lazily against the cabinet.
"What, not going to watch me destroy this game?" Emily asked as she pulled both guns out of the machine.
"I've got the perfect view to watch you right here," Himiko said with a playful smirk. She saw Emily's cheeks heating up, but any response was cut off by the game starting up, and suddenly the blue-eyed girl was laser-focused on the screen.
Maybe it came off as creepy, but Himiko didn't care as she stared, enthralled by her girlfriend's focus and concentration as she blew away wave after wave of enemies. It was just a game, but Emily treated it just as seriously as she treated any of their exams at school, and gave it her all.
And while they weren't looking at her, Himiko was certainly looking into Emily's eyes. She could get lost in the intensity displayed in those pale blue eyes. Normally, that is. Her eyes are so bright and clear that they reflected the screen of the arcade cabinet, tarnishing Himiko's perfect view. While it didn't give her a good image of the game, it was enough for Himiko.
After she discovered she could watch games this way, it became her preferred way of watching her girlfriend destroy arcade games.
The park was quiet and peaceful, the sunset painting the park in beautiful pinks and purples in stark contrast to the arcade that the couple had just left.
Himiko couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's, enjoying the passive warmth the other girl generated. It was like a cozy blanket, and she couldn't get enough of it.
"So is your homework for the week done?" Emily suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
With a groan Himiko pulled away, giving her girlfriend an annoyed look. "Way to ruin the mood."
"You should have seen it coming!" Emily stopped and crossed her arms.
"I feel like you're pushing me even harder now that we're dating."
"Of course I am! Because I care about you!"
"It's not like I'm going to rise out of the bottom five in our class."
"Not for a lack of trying!" Emily's expression softened. "You know that's what really matters, Himi."
Himiko opened her mouth and was about to argue, but suddenly closed it. Memories of their first study session suddenly came flooding back.
"Argh! This is pointless!" Himiko complained as she slammed the study guide on the cafe table.
"Midoriya!" Emily looked ready to jump out of her chair. "I spent hours putting that study guide together! It has everything that's going to be on the exam!"
"And It's not helping!" Himiko stood up. "What's the point if I can't remember any of it?"
"That's because you're not trying hard enough!" Emily stood up, looking ready to fight the other girl.
Himiko tensed herself, ready to leap over the table when Atsuko suddenly was in front of her, hands on her shoulder. "Himi- I think you should tell them."
"Tell us what?" Emily demanded, being similarly restrained by Tomoe.
"No," Himiko grumbled, eyes looking everywhere but at her friend.
"What happened to accepting who you were?" Her best friend asked sternly.
"Do you really think she isn't going to judge me for it?"
"Midoriya, I promise I won't judge you," Tomoe said, looking sternly at Emily. "And we'll fight Song if she does."
"Fine," Himiko said in a huff, looking at the two girls before taking a deep breath. "I can't retain information by just looking at it." She jabbed a finger at the study guides accusingly. "So as nice as that is, I'm not going to get anything out of it by just sitting here reading it."
There was a long silence before Emily finally spoke. "So what were you going to do?"
"Take it home and have mom read it to me," Himiko admitted. "And try drawing pictures of the parts that I can."
"Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Because I don't want to be annoying," Himiko looked at Tomoe. "And because I refuse to be someone else's burden."
With a quick look, Tomoe let go of Emily who sat back down at the table. Gathering the study sheets, she looked at the sensory girl. "Will you be ok if I read these out loud?"
Tomoe shrugged and grabbed her bag, pulling out a music player and a pair of noise-canceling headphones. "I'll be ok."
Himiko did a double take when Emily then started at the top of the study sheet and began reading the information out loud. She felt Atsuko let go of her shoulders, and let herself be guided back to her seat where she sat down. Emily paused and gave a hard look at Himiko.
"What's the point of being top of the class if everyone else isn't also giving it their all?"
"You're right," Himiko admitted. "I should have known this is what would happen when I fell for Emily Song, the most driven student in our class."
"Yep! You only have yourself to blame!" Emily said, with a smug smile on her face.
Himiko couldn't help but give an exaggerated sigh. "Why do I put up with you?"
"Because you love me?"
Himiko felt the heat rising in her cheeks. "You're right, I do." Without warning she wrapped herself around her girlfriend's arm again, this time leaning into her shoulder. "At least keep the school talk until we're done with our romantic walk in the park?"
"I think I can do that," Emily responded as she leaned into Himiko, the two girls finding an equilibrium that let them support each other as they continued their walk through the park.