Kuri sat back on her bed as she stretched the sheer tights to let her feet in. She tugged them up and snatched the long, off-white skirt from its spot beside her as she hopped to her feet. Balancing on one leg at a time, she slipped into it and rushed to look in the mirror. The tiered skirt ended just above her ankles, and, thanks to the tights underneath, no skin was exposed. Still, the floor chilled the bottoms of her feet, so Kuri turned to her dresser to grab some socks and layer them on top. She turned back to her mirror.

I hope this will be warm enough.

Kuri wasn't usually the type to dress so conservatively; when she wasn't wearing long pants, she preferred miniskirts. But for this outing, Kuri needed to brave the coastal cold, so the day before, she and Mina had gone out in search of something fun and fresh for Kuri to wear. And somehow, they'd landed on Kuri's current cozy outfit. She looked a tad silly, but luckily, the stakes were relatively low when it came to impressing Katsuki (he'd called her cute that morning when she emerged for breakfast with notable bedhead).

Under different circumstances, she would've gone for a more charming look for her first-ever date, but her clothing choices were to prevent freezing her legs off at the beach. Hopefully, her location suggestion for their date wouldn't backfire because, after a week of running from snooping schoolmates and the month-long stress of preparing for the festival, Kuri and Katsuki needed a break.

On Friday afternoon, they returned to the dorms and pondered what to do about that date they'd agreed upon nearly a week before.

Katsuki said they should go somewhere quiet and relaxing. A place where there would be few people or other outside forces to disturb them.

Kuri had to think long and hard to come up with a location that wouldn't be bustling during December. The first calm, unpopulated place she thought of would be out in nature. So, Kuri suggested the beach.

She still remembered sitting on the plane, only a few hours from stepping on UA's campus for the first time and looking out the window to spot the shoreline far below. Since then, Kuri longed to visit the ocean, even if just to see it up close again. It held a sort of familiarity for her, considering she grew up surrounded by water, and recently she craved a taste of home. The holiday season was probably to blame for her sudden desire to be home.

Kuri slid over to the items waiting on her desk to be packed into her bag. She stuffed her wallet and other necessities into the small backpack as she ran through a mental play-by-play of their date.

The coast was only a short train ride away, so once they arrived around two o'clock they could take their time walking in the chilly winter weather for an hour. Then, once they got sick of the stinging ocean air, they'd go get a snack and return home. It'd be a pretty chill day trip (no pun intended), so Kuri didn't need to take much along.

As she zipped up her bag, Kuri chuckled at herself for barely managing to get made up in time. She'd laid out everything the night before, yet it took her until noon to scramble to her room to get out of her loungewear. Well, she still wore a thin, white turtleneck she'd put on after rolling out of bed, but that didn't matter. Plus, she planned to wear her blue, star-patterned cardigan over it.

On Saturday, as Kuri dug through her closet for something to wear, she came across the cute cardigan she'd rarely worn in recent months. Kuri held it, tracing a finger over one of the soft white stars. Ages ago, she had wanted to wear it to that failed mission.

Back then, that was as close to a date with Katsuki she ever expected to get. When the mission ended in tears and disillusionment, Kuri subconsciously took it as a bad omen for their relationship. Surely, only more sorrow was to come, but they'd beat the odds, and now he was her boyfriend! So much changed since that unpredictable day: her tattoo disappeared, she captured the vigilantes, and after some trial and error with Katsuki, they'd made it work. Just like she was about to make this clothing combo work.

Kuri slid her arms through the cardigan sleeves and hastily fastened each button. She returned to the mirror to look at her reflection again. Seeing everything put together assuaged Kuri's initial skepticism about the outfit she and Mina had pieced together. It wasn't so frumpy looking after all.

But her hair needed some fixing up. Loose, brown curls tumbled down just past her shoulders and had enough volume to house a mouse. Weird thought, Kuri.

It was a nice style on any other day, but Kuri didn't feel like letting her hair whip around in the wind for an hour, poking her eyes and slithering into her mouth every time she spoke. She grabbed a hair elastic from the top of her dresser and pulled her hair into a low ponytail.

Kuri sure was putting a lot of thought into this single look, but she just couldn't help it. She hadn't told anyone, but that night after the school festival, Kuri ran around her room jumping and squealing with delight and talking to herself about how happy she was. She tried to tuck away some of the hopeless romantic in her so she wouldn't drown Katsuki in affection, but even that fraction she let frolic kept her giddy with thoughts of him. She wanted to make him swoon as hard as she did after any interaction with him. Granted, he was likely already swooning if his constant smiling was any indication.

Still feeling like her work was incomplete, Kuri twirled to her earring display. Actually, it—a small plate where she dropped her various pairs of earrings—was less of a display and more of a dump. She pieced through the pile until she found a silvery pair of star earrings to match her cardigan.

Phew, I got lucky today.

As she donned the dangling charms, she heard a knock at the door, paired with Katsuki's voice.

"Bunny, are you almost ready?" he called.

"Yeah, just a second," she said and scrambled to grab her bag and parka from her desk. On the way to the door, she spared one last look at her grinning reflection. Kuri adjusted her skirt slightly and gave herself a thumbs up for confidence. Today could be as good as she made it. She opened the door, greeting Katsuki with a sly smile. "Hey, you're a bit early. Too excited to see me?"

"Something like that," Katsuki smirked and gave her a long look. "This reminds me of the time we had our mission at the mall. You look just as cute as you did that day."

Kuri let out a short peal of laughter and shrugged, a bit flustered. How comedic that they both thought of that day. The destination and context of the situations were completely different, but Kuri realized the only way they could have both drawn similarities is that back then, they both thought of that mission, in some sense, as a date. Kuri stepped further out of her room and closed the door behind her.

"I'm sure today will be more fun, though," she remarked, linking arms with Katsuki. "Now, let's go!"


"I missed the ocean!" Kuri exclaimed, hurrying ahead of him across the sand. "Woah, a cool shell!"

Katsuki grinned to himself, watching Kuri excitedly hop closer to the water to continue shell-hunting. He gazed at the great blue expanse, which did not glisten much because of the cloudy weather. The water lapping against the shore was gentle and quiet—a serene background song for their date.

As he followed after Kuri, Katsuki glanced around the beach. They shared the space with only a few others far in the distance, plus some birds circling over the water and another few trotting along on the ground. A gust of wind blew by, tossing Katsuki's hair a bit and chilling his face. He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets to protect them from the cold and picked up his pace.

Kuri was crouched low, scoping the ground for pearlescent shells half-tucked into the sand when Katsuki arrived beside her. She uprighted herself as soon as she noticed him standing there.

"Oh my gosh, sorry for getting distracted," Kuri said with her little self-conscious laugh.

"It's alright," he said, looking at her endearingly. "What'd you find?"

Kuri held up her left hand, cupping an assortment of tiny shells, and pointed at each, explaining why she'd picked them up. Then, she stuffed the small items into her jacket pocket and dusted her hands off.

"I've finished collecting for now. Wanna walk closer to the water?"

Katsuki agreed, and they ambled to the shore's edge, where waves crept up and down the sand in slow motions. They kept a slight distance from the water, just out of reach of the tide, so they wouldn't soak their shoes and suffer with frozen toes for the next hour.

"It's nice to get off campus for something besides work," Katsuki said.

"Yeah, it's so peaceful. The best part is that nobody else is out here! Finally, we won't be interrupted."

"You never know," Katsuki shrugged, nodding at a seagull taking flight once they got too close. "Maybe the birds will start following us."

They both laughed, then Kuri sighed.

"Six months ago, I wouldn't have believed this could happen," she said, gazing out at the water with a reflective smile.

"You mean the two of us?" he asked. Kuri nodded, glancing back at him. Katsuki thought of the summer they spent together. His confusion about his own feelings was the major roadblock all along, and he was such an unfortunate idiot that it took until a week ago for him to clear the way. "Me neither."

Kuri tucked her hands into her sleeves to warm them as she looked off into the distance.

"After that whole pool thing, I started thinking you'd never like me back. But once I found out otherwise, I felt a lot better," Kuri said, grinning. She tilted her head and peered up at him. "When did you realize you liked me, anyway? It really came as a surprise."

Katsuki didn't need more than a second to recall the moment.

"I've known since we kissed in the dreamscape," he replied. Somehow, that little peck was the crack needed to burst the dam and flood Katsuki's mind with foreign thoughts. Love and a deep concern for a specific person's well-being weren't common feelings he harbored before. He'd always kept people at arm's length, and though many had tried to barge into his bubble, Kuri was the first to succeed. Katsuki wasn't sure what was so special about his girlfriend that allowed her to get to him. Maybe it wasn't even her doing. Perhaps he'd changed; he opened the door to his heart so she could walk in. Katsuki wished he could tell her all that, but that level of sentimentality probably wasn't appropriate on their first date. Not to mention, he didn't feel like humiliating himself with such an admission. "But I think I liked you long before that without realizing."

"If that's the case, when do you think you started liking me?"

Katsuki savored her question, tracing his branching and blooming feelings for Kuri back to their roots buried far down in his mind. He wasn't sure he could pinpoint a moment. She was always there, antagonizing him with the cutest look, and Katsuki couldn't decide between bullying or befriending her. Until his heart surprised him with the revelation that he instead loved her.

"I don't know when exactly I started to like you as a person," Katsuki answered slowly. "Maybe the sports festival. But I've always found you cute."

Kuri grinned shyly and looked at her feet leaving soft prints in the sand as they walked.

"You know, even though you were rude at first, I could always sense that you were a good guy, so I wanted to know you better," Kuri said. "And before I knew it, you liked me enough to be sweet and caring."

"Really? Me, sweet?" Katsuki scoffed. "Bunny, you sure have some rose-tinted glasses because I was shitty to you up until like two months ago."

"Don't exaggerate, you've been kind to me for at least this whole school year," Kuri said, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, we had some bumps, so I got sad for a while, but that letter you gave me on my birthday made up for it."

"How so? I thought it was below average."

"Your writing made it really obvious that you liked me," Kuri held a hand in front of her mouth as she giggled. Heat rose to Katsuki's cheeks, and his eyes widened at her revelation of the bitter, humiliating truth. Kuri continued, holding back more chuckles at Katsuki's expense as she watched him grow more embarrassed. "And that made me so happy that I forgave you on the spot. I probably would've asked you to date me that day, but you said you weren't ready, so I waited until you told me out loud."

Those three lied to me… What the hell, Deku?!

Katsuki ran a hand through his hair and wearily sighed.

"Remind me not to write letters anymore because apparently, I can't manage subtlety."

"No! Katsuki, I loved that letter," Kuri exclaimed, grabbing his arm and attention. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Don't let embarrassment get in the way of your creative spirit! Also, it's nice to read about how much you love me."

The longer Kuri gave him her imploring stare, the more Katsuki could sense himself giving in. Fuck, how did he resist bending to her whims before? He shyly glanced away as Kuri leaned even closer to him.

"If I write you another one, you better not try to make fun of me," Katsuki begrudgingly grumbled.

"I wouldn't dare," Kuri said, releasing his arm. Katsuki felt a twinge of disappointment, but he didn't have the guts to take her hand again. "I'll even write you a letter in return—no, two, or even three letters!"

"Three?" Katsuki chuckled. "I think you'll run out of things to talk about at that point."

"I could… tell you all about my shell collection," Kuri said, digging a few of the shells out of her pocket and displaying them on her palm.

"Or you could go down the hall and tell me in person."

"True," Kuri laughed. "Okay, forget letters, then. Let's just talk more."

Kuri turned to approach the water's edge. She paused at a section of rocks that had rolled out of the ocean over time and crouched down, hitching up her skirt and piling it in her lap so it wouldn't touch the damp ground. Katsuki joined her in surveying the many stones smoothed by the ocean waves. Kuri picked up a small, greenish pebble and examined it between her forefinger and thumb.

"Do you collect rocks, too?" Katsuki asked, picking up a circular blue-gray stone and brushing stray sand grains off.

"Yup. I like finding pretty ones," Kuri said, tucking the pebble into her pocket. "What's your favorite rock?"

"Obsidian."

"That's predictable of you," Kuri said, picking up larger stones and checking for small pebbles underneath them. She found a circular, white pebble and cleaned it with her fingertips. "A sharp, dark glass with multiple utilities. Seems like the kind of edgy yet basic thing you'd choose."

"I think you're reading too much into it," Katsuki said, scoffing to hide his genuine thoughts: Damn, she's kinda right. I'm a basic bitch. "What's your favorite?"

"I'm too indecisive to choose one. Mina says it's because I'm a Libra," Kuri shrugged. "But generally, beach rocks are my favorite since they're soft to touch. And, if you look hard enough, you can find some interesting colors."

Katsuki helped Kuri look for "interesting colors," digging through the rocks with his bare hands in search of something befitting Kuri's tastes. Katsuki himself had little stake in this rock business; he wasn't a collector or anything. But the smile Kuri got when she found another cute stone urged him to help.

After a few minutes of rock-hunting, Kuri cut open the silence with an exclamation of joy.

"Oh, Katsuki, look at this one!" Kuri beamed. She held up a small rock, probably about three centimeters in diameter, and rotated it so he could examine all the sides. The stone she'd found was relatively flat and almost triangular—akin in shape to onigiri. It was mostly a pale beige but had a faint orange stripe on one side. "It's soft and pretty, just like you!" Katsuki raised his eyebrows at Kuri's charitable suggestion. She polished the rock with her sleeve and gingerly slid it into her pocket with a smile. "Safe into my pocket, you go!"

"I'm not that soft… " Katsuki muttered. Kuri furrowed her brow at his claim.

He had never been a gentle person. From his violent quirk to naturally spiky hair, Katsuki seemed destined to hurt anyone who got too close to him. He was sharp, like glass. If you broke him, he'd break you back. Even if all you wanted was to pick him up and fix him. Katsuki hated that about himself.

As much as dating Kuri brought him joy, he was so afraid of hurting her again. He still wasn't adept enough with his words, and even if he could communicate better, he still had his explosive temper to keep under control. Was he even fit to date her? Should they just break—

"I don't believe that," Kuri shook her head adamantly. "Here, I'll prove my point. Stand up."

Kuri hopped to her feet, and Katsuki rose as well. Before he could ask what she was up to, Kuri stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Katsuki paused with his arms bent at an awkward angle, unsure of what to do.

Hug her back, you dumbass!

Katsuki hesitantly embraced Kuri around her shoulders, pulling her a bit closer. She leaned her head against his left shoulder and exhaled a soft sigh.

Oh, right.

He couldn't possibly break up with Kuri because she was too stubborn to let go anyway. Despite their rocky past, Kuri continued to love him, and he continued to love her. If that remained true, he could keep working on himself until he was no longer afraid.

Katsuki bent his head to rest atop Kuri's. Her hair held the faintly sweet scent of shampoo. Combined with her arms steadily clinging to him, Katsuki felt overwhelming comfort. Over the delicate crashing of waves against the sand, Katsuki listened to Kuri's quiet breaths and realized this was home.

"See?" Kuri said. "You're soft."

"Yeah, dummy, it's your fault," Katsuki grumbled, earning a chuckle from Kuri.

He was never this sappy before her, but Katsuki didn't really mind the change because he was also never this happy before her. There was nothing better than to love and be loved. Maybe it was cringey to say that, but fuck anyone who wanted him to act heartless. He loved his girlfriend, and the world would know it.

"Let's stay like this for a while."