Izuku didn't understand how he entered a luxurious, unrented theater room with Nejire. With the crimson curtains parted and stage lights shining on them, it felt like they were partaking in a performance. Peeking from the curtain on his side, Izuku noticed the rows and rows of empty chairs.

Despite the barren world of seats staring at them, his heart hammered against his ribcage. Everything still seemed lively.

The extravagance of being on stage was a dazzle of brilliance to witness. It was rich and elegant, prompting him to be nauseous. When he heard footsteps on the opposite side, Izuku glanced at the person he spent time with the last few days.

Nejire walked onto the stage with a little vibrance in her steps. Her approach influenced Izuku to do the same and meet her in the middle.

Just without the liveliness.

The fear of getting caught encroached on his heart.

When they stopped in the middle, Nejire bowed toward him and extended her hand to him when she straightened herself. Izuku blinked twice, unable to understand what he was supposed to do because of his anxiety.

Nejire giggled and shook her hand in front of him. "Come on, Izuku. Get with the program. Take my hand."

"Ah! S-Sorry!" Izuku exclaimed, accepting her hand.

Nejire smiled and lifted their intertwined hands in the air before she twirled in her beautiful, attractive white dress. The skirt of her dress rose and rotated with her, its grace found in the person wearing it.

Izuku couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was the most beautiful woman in U.A. High School, but right now, she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world.

And that was a fact.

"Wow..." Izuku said.

Nejire blushed and lifted their interwoven hands close to her face to hide it. "I don't know why I packed it to a ski resort, but I'm kind of glad I did. I know, unnecessary baggage, but something told me to."

Izuku studied her. What did she mean by that? Was she thinking about him the same way he was thinking about her before they came on this vacation? Did it mean Nejire invited him to the ski resort with the same purpose of asking him out in her mind, or was she waiting for him to do it? Was he looking too deep into it like he always was?

Maybe.

"Well... I think you're beautiful, Nejire. The dress accentuates your beauty. And you're, um, beautiful... I'm repeating myself, aren't I...?" Izuku asked.

Nejire laughed at his mistake of repeating himself and nodded her head. But when her laughter faded, she stared at him. Stared deep into his eyes. The way her blue eyes flickered, studying him as much as he was inspecting her, was comforting.

Her beauty emphasized every moment. Both of them were experiencing true love and nothing took it away from them.

He was on top of the world. And he revered every second.

"Hey, Izuku. What do you say we dance?" Nejire asked.

She lifted her free hand to grasp his other hand.

"Dance? Right now?"

"Of course right now, silly!" Nejire exclaimed, gently bumping her head on his chest. "After all, we both danced for our school festival performances. So we both know a little something about dancing. Besides, dancing is something every human being can relate to no matter where you go. So what do you say?"

Izuku accepted her hand into his grasp as his brain processed what she said. He knew little about dancing, only from the school festival, but it didn't seem incorrect. Jiro had created a spectacular song, and it compelled Class 1-A to dance with all their hearts.

But right now, there was no music.

Nejire noted his reluctance and smiled. "Izuku, don't you worry about a thing. I learned a thing or two from trying to dance in the air and found a method that could help both of us to take it slow. Speaking of which, do you have your phone on you by any chance? I left mine in my casual clothes backstage."

Izuku adhered to her request and handed her his phone after unlocking it. She let go of his hands and searched for something, leaving him empty-handed without her touch. Izuku looked at his hands and meddled with his fingers, searching for something to grasp.

Something returned, but it wasn't her hand. It was his phone. However, something flooded through the speakers of his phone.

Something slow and mellow with a hint of hopeful romance.

"Here, put your phone in your pocket so we can dance to the music."

Izuku did as she suggested. Nejire progressed to the next phase of their planned dance. She guided his right hand to her left shoulder blade. Nejire placed it there and gently squeezed his wrist to tell him that was where she positioned him to be.

Concerned he'd apply too much pressure, Izuku gently wrapped his fingers around her shoulder blade and rested it there. He was redundantly careful. So much so, that his hand shook from attempting to hold her securely, but not too tightly.

Nejire must have noticed because she looked at him and smiled as she draped her left hand on his shoulder. Then Nejire grabbed his free hand with hers and lifted it to the height of their head.

"How are you feeling, Izuku?" Nejire asked.

Izuku looked at his feet and repositioned them where he wouldn't step on her by accident, but found the length of the skirt obstructing his sight. Izuku ignored the unsettling feeling he would step on her shoes and refocused his vision on her.

"I'm feeling good... I think." Izuku said, realizing how close he was to her.

He could lean in and steal a kiss if he wanted, but it didn't feel appropriate. At least, not currently.

"You don't sound too confident, Izuku," Nejire said with a giggle. "Come on, let me show you the steps. And don't worry if you walk all over my shoes because I have sneakers on, not expensive high heels or low heels. They're too rich for my tastes. Maybe in the future, I'll like them more… In a married future with you~."

Izuku blushed. "R-Right…"

"Now come on, let's dance! But take it slow." Nejire said, starting the first steps.

However, a mischievous smile danced on her lips.

Flustered by Nejire's teases, Izuku attempted to stay with her but stepped on her sneakers. Multiple times. Just as he feared.

Izuku's mind raced as the blunders carved themselves in his mind. He couldn't lie. It was a frightening thought to entertain the notion of a wedding ceremony. After all, it wasn't something he was constantly thinking about.

Somewhere in the background, Izuku felt Nejire's hand slip from his and lift his face to make him stare at her. Their eyes met.

"Dancing is better when you're looking into the eyes of your partner," Nejire said with a smile.

Izuku couldn't do anything but concur with her statement. Together, they swayed and moved with the rhythm of the song; the melody resonating in Izuku's heart until the final, lingering note faded.

A few seconds of silence passed until Nejire broke it with a soft sigh.

"So, Izuku..." Nejire said, twirling her hair with a finger. "You know how tomorrow is our last full day of vacation, right? What did you want to do tomorrow for our last day of vacation? Did you want to try another restaurant or go star-gazing? Or maybe something else?"

Izuku didn't respond at first, gathering his thoughts. "As... As long as I spend more time with you, I think anything's fine..."

Nejire smiled. Then she softly slapped him on the shoulder. "Izuku... I already know that! But I want a specific answer! Not a flirtatious one! Though I would love to oblige~."

"Oh, sorry! Then... Can we do all of it? Including skiing?"

"I don't see why not," Nejire said, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning closer.

Izuku closed his eyes and leaned to kiss her. Before their lips met, a door opened, causing dread to rush around them.

Nejire whisked him away with the help of her quirk. They hid behind one of the red curtains, out of view of the people. Nejire leaned close to Izuku and pressed a finger to his lips. She glanced at the opening of the curtains to understand the location of the uninvited guests.

From the awkward position they were in, Izuku found himself pressed against Nejire's body. His mind raced, but he ignored it to the best of his ability when he heard voices echo throughout the theater. Their voices hovered around, exploring the room before the door closed and silence entered the theatric realm.

Nejire turned and looked at him with a smile. "I think that's our cue to leave."

Izuku nodded his head as Nejire stood and walked backstage. She hummed to herself as she approached her pile of casual clothes. She turned and beckoned for him to look elsewhere.

"No looking. Okay, Izuku~?" Nejire sang.

Izuku nodded his head again and turned, a billion different thoughts clashing in his head. It was difficult to speak when they narrowly avoided danger. He had an intrinsic fear the entire time they danced, and it came to fruition.

But in the end, they were intact. And deep down, it was exciting, despite the rules they broke. However, no occupants were using the room, so wasn't it fine? Or was he trying to find a reason to defend their rule-breaking actions?

Izuku shook his head. There was no need to think about it. But as he shook his head, his cat ears swung around with him. It was the absence of Nejire's playful touches on his cat ears that made Izuku realize something was wrong.

Izuku lifted his hand to ensure the existence of his cat ears were still present.

It was.

Izuku lowered his hands. He never noticed the absence of Nejire's touch on his cat ears because of the rich moments he spent with her. Was it because Nejire wanted to display her affection for him rather than focusing on his cat ears?

It didn't instill sorrow in him. Instead, it felt nice. Nejire's love for him was all he needed to know.

Author's Note: Hello, friends! I hope you are taking care of yourselves and showing yourself love as the new year approaches!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of the year! Anyway, the next chapter is the last one for the ski trip arc and then there's only a few more after that. With that said, I hope you enjoyed all the ski resort chapters so far! It's been my favorite to write!

Also, Happy Early New Year to you all! Here's to a great 2025!

With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!