Izuku was roused from sleep by the soft swish of the curtains' parting, followed by a flood of warm sunlight. Instinctively, Izuku raised his hands to block the sun from entering his eyes. Izuku grunted and turned to the other side of the bed to avoid the bright illumination.

Unfortunately, Mr. Pengy slipped from his arms and fell to the floor.

Izuku cuddled with the next best thing available to him; the blankets.

A second later, Izuku felt the weight of the bed shift to accommodate for another. The warmth of someone familiar pressed against his back. His heart beat a little quicker. Izuku knew who it was, but it didn't make the embrace any less. It was almost like she was jealous the blanket was getting more attention than her.

"Mmph?" Izuku mumbled.

"You still sleepy from last night, Izuku? I know we slept late, but this is it. We have to pack up and leave before noon." Nejire said, her sweet voice trickling into his ears.

Izuku grunted again and snuggled his face deeper into the ridges of the soft blankets, earning a laugh from Nejire. As Izuku tried to fall asleep again, Nejire tickled the back of his head. Izuku tilted his head and remained still to confirm he was feeling correctly.

Nothing occurred.

With confusion, his cat ears fluttered.

A second later, her touch continued.

Izuku felt her fingers trace his curly hair as if she were memorizing every detail. When she experienced enough, Nejire used her fingers to lift and puff his hair repeatedly, allowing it to bounce against her hand.

As Izuku continued to ignore her, Nejire reached higher and aimed for his cat ears. Her soft fingers gently brushed against them, eliciting a ticklish sensation that shivered down his spine. It coerced his cat ears to flit and flatten on his head to get her to cease, but she continued, much to his chagrin.

When Izuku had enough of Nejire toying with his hair and cat ears, he slowly turned, encouraging Nejire to retract her hand and smile at him. A very warm, but mischievous smile.

"Are you finally awake?" Nejire asked.

"Mhm... I am now." Izuku responded sleepily.

Izuku sat on the bed and dangled his legs over the edge. He lifted his arms to rub his eyes and stretched for the second time. Meanwhile, Nejire cruised through the condo they were in, packing her belongings.

Izuku stared at her for a couple of seconds. The way Nejire hummed to herself as she packed her clothes into her luggage elicited a chord of sorrow within his heart. Izuku tried to fight the sentiment off.

It was a losing battle.

It only felt like yesterday their vacation began, but the blissful moments ended in a snap. Their last day had flashed in an instant, despite their planned activities bursting from the seam.

During their session of stargazing last night, they shared a serene opportunity in the world of darkness and silence. With the absence of city lights, they were gifted the view of the atmosphere, where countless stars shimmered and twinkled. But as the night crept on, and the time ticked past midnight, they returned to their condo one last time.

And within the blink of an eye, their last night at the ski resort was over.

Why did it feel like when he was having fun, time passed the quickest?

Even if he yearned for it to be extended, there wasn't a quirk in the world that could reverse time. All the fears he felt throughout the vacation returned to him like a monumental tidal wave. He didn't want it, but the thought of normalcy saturated him with an overwhelming sense of dread.

Every moment they spent with each other was special. He was afraid it would not happen again because the conditions weren't right. As if for something brilliant to occur, things needed to be meticulously reliant on luck and perfection. And for Izuku, it felt like the ski resort was the sole reason their love had bloomed to soaring heights.

Obviously, it wasn't true. She had loved him long before the ski trip.

With a sigh, Izuku stared at Nejire. She twirled around for a moment, searching for Mr. Pengy until she discovered its location. When she stood, Nejire noticed his stare. She returned his gaze and tilted her head, placing the plushie on top of one of her suitcases.

"Izuku? Are you okay?" Nejire asked.

"Hmm…? Oh, yeah… I'm fine. Why?"

"You're just a little quieter than usual. Are you sad the vacation is ending so soon?" Nejire asked, hovering closer to his position.

Izuku nodded his head. "Yeah, that… How did you know?"

With a smile, Nejire slid into the bed with him, catching him by surprise, despite her closeness a couple of minutes ago. She pressed closer to him to absorb some of his warmth and provide comfort to him. Nejire rested her head on his shoulder and linked arms with him. A portion of her hair fell over her eyes, but she ignored it.

Was it bad he would never be used to her proximity?

"Don't worry about it, Izuku. I'm also feeling the same emotion you're experiencing. You know, I thought this vacation would last forever and we can spend more time with each other... Luckily, we can still spend time with each other in each other's dorm room when we go back. As for when I graduate, we'll think of something when we cross that bridge. So come on, don't feel so hopeless! Cheer up~!" Nejire said, playfully pushing into his shoulder.

Izuku matched eyes with her. It was difficult to not reciprocate her smile.

Full of caution, Izuku lifted his hand to her face. He didn't know why, but the silky blue hair strands covering her expression were the culprit.

Izuku lifted the lonely strands with his pointer finger and piled them on her head so that they could join their friends. Nejire's eyes focused on him, silence reigning over their situation.

"Is my face that beautiful?" Nejire asked.

Izuku froze in place, his heartbeat spiking from the panic flooding his system. "I-I didn't mean to do that. Um, should we get packing?"

Nejire laughed. "We're still going to work on that confidence of yours! Though I haven't been teaching you anything about it, so maybe I'm not a good teacher! But maybe I can make you more confident if I poke fun at you more, so you get used to it."

Izuku chuckled, cherishing his last moments at the ski resort. "No, I think you're an excellent teacher."

"You better not be saying that just because I'm your girlfriend!" Nejire said, gently slapping him on the shoulder.

Izuku laughed, trying to get Nejire to stop. The trouble brewing in his heart shifted to the back of his mind. He was sure it would come back when nostalgia paid him a visit, but for now, things were fine.

When Nejire relented, she took him by the hand and tugged. "Come on, Izuku. This isn't the end just because our vacation is over~. We're still going to have so much fun when we get back to U.A. High School!"

Trusting her words, Izuku found something impactful to rely on as they prepared to go back home. Before they left the ski resort, Izuku glanced at the mountain and the surrounding establishment one last time with a pensive but fond expression. He prayed she was right.

Author's Note: This is the shortest chapter of the story, but I felt like it was necessary to add it since I wanted to explore Izuku's thoughts at the end of the trip. The next chapter will be a longer one, so I apologize if you expected a longer one!

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the story because we only have two more chapters left! We are ending it on a good note at chapter 19! I wanted to extend it to chapter 20, but it felt like filler! And this story went on way longer than it should have, but I loved writing it! Every single chapter!

Also, a little early thank you to everyone who stuck around! You are all the best!

With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!