Izuku opened his eyes. Slowly, they traced the ceiling. Despite the darkness, he could see the sun trying to peek inside the room.
Silence echoed loudly in his ears as he shifted his head side-to-side to remember where he was. If Izuku hadn't known any better, he would have thought he was still in his dreams, but the way the fluffy blanket grazed against his coarse skin reminded him he was at the ski resort.
Izuku sat up on his bed, but not before he got a deep stretch in. Nejire had taken the master bed for the night while he slept on one of the twin beds. Izuku decided it was for the best. Nejire didn't mind sleeping in the same bed, but he was concerned.
Izuku rolled between the two beds, leaving the blankets jumbled. It felt right to do so.
Izuku slid out of bed and into his slippers. He walked toward the covered window wall and parted the curtains to let the sunlight in.
It was his mistake. The brightness temporarily blinded him.
Izuku raised his hands to his eyes. "Ow... That's bright…"
Once his eyes adjusted to the illumination, Izuku sat on the storage bench and stared into the expanse for a few minutes. From what he could see, a constant stream of people entered and exited the complex. As if on cue to provide Izuku entertainment, a small snowball fight unfolded among a few men, much to Izuku's delight. A perfectly timed snowball smashed one of them in the face, knocking the ski goggles off his head.
Izuku grimaced in pain as his cat ears flattened against his head. That looked painful.
Izuku continued staring at interesting tidbits of interaction between the people below, lost in thought of how the day would unfold when he heard a muffled yawn from the other side of the condo. Izuku's cat ears flickered several times. He peered over his shoulder to stare at the end of the hallway.
Nobody was there.
Izuku carefully stepped away from the storage bench and walked down the hallway. He poked his head through the door to the other side of the condo. He stared at the master bedroom, but the blinds covered his view of Nejire.
Was it okay if he opened the door to the master bedroom?
Izuku shuffled from the doorway and placed his hand on the doorknob to open the door. When he did, Nejire perked up and lifted her head to stare at him. Her sleepy expression was cute.
"Good morning, Nejire." Izuku greeted. "I-I didn't want to interrupt anything, but I was figuring we should start the day while it's still young."
"And I'd say you're correct..." Nejire said, plopping her head on the pillow. "But I'm tired. I didn't get good sleep last night because this was a new place. How about you? How did you sleep? Are you ready to tackle the day?"
Izuku nodded his head. "As ready as I'll ever be. And the bed was comfortable enough that I slept throughout the night without waking up once."
"Lucky you~. Now could you help me up? I don't think I can get up with my strength."
Izuku walked to her bed and accepted her extended hand. Yet something felt off when he neared her. When Nejire clasped both hands over his and smiled, alarm bells rang in his head. For a second, nothing happened, but then she yanked him into the same bed with her and wrapped her arms around him.
Izuku panicked but kept himself collected. Well, as much as he could, considering he was in the same bed as Nejire.
"N-Nejire?" Izuku tried to liberate himself from her grasp, but couldn't move despite being under the notion she was weaker than he was. Turns out, Nejire was a lot stronger than he perceived.
Nejire let out a content sigh and hugged him tighter, burying Izuku in her embrace. "Just five more minutes and I'll be set." She said, closing her eyes.
"Mmph..." Was all Izuku could say.
It felt nice to be held by someone like her, but simultaneously terrifying, considering Nejire was... Actually, there was no reason to think like that. After all, no one was around to witness them. So why was he so nervous? Was it because she was beautiful? It was a shallow reason, but Izuku hadn't been one to talk to beautiful girls until recently when he joined U.A. High School.
Izuku didn't have time to ponder the question for long as he took a whiff of a lingering scent coming from her hair. It smelled like strawberries. It was intoxicating. The moment of serenity was enough to calm him, but then Izuku realized he was still extremely close to Nejire's body, so he struggled again.
"Hey, hey... Stop moving so much. You're making my beauty sleep impossible to come." Nejire murmured into his ear.
A big drop of sweat rolled down the back of Izuku's head. If Izuku thought he was going to make it out of her embrace alive, then he was wrong. It was going to be rough.
Izuku watched Nejire control her ski poles to propel down the bunny hill faster than he'd ever seen. It wasn't quick compared to the people skiing the trails on the mountain, but it was compared to the beginners. Which included him.
Izuku rubbed his hands and breathed on them, creating a warm sensation to flow through his fingers. It was chillier than he thought it would be.
Nejire skied to his position and smiled. "Now it's your turn. I want to see you go quicker than I did."
"Er... I don't think that's going to happen today."
"Don't worry. Tomorrow, we're going to hit the big one."
"W-We are? How is that supposed to be comforting?"
Nejire smirked. "It isn't, haha. But we can't always stay at the beginner level. So I'm going to give you just a little push to help speed things along. Besides, I paid for the lift tickets and I don't want it to go to waste. But if you truly don't feel comfortable, we can wait one more day." She said with a wink.
Izuku shook his head. "No, no. I'll go tomorrow... Even if it kills me."
Nejire laughed. "You're exaggerating! But don't feel like I'm pressuring you to do it. And I'll be there if you fall or if you hurt yourself. So fall as many times as you want and just have fun!"
"R-Right... Having fun falling. That sounds counterintuitive."
Nejire patted him on the back. "No excuses! Now let me see you give it your fastest shot here!"
Izuku nodded his head. With his ski goggles in place, Izuku took a deep breath, feeling the refreshing air fill his lungs before exhaling. Before Izuku pushed off his ski poles, he elected to cheat. With a small boost from his quirk, he focused it on his hands to enhance the speed.
He surveyed the land in front of him. It was sparse enough. A perfect moment to launch himself.
And so, with a push, Izuku sped down the hill. The rushing, frigid wind brushed against his face while gravity performed its job. Izuku felt the thrill of velocity, forcing his heart to reach his throat in excitement. The fresh taste of acceleration slowed time, if only for a second.
He was doing it. He was properly skiing for the first time in his life.
Once the electrifying excitement wore off, Izuku practiced braking in the way Nejire taught him. But before he could, Izuku lost control. He chalked it up to his inexperience. After all, that was why they were practicing.
For another second in his life, time slowed as he watched the ground tilt to meet him.
"Eh?"
Izuku crashed into the ground with a soft whump. He tumbled across the scenery, experiencing each impact until he slowed to a stop. When Izuku looked into the sky, he swore stars were twinkling in the heavens despite the lack of darkness. His chest heaved up and down as he attempted to get a grip on his situation.
Was it him, or were the clouds really beautiful right now?
Nejire's appearance, along with the worried expressions of others, was what broke him out of his stupor.
The surrounding people helped him to his feet but left him alone once they discovered Nejire was his primary partner.
"Izuku? Are you okay? You took a pretty heavy fall." Nejire asked, fear written on her expression.
Izuku stared at her and shook his head to get rid of the snow stuck on his winter hat. "I... I think I'm good. Can we go again?"
Nejire tilted her head in confusion and checked him once more before a warm smile appeared. "That's the spirit! But as long as you don't have a concussion, then I'm fine to go as many times as you want! Speaking of which, do heroes get concussions?"
"I'm… I'm not sure, but I've been hit in the head harder than this and didn't suffer a concussion."
Nejire hummed to herself, considering her options. "Well, we can always see if any symptoms appear or worsen over the day, but for now, we can just take it easy and practice on speed and ski with an S-shape. Here, just in case, I'll be skiing right alongside you to teach you some new lessons and monitor your health."
Izuku nodded and followed her to the top of the bunny hill. Maybe the boost with his quirk wasn't the best idea.
Izuku sat on the edge of the forest near the bunny hills. He was busy catching his breath after skiing for another hour or so. Nejire sat with him, her skis planted in the snow alongside his. Nejire rubbed her gloved hands together and blew air on it, ensuring her hands remained warm.
Izuku stared at her for a second. Only a second, but it was like Nejire knew. She turned to look at him. Izuku averted her gaze by looking in a different direction. He felt a sense of relief, thinking he had gotten away with it until he heard her giggle.
"I saw you staring at me, Izuku. You would think someone who keeps getting caught staring at me would know how to do it more discreetly."
"I-I think it's an acquired skill that takes time to build."
"Now, who told you that?"
"Uh, myself..."
"Well, I guess you're right. It takes a lifetime to build a skill to stare at someone without them noticing." Nejire teased, mirth dancing on her features.
"Well, I tried my best, but I can keep practicing."
"Oh, I don't mind. You can stare at me as long as you like. But only if it's you. I don't want anyone else staring at me like you do."
Izuku nodded his head, missing the message. It took him several seconds to understand the meaning of it, but by the time he did, he felt like he had lost the opportunity to ask her what she meant.
At least that's what his brain told him.
As Izuku stared at her, she returned her attention to the mesmerizing scenery enveloping them. In the quiet moment, Izuku felt an urge from the small voices whispering in his head.
Did he ask her out now? Was this the perfect chance? If he waited for a better moment, would it be too late? What was holding him back from asking her the question he'd been wanting to ask for some time?
Was it fear? Fear of losing everything he had built with her so far? Rejection? Rejection liable to damage everything between them in the present and the future? Insecurity? Insecurity that his cat ears were doing all the heavy lifting for him? Uncertainty? Uncertainty about what Nejire said to him and all the hints she dropped?
Or dread she wouldn't like him anymore if his cat ears went away despite what she said?
Or was it the buried feeling he wasn't worthy of her love? Did he deserve the friendliness from Nejire? Was he worthy of being loved by someone of her caliber?
Everything he buried was erupting in a fountain of questions. He was used to suppressing his feelings, and staring at them face-to-face was difficult.
If he pushed his hesitations and asked her out, maybe everything would align.
But how was this dating thing supposed to work?
Izuku berated himself. He committed to his decision by tapping her on the shoulder. Nejire turned and stared at him, waiting for him to say something. Unfortunately for Izuku, he didn't think this far ahead. Just the tapping part.
"Izuku? Are you okay? Is it your possible concussion? Now that I think about it, you don't look too good right now," Nejire noted, shuffling closer to study his face.
A little too close to his liking, but he didn't have a choice.
"No... No, I'm good, I promise. I just wanted to say something else."
Nejire stared at him. He could see the confusion in her eyes. "What is it?"
"Well... Do... Do you like me?"
Nejire stared at him for several seconds. For Izuku, each of those seconds dragged. His eyes wandered over her expression to search for an answer without her vocal confirmation.
Did he say something wrong? Surely not, right?
Nejire smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Of course I do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here with you right now. Alone, just the two of us."
"Well, what I meant to say was something like…" Izuku trailed off.
"Ah, I see. You want to know if our relationship can move to the next level, right? More on the romantic side of things?" Nejire asked.
Izuku nodded, somewhat embarrassed by his question. "Yes..."
Nejire giggled. "First off, I'm so glad your concussion symptoms aren't worsening and it has nothing to do with that. Second, how long have you been thinking about this?"
"For a couple of weeks now..."
"Well, for what it's worth, I've been dropping a lot of hints to see if you would catch onto any of them. Did you notice any of them?"
"Admittedly, a little? But I thought that was something you usually did to everyone." Izuku said.
"You think I would joke around with proposing to everyone I meet? Or rubbing the stomach of my friends like that? Or touching their cat ears? Come on, Izuku. Doesn't that sound a little too carefree and dangerous?" Nejire asked, flashing him a sheepish smile. "I mean, I know I got a little carried away when I first met Class 1-A, but I've been trying to stop it because, you know, consequences might happen if I do that in the real world. And it's with curious intention, as I like to call it."
"S-Sorry, Nejire. I'm not too good at deciphering hints, as you can tell."
Nejire waved her hand around in the air to dismiss his apology. "It's fine, Izuku. All good. But yes... I accept."
"Accept?"
Nejire jokingly slapped him on the arm. "Come on, Izuku! Get with the program! I'm saying yes to your confession! I'm willing to be your girlfriend! Girlfriend with a capital G!"
Izuku blinked twice at her. Now, things were moving too fast. Weeks ago, he was pondering how he wanted to ask Nejire out, and here he was, successful in his goal, so why did he find it unbelievable?
Izuku pinched himself to confirm if it was real, but it was.
Was it that easy? Just like that, and he was dating her? One question? No fancy fireworks or some luxurious moments like he imagined in stories or movies?
Izuku looked at her. Nejire returned his gaze, and leaned toward him, close enough to rest her head on his shoulder. They remained in each other's company for the next few seconds. Despite the silence, it wasn't detrimental or awkward in any capacity.
It was tranquil and perfect.
At least for those several minutes, until Izuku's brain spurred him to the next goal at hand. How was he supposed to treat someone when they were dating? Did things go on like normal? Did he have to do anything special?
However, Nejire grabbed Izuku's hand with both of hers, snapping him out of his continuous train of thought. "So… Did you want to continue skiing or grab lunch?"
Right, this wasn't something Izuku had to tackle simultaneously. All he had to do was take this relationship one step at a time until more doubts appeared in his mind. Then he could address them one by one.
"Lunch, please."
"Then let's get going. We can iron out some more details on our relationship while we eat." Nejire commented as she stood and extended her hand in his direction.
Izuku smiled and accepted her hand to stand on his feet. He did not know what the future had in store for him, but he hoped it was something pleasant. And if things dipped down, he hoped Nejire would always stay by his side like she was doing now.
Author's Note: Oh my gosh! It's happening! Izuku confessed! He figured it out! About time! XD
With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!