The day of their wedding, a momentous occasion Izuku imagined would take years to arrive, materialized before him. A little too quickly.
Time flew in the blink of an eye, leaving him with little opportunity to adjust to the changes, but still enough to cherish the process. However, time, despite its march, unknowingly left traces of valuable memories to be remembered for a certain someone's lifetime.
Izuku and Nejire stood before a small gathering of family and close friends. Though the service was extending its stay, the wedding ceremony built to its last moments with anticipation lingering in the air.
He held Nejire's hands. They were warm, soft, and inviting. He couldn't remember if his hands were sweating, but he hoped she didn't mind.
Izuku studied her wedding dress. It was divine compared to the white dress when they danced in the empty theater room because it held significance. Significance they were tying their lives together for eternity or death do them apart.
When Izuku lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, he could see the endless blue optimism in her irises. It shone with beauty and reciprocative love for him. His heart fluttered with butterflies as they poked him, inviting him to lean for a kiss, but he had to restrain himself.
After all, they were the ones leading the wedding, and tradition took the spotlight for everything.
With a smile, Nejire released his hands and took the microphone from the stand in front of them to initiate the last steps of the wedding. As she spoke, Nejire stared into Izuku's eyes and exchanged her vow to stay with him for the rest of her life.
Was she always this beautiful? Or was it something about today?
Izuku didn't know when, but the microphone wound up in his hand. And the words he worked hard to memorize disappeared from his head. Maybe he should have cheated and brought the slip of paper with him, but it was better if his heart relayed his intentions. No matter how short.
"I... I apologize, but I forgot the small number of words I wrote for the vow. To compress it for time's sake, will you stay with me for the rest of my life, Nejire?"
Nejire giggled along with the crowd. She lifted a hand to her mouth to hinder the crowd's view of what she wanted to say. She mouthed the word 'yes' to him.
With a sheepish smile, Izuku felt a tug on his hand as Nejire directed his attention to the center of the aisle. They watched as Aizawa guided Eri in their direction up to a certain extent. She held a small wooden box containing the wedding rings they would exchange. A blush adorned Eri's face from the attention she received as she walked down the aisle. It brought out affectionate smiles from the spectators as she timidly lifted the wooden box to them.
When Izuku and Nejire accepted their rings, Eri bumbled to her seat out of nervousness, eliciting laughs from the onlookers.
As the laughter died down, Izuku refocused on the task at hand and lifted his hand toward Nejire. As Nejire attempted to slide the ring onto Izuku's ring finger, he trembled with anxiety. Softly but with firm understanding, Nejire used her other hand to stabilize his uneasiness and smiled.
It wasn't fair. Her smile had all the power in the world to soothe his soul.
Once Izuku felt her fingers release his, she lifted her hand in his direction.
It was his turn.
Izuku delicately held Nejire's hand and lifted the wedding ring closer to her. A sparkle shone in Nejire's eyes as she stared at the special ring Izuku cautiously adorned her with. When he finished, Nejire lifted it closer to her face and grinned.
Following the wedding ring exchange, a single detail remained; the kiss. What Izuku longed for above all else. It wasn't the delectable food or the rings, nor was it the special day of marriage.
It was her love. And only her love.
After all, what difference did anything make without the warmth of her love? And his mutual love for her?
As their lips met, Izuku swore he had felt the same magical feeling a couple of years ago for his first kiss with her, but something was different this time. This one felt like it was the start of something new.
The start of forever with her.
As they walked down the aisle, petals of cherry blossom trees fluttered around them. It swirled and tickled Izuku's nose and ears as they swished past. In the background, a cheesy romance song played, but it didn't matter. He had married an angel.
Afterward, they met in the dining room of the rented wedding venue, where various friends and family offered their congratulations to Izuku. With little time for Izuku to re-familiarize himself with his friends and family, his attempts were futile as he directed and redirected his attention to different people to converse with.
With a bright smile, Ashido was the last to approach Izuku. Almost like she was tactfully biding her time to talk to him alone. But even then, their conversation didn't last as long as he wanted it to.
"I can't believe you guys are already marrying! It brings a tear to my eye... It's like watching my children grow." Ashido said, feigning a sniff.
"Did you want a handkerchief?" Izuku said, reaching into his tuxedo pocket.
Ashido laughed and playfully elbowed him in the side. "No, I'm fine. I was just joking. But congratulations."
"Thank you. It truly means a lot. And for introducing me to Nejire that day," Izuku said with a smile.
Ashido's eyes lit up before a smug grin crossed her features. "All my pleasure. You owe me a meal at a fancy restaurant in return."
Izuku chuckled. "I won't forget."
Silence entered their conversation as Izuku searched the crowd for Nejire. He found her talking to Tamaki and Mirio. Eri was with them while Aizawa stood in the distance with Midnight by his side. Aizawa's discomfort was evident as a tense expression adorned his face. Almost like he wanted to go home despite the wedding day.
In a way, Izuku related to him. The desire to return home was strong. He wanted Nejire all to himself.
Was that selfish to think? Izuku didn't think so.
As Izuku continued staring at Nejire, she noticed. Nejire's eyes lit up as she waved her hand at him. With a quick exchange of words with Tamaki and Mirio, she departed from them to make her way to Izuku. Her excitement was blatant from the sprightliness in her skips, prompting her to float momentarily with her quirk until she descended for the next step.
Ashido turned to face Izuku with a grin and a slap on the shoulder. Despite the friendliness of the slap, it hurt a little. "Looks like your wife is calling for you. I better make my way somewhere else." She said with a wink.
"R-Right... I hope you have a good time at this wedding."
"Don't worry, I already am!" Ashido said, leaving him alone.
Izuku watched as Ashido left to talk to the rest of Class 1-A. When Nejire neared him, Izuku fixated his gaze on her.
"Hey, hey. What were you two talking about?" Nejire asked.
"Oh, nothing. We were just discussing how fast time flew."
"Ugh, don't remind me... I still wish I was back in high school. But it's not good for the heart to stay stuck in the past. Besides, I don't think it's so bad seeing a different Izuku. Someone who's more mature and a lot more handsome. Heck, I remember a time when we were the same height, but now look at you! You outgrew me!"
Izuku laughed and leaned in to kiss her. "It was only a matter of time."
Nejire giggled and returned the kiss with passion. "You know, I didn't think you would forget your words back there."
"I-It was an honest mistake!"
"Hehe! I know~!" Nejire sang.
Izuku groaned as he ran a hand down his face.
"Please don't tease me about it... It was so embarrassing."
"The others didn't seem to think so. They probably thought it was cute."
Izuku's face turned crimson even further. "Mm... I hope so."
"I really wished you still had your cat ears. I guess we should have known it was based on time, but the way they responded to your every emotion was a pleasant addition to your already embarrassed reactions. Still, I love you all the same." Nejire said, snuggling a little closer to where he was.
A cordial smile crossed his features as he felt the warmth emanating from her envelope him. The comfort it provided made his heart flit in confidence he chose the right person to spend perpetuity with.
"I love you too."
Nejire giggled. "Well, I love you even more."
"Then I love you even more."
"What if I say I love you the most?"
Izuku smiled. "Fine, you have me beat. You win."
"You think you lost? I'd say you won more than me because I love you more!" Nejire said with a laugh.
Izuku chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. Nejire stopped laughing and smirked before she indulged in his request. Something he initially thought was going to impact his life negatively turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Maybe he should search for the criminal who blessed him with cat ears and thank him. However, it didn't matter in the end.
As the wedding continued to unfold before them, gifts were shared and memories were made. To last forever.
A year later, they would open their first hero agency together. A year after that, they would buy their first house and decorate it to their heart's desire. And two years after that, they would have their first baby.
Author's Note: And this marks the end of a wonderful journey with you, friends!
And I know I can't say this enough, but thank you to all of you who stuck around and showed passionate support for this story! I never imagined I would be in a position where this many people would support my story, but I am grateful!
I will be taking everything I learned from writing this story and apply it to a new story down the road!
With delighted love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!