and to you.

it was on his trek home that the sky bestowed upon him sheets and sheets of rain pouring unflinchingly. he grappled to find any place of shelter as he walked (read: stumbled) through the streets until he found the yellow-orange sign of the bakery reading, open for business!

the bell jangled to indicate his entrance and then there he was in all his soaking wet glory atop the welcome mat of the bakery.

"hello! welcome to- oh."

nanami sees a figure in a blue apron make their way to the front register and then halt at the sight of him. he raises his head before tilting it to the side, giving you an awkward wave of hello.

"dear god, you are drenched." you exclaim before rushing around the front counter of the store and making your way to him. you usher him into a seat near the register before saying, "wait here."

nanami blinks at your figure, wondering what just happened before bringing his hands together in his lap and lacing his fingers together. he heaves a sigh before shivering, this day just couldn't get any worse, could it?

you come back with a towel in hand and a steaming mug of tea in the other. you toss nanami the towel and set the mug in front of him. he looks between you, the towel, and the mug all in slight confusion.

you make a shooing gesture before speaking, "it's peppermint tea, it'll help when you inevitably get sick from the rain," you pointed to the towel, "and to dry yourself, obviously. i live upstairs so when you're done with the tea i can take you upstairs, i might have some clothes you can fit."

you say the last part while eyeing his chest which showed off his defined muscles with the fabric of his dress shirt clinging to his skin.

nanami grasps the hot mug with both hands, taking a few sips from the mug before grimacing ever so slightly; there was a heapful of sugar tossed into the tea. he continued taking sips nevertheless before he set down the mug when it was three quarters empty, before calmly saying, "how do i know you're not going to kill me once you take me upstairs?"

you grinned at that, before giving him a nonchalant shrug, "it'd be bad for business, don't'cha think?"

there's silence between the two of you for a moment before you add, "i won't kill you, i swear." you extend a pinky finger toward him, beckoning him to link his finger with yours.

he rewards you with an unimpressed look and you huff in response before dropping your hand.

nanami debates internally if being dry is truly worth the potential hassle that's presenting itself to him. he reaches out to take another sip of the too-sweet tea you gave him before looking at you from the corner of his eye.

noticing his gaze on you, you smile at him brightly and wave before gesturing to the door upstairs maniacally.

nanami sighs internally. might as well.

so with a sigh, he heaves himself up, still dripping water onto the blue and tan checkered floors and follows you to the back of the shop and up the stairs. as you push the door open to your apartment, nanami peers his head inside to see the sliver of the space you call yours.

posters littered the walls, decorative pillows laid on the couch, and vaguely he could smell the scent of vanilla running through the space. not a serial killer then, he muses to himself.

"you can sit there, i'll be right back!" you say cheerfully and gesture to the green couch while you bustle to one of the rooms in the hallways and clatter around in search of clothes.

nanami hums a response back before making his way to the couch. hazel eyes drift this way and that way as he takes in your apartment. now, he is not typically a snoopy person; however, your living space was teeming with so much personality he couldn't help but be drawn to it, to learn about every aspect of it.

he leans in close to a string of polaroid pictures you have strung up, each picture containing a different scene. one with you in a baker's uniform, dutifully mixing batter with your tongue sticking out in concentration. in another, you are leaned against a friend and clearly in party attire. a different picture holds a picture in a selfie-esque position with only the corner of your showing in attempt to fit your friends into the photo.

in each photo you look happy. content.

nanami couldn't explain in that moment why he felt it but he felt the tenderness in his heart nearly combust. it was odd, seeing these hints of a stranger's life, seeing them happy, and feeling a warmth for them. a want to be included in this happy dream of a life. he reaches out to inspect a photo of you closer when you come back in.

"i'm back! oh, you're looking at my photos." you say this with a smile on your face, not judging him in the slightest. you tilt your head to the side, as if in question, like what you see?

nanami flushes and looks away, clearing his throat. he doesn't snoop. he wasn't. he was just... inspecting. right.

with a small laugh at his embarrassment, you hand him the clothes before stepping back from him. "that's okay, i don't mind it. i'll be back downstairs in case someone else came in - you can come back down when you're changed."

you give him one more gentle smile before slipping out the door. nanami grumbles to himself about your lack of safety of just leaving him, a stranger, alone in your apartment. nonetheless, he finds his way to the bathroom and changes into the clothes you had given him.

he clambers down the stairs once he's changed, his wet clothes folded into the crook of his arm. he finds you wiping down the counter, the open sign of the cafe now flipped over. for a second, he watches you. he takes in the clothes you're wearing, the apron worn atop, the soft creases near your eyes, and soft tendrils of your hair.

as if you could feel his gaze, you look up and brighten. "i hope the clothes fit okay, it was all i could find at hand - my cousin had left them over last time..." you say, fiddling with the rag in your hand.

nanami rotates his arm, trying to appear more comfortable in the clothes you had given him. the clothes, evidently, did not fit okay. the hems of the pants stood well above his ankles and the size was just a tad too small for his broad shoulder and so the hoodie stretched over his chest. still, he had warm clothes which is more than what he could ask for and so he nodded in thanks.

nanami reaches for his briefcase, searching for his wallet tucked in one of the pockets before offering you a handful of crisp bills. "here. as a thank you for your kindness." he rasps out, gesturing for you to take the money.

you jump back from him as if he was holding a hot poker. "oh, no no! i was happy to do it - you looked like a wet cat anyways," you say giggling.

at the look of persistence on his face, you step closer to him before taking his hand in yours and curling his fingers into his fist. "keep the money. but, i will take a different thank you from you."

nanami feels the same feeling of warmth surge through his chest at the feeling of your hand holding his. "what is it?"

"your name. and the promise that you'll come back preferably on a day that you're in a better mood." you squeeze his hand gently before stepping back again.

he stills. this was a different change of pace than what he was used to. "nanami. and yours?" he questions gently.

you tell him your name before poking him, "you are going to come back, right nanami?"

at every touch of yours, nanami feels himself burning. god, what was wrong with him? was he running a fever already?

absently, he nods before grabbing his briefcase once more. "the rain has lessened, i'll be going now. thank you again."

you frown before nodding, noticing his half-hearted reply to your previous question. nanami pauses in the door way before looking back at you. "i'll see you soon, y/n."

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

soon did not come soon enough. evidently, nanami had gotten sick from his trek in the rain despite the warm clothes you had given him later. he spent a week being out of commission from work, spending the week knowing only the areas of his bed and kitchen. soup and then sleep, soup then sleep, soup sleep. that was how the first week had gone.

the second week went past with him (regretfully) playing catch up at work. nearly at the end of each work day, he was well into his overtime hours with the sky outside looking dark and full of stars. bombarded with file after file, he never got the chance to take up his promise of seeing you again.

the third week rolled around and that was when nanami found himself stood outside the doors to the cafe, rain pattering against the awning.

it was raining again, albeit not as hard as the day he had met you. the sky was gray and gloomy, hinting at the future of a harsh storm to come, but for now all the clouds had to offer was a light drizzle of rain.

nanami took a small breath before he stepped forward. the door let out a small chime to indicate his entrance. he heard your voice before he saw you, "hello! welcome to- nanami!"

you popped your head over the counter and waved at him. he made his way to the front of the counter, his eyes taking you in completely from head to toe. he cleared his throat before speaking, "hello. i apologize for not coming sooner, i fell ill and then i had to do the remaining leftover work the week after and it was hectic and i would have liked to come sooner but-"

he breaks off at the sound of your bright laughter and he feels his breath catch at the sight of you. you're laughing. at him, sure, but you're laughing wholeheartedly and it is the most beautiful sound nanami has ever heard. he feels his mouth run dry, unsure of what to do now.

you reach out to grasp his hand that was lain on the counter and give it a gentle squeeze. "you don't have to explain yourself to me, i'm just glad you're here again, nanami!"

he gives your hand a soft squeeze back before allowing a smile to creep up on his face. "buut, you can make it up to me in one way." you say, before pulling away from him and returning to make drinks at the bar. it was slow during this time of day, so you had time to chat with him and still make drinks whenever orders did come.

nanami tilted his head questioningly before entertaining your question. "and what would that be?"

you slide over a cardboard to-go cup, filled with too sweet tea. on the side, scrawled in messy sharpie was your number paired with a cheesy pickup line. "go out with me?" you ask with a smile.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

the sun's rays were filtering through the clouds and descending stripes of lights onto nanami's face. he squints against the brightness, putting a hand over his forehead to block it off. it's raining still - but the kind of rain that's light and partnered with sunshine and a bright sky. a combination of sun and rain - a symphony of light and peace.

he supposed he couldn't complain too much about the weather - at least it was sunny outside. he stood at the door of your locked bakery, waiting for you to come out. in his hands he was holding a bouquet of flowers - lilies, baby's breath, marigolds, ferns - wrapped together in brown parchment paper. he had told the florist reluctantly of his nervousness and desire to make a good impression on you and the florist hadn't disappointed. nanami only hoped that you liked it as well.

he was just about to start counting the water droplets racing down the window pane when you exited the bakery, the door's bell jangling to ring out your presence.

once more, nanami felt his breath catch. he took you in, every single aspect of you. every strand of your styled hair, your put together outfit, the way your graceful hands fidgeted as you presented yourself to him.

"you're here. you look..." he trails off, unsure of how to encapsulate your beauty in one word.

despite your nervousness, you still find the pocket of time to tease him. "oh? how do i look?"

"stunning." he says solemnly, feeling his face flush at the vulnerability of his words. he reaches out for your hand and brings it to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss upon your knuckles. "absolutely beautiful." he murmurs against your hand.

you feel your face heat up at his words and the feel of his lips on your hand. trying to calm your racing heart, you gesture to the rain, dropping gently on the sidewalk just a few feet past from the shelter of the awning you two stood under. "it's raining again...i feel like i only see you when it's raining nanami."

he hums in thought before replying, "i suppose rainy days are our days then." he hands you the bouquet of flowers before offering you his arm for you to wrap your hand around.

"shall we, love?"

"we shall." you say, curling your hand around his arm. smiling into your flowers, the two of you set off in the light rain and into the start of your first date. the first of many.

midoriya sighed, slowly turning his body over to look at the notifications. his eyes burned from lack of sleep, all he could bring himself to do was study. you were texting him, making plans for the two of you to do in the following week; midoriya read over the texts quickly before shutting the phone off and stuffing his face back into his pillow. 

he couldn’t bring himself to do anything. he felt empty. so utterly empty. not since the break-up, not since they were gone. but…  you’re with him now - you’re all he needs, really. you stayed with him on the long nights he was up studying, leaving small things for him to eat or patching him up if he came from a late patrol, always taking care of him. loving him in moments where it was only ever difficult. that's all he could truly ask for, no?

he had come all this way - nearly in his third (and last) year of school and so close to becoming a pro-hero. all that he held inside himself was contempt. who was he to stand there so proud and high when they weren’t there to see his achievements? he couldn’t stand the thought of becoming the number one hero when they weren’t there to see him hold the achievement in his hands. 

midoriya had promised, he had promised you that he was over it, that he was ready. that he loved you. yet, all he could offer was a half-hearted attempt to make you stay, to fill the hole in his chest that could never be filled by anyone else but them. god, he had tried to love you too, you weren’t impossible to love. you were something a beauty of love - filled with kindness and understanding always. 

however, in the empty spaces where your fingers didn’t meet, in the gaps between embraces, all midoriya could feel was the ache of their absence. perhaps, he just wasn’t meant to love anymore. he had one shot and it was gone down the drain and he was simply trying to make amends by restarting with you. 

hidden beneath the pages of notes and study guides on his desk were letters. letters addressed to you and letters addressed to his past lover. his first love. his only love, he thought as his heart lurched in his chest. three a.m mutterings of what he feels, how he feels, are all bunched up in the cramped writing of those letters. 

moonlight was slowly swooping in through the window panes of his dorm, illuminating pictures that hung on the wall of the summer that was now lost. pictures of streets, pictures of them, pictures of all that he missed. a shallow ache reverberated in his chest. 

𖥻 INUMAKI TOGE leaves notes in every possible location to express how much he cares for you, something he cannot do verbally. he bought a giant stack of sticky notes from the local stationary store and always scribbles random affirmations at any time possible. there's one on your mirror saying you look beautiful today! :) and one by your nightstand with make sure to drink water before you start the day! and one that he always makes sure to hand to you when he sees you... i love you.

𖥻 SUGURU GETO wears a necklace with your ring looped around in it. the two of you swapped rings a while ago and instead of wearing it on his hand, he bought a chain to hang it around his neck. he claimed it was closer to his heart that way. any time he needs luck he presses a small kiss against the cold metal of the ring, a silent message to you. geto also tends to have a habit of bringing the ring to his lips as a nervous habit (he refused to acknowledge this when you pointed it out.)

𖥻 SATORU GOJO makes sure to remember every little detail of you. things you want, your likes, dislikes, aspirations, everything. not in a creepy way - no, he just wants to know you in a way no one else can. he has a little list of your favorite foods and movies on his notes app. he doesn't realize it but he tends to bring up these observations by accident in regular conversation. things like telling others of your favorite cereal when talking about breakfast foods or announcing your disliked movies when he was talking to yuuji about the next movie night. it's an accident, but now everyone also knows niche details of you thanks to satoru.

𖥻 CHOSO shares his things with you. his cardigans are now yours as well as his. he bought some food on the way home? well guess what, half of it is yours. the new pack of hair ties he bought is something for the both of you as well. as someone with siblings he was used to sharing (unwillingly) but when it came to you, he naturally wanted to share his possessions with you. it was a given, was it not?

𖥻 INUMAKI TOGE leaves notes in every possible location to express how much he cares for you, something he cannot do verbally. he bought a giant stack of sticky notes from the local stationary store and always scribbles random affirmations at any time possible. there's one on your mirror saying you look beautiful today! :) and one by your nightstand with make sure to drink water before you start the day! and one that he always makes sure to hand to you when he sees you... i love you.

𖥻 SUGURU GETO wears a necklace with your ring looped around in it. the two of you swapped rings a while ago and instead of wearing it on his hand, he bought a chain to hang it around his neck. he claimed it was closer to his heart that way. any time he needs luck he presses a small kiss against the cold metal of the ring, a silent message to you. geto also tends to have a habit of bringing the ring to his lips as a nervous habit (he refused to acknowledge this when you pointed it out.)

𖥻 SATORU GOJO makes sure to remember every little detail of you. things you want, your likes, dislikes, aspirations, everything. not in a creepy way - no, he just wants to know you in a way no one else can. he has a little list of your favorite foods and movies on his notes app. he doesn't realize it but he tends to bring up these observations by accident in regular conversation. things like telling others of your favorite cereal when talking about breakfast foods or announcing your disliked movies when he was talking to yuuji about the next movie night. it's an accident, but now everyone also knows niche details of you thanks to satoru.

𖥻 CHOSO shares his things with you. his cardigans are now yours as well as his. he bought some food on the way home? well guess what, half of it is yours. the new pack of hair ties he bought is something for the both of you as well. as someone with siblings he was used to sharing (unwillingly) but when it came to you, he naturally wanted to share his possessions with you. it was a given, was it not?

His head hurt as he stared at the problem longer, hoping something would click in his head and he would know how to finally solve the problem. He opened his mouth to ask you to explain it to him (seeming as you seemed to know much more than him) when you nudged him hard in his side. Shoto let out an “Oof!” only for you to shush him in response and say, “Look! It’s Iida, he would know what to do, let’s go ask him.”

Shoto glanced up to see the robotic man himself settle down a few tables down where they were sat. Before him, with no surprise, were also textbooks of organic chemistry and tons of studying material. Shoto glances at your eagerness and shrugged, “You go, don’t feel like talking much right now.” He nodded in Iida’s direction and promptly went back to staring at the compounds on his notebook.

Shrugging, you go sit next to Iida and nudge him shyly, “Iida… could you help me study for organic chemistry? If it’s not too much of a bother of course!” You stammered, feeling nervous instantly as his sharp gaze settles on you. 

He smiles kindly and nods, “Of course, Y/N! Classmates should help each other always, I’m glad to be of assistance. What do you need help with?” Iida leaned over, taking a glimpse of your neat notes. You flushed with the proximity of his presence — he was so close you could smell the cologne he was wearing (it smelled heavenly) and your shoulders were practically touching. You stared at his face only to find his staring right back at yours. “Y/N?” 

“Oh! I… well, I kind of need help with the entire unit we’ve been learning?” You scratched the back of your neck in awkwardness, “It’s okay if you don’t want to help me; I know it’s a lot and-”

“No! I want to help you, I need to review this whole unit anyways so it’ll help me too!” Iida leaned back in his seat as he lent you a kind smile. You smiled back in response and thanked him in response. 

A few tables across, Shoto watched the entire interaction with a cold stare. An odd feeling was settling in his chest as he watched the two of you interact. His heart twisted and turned in emotions as he watched you smile and laugh with Iida.

A book clattering to the floor snapped his attention back to the chemistry right in front of him. He scoffed to himself, some chemistry they have. He picked up the book and once more went back to staring at the carbon compounds and the paragraphs of explanations. He heard you giggle once more, and his head snapped up. Shoto gritted his teeth as he started to pack up his books back into his backpack and settled his headphones over his head in a desperate attempt to drown out the noise that caused his heart to flip.

He had one step out of the library door when he heard his name being called despite the music playing in his ears. You had a concerned look on your face, turned in your seat to look at Shoto. “Where are you going, Sho?” You asked. 

Shoto felt his heart thaw at the nickname (his heart was going through some major movement lately) and smiled at you. “Just tired, Y/N, I’m gonna take a nap in my dorm, don’t worry about me. Text me when you’re done studying.”

 You nodded with a frown and watched as Shoto walked away with a wave, a hand in his pocket, and his backpack slung haphazardly over his shoulder. 

Shoto collapsed onto his bed, a groan escaping his lips. He replays the scene from the library in his head over and over, overanalyzing every word and touch. He squeezes the matted teddy bear lying in his bed in frustration, this wasn’t fair. 

Shoto believed he was cursed, truly. Now, he wasn’t one to complain about his life pities, but how does one get this much bad luck in one lifetime? His never-ending crush on you still crept onto his university life, which was deemed rather unfortunate to Shoto; not because you were some bad person, no, but rather you would just never see Shoto in a romantic light. 

He had tried, don’t get him wrong, in his high school years he had tried his hardest to change your perspective of him into one that was romantic as subtly as possible — it hadn’t worked. Shoto had simply accepted that he would forever be your best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. But that didn’t mean that his feelings for you had taken any pause. Rather, they grew in such an intensity that when he looked at you he felt as if you were simply a creation of the heavens bestowed on the Earth as a gift. 

You were- are his first and only love. However, all this didn’t hold much meaning other than it being the current cause of his inner turmoil. Shoto raised the volume of the music blaring through his headphones, wallowing within his self-pity when Yaoyorozu walks in through the door of his dorm room. “Todoroki can I have my notes ba- what’s the matter?”

Yaoyorozu was always one to fret over her friends and Shoto was no exception. It almost seemed like a raincloud was persisting its way onto Shoto’s pathway. He lay there in a starfish position, eyes closed shut and a look of angst across his face. He peeked one eye open to gaze at Yaoyorozu, and sighed. 

Silently, he scooted a bit over on his bed to make space for Yaoyorozu to sit next to him as he murmured, “Y/N…Iida…I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Yaoyorozu. I just saw them being close with each other and something about it made me so annoyed and all this just sucks! I hate being in love so much.”

He stared ahead of him for a second, and then slapped his hands over his face, groaning. “I don’t know what to do! Yaoyorozu, what do I do?”

Yaoyorozu stared at the mess of a boy Shoto was, and couldn’t help but laugh internally. It was funny how stoic he seemed to anyone who didn’t know him, and yet before her was someone who was drowning in a heap of emotions he didn’t know what to do with. 

“You already know what I’m going to say, I don’t know why you ask every time. You have to confess to them, didn’t I tell you? There’s no other way, your feelings aren’t just going to disappear y’know,”

Shoto opened his mouth to counter her point but she was already on his trail, predicting what he was going to say before it had even left his mouth, “Don’t tell me you can’t. You’re not going to get anywhere like this. Come back to me when you’ve confessed to them. Bring my notes back too while you’re at it.”

Yaoyorozu left as quick as she came, shutting the door to his dorm room quietly leaving Shoto to once again wallow in his thoughts. Should he confess? Or were you already past the stage of looking at him as a potential romantic endeavor? Would he always just be your best friend? Nothing more, nothing less?

Shoto waited by the steps of your dormitory, as the chill slowly seeped into his bones. You came out speeding towards him with your arms open as you enveloped him into a hug. Shoto could feel his heartbeat speed up as he felt your arms wrap around his ribcage and the warmth of your body aligning with his coldness. He slowly reciprocated your hug, gliding his hands to your back to hold you close to him. 

You greeted him with the same cheerfulness you always presented to him, as the two of you released the grasp on each other and started walking to your ultimate destination. 

Shoto has asked to hang out under the guise of needing company to get more studying supplies and you had agreed if only he bought you some coffee on the way. The real reason Shoto had asked to spend time with you? (Besides the fact that he craved your presence) The words Yaoyorozu had left with him seemed to finally leave a lasting impression on him, and it was all he could think of. Maybe this was his time to confess. 

You continued talking about your history professor and his weird antics when you noticed Shoto seemingly zoning out, “Shoto? Sho, hey! Are you-”

“Could we sit down? There’s something I want to talk to you about.” He interjected quietly, his face flushed either from the cold or the upcoming conversation. 

Sensing the serious mood, you nodded and led him towards the nearest bench you could find for the two of you. Once seated, you gestured at him to continue with what he wanted to say. 

“I’ve been thinking a lot about us recently and there’s something really important I want to say concerning us. I think- no I know that I’m-”

A loud ding! sound came from your coat pocket, interrupting Shoto from his long-last admission. Sheepishly, you checked your phone to silence it only for a loud gasp to leave you. You stood quickly from your seat, as you switched your weight from foot to foot. “Sho, I’m really sorry but I promised Tenya that I would help him with his chemistry project and I completely forgot. I promise we’ll continue this conversation later, okay? I promise you.” You left with a quick hug and a wave and went running back in the direction of the dorms before Shoto could even process what has just happened. 

The first thing that he processed was not the fact that he has just been abandoned by his best friend but rather the fact that you now referred to Iida as Tenya now. He was Tenya now, huh? 

Shoto let out a breath as he pushed his head back against the bench, a hand over his temple to stop the upcoming headache from building. The anxiety in his chest from the prospect of confessing was still flowing throughout his body system, as he tried to take in what just happened. You just…ditched him? How was he meant to confess like this? 

The wind blew harshly against his, blowing his bangs in his face as he thought of what Yaoyorozu would tell him now as advice. Try again. Try again and again until you finally confess and get the message across. It’s only fair to yourself. 

And so that’s what Shoto decided to do. He would try again. He will try again. He will confess to you.

Except he didn’t. He didn’t confess to you. 

He never got the chance to. Every time he invited you to a place, you had to flee to help Iida with something. Any time he managed to find a moment of opportunity with you, Iida managed to pop up somehow. Even now you barely had a slice of time in your calendar for him, your best friend.

Frankly, Shoto was sick of this Iida fellow. For fucks sake forget a confession, he just wanted his best friend back. He had barely seen you for the past two weeks, without the mention or escape of Iida coming up. 

His heart thumped horribly with envy. He missed you. He just wanted to hear your voice again. There was a scrapful of texts the two of you had exchanged over the course of two weeks, and it was all Shoto could hold on to. Had you decided that you no longer wanted to be friends with him? That Shoto was not worth sparing even platonic feelings for? That…Iida was better than him?

He felt the sting of tears build up in the backs of his eyes and a small lump grow in his throat as his thoughts built larger and larger. He fiddled with the wire of his earbuds as he walked into the dorm building, shoulders drooped in despair. 

Sensing the number of people who had their eyes on him he decided to speed up his pace, desperate to flee any prying eyes. He didn’t cry in front of people.

“Shoto! Shoto, hey-”

He heard you calling out his name, and he tripled his pace from before. This was the one time he didn’t want to encounter you. He couldn’t stand you seeing him crying like this. He couldn’t muster an explanation fast enough. 

Slamming the door to his dorm as quickly as possible, Shoto slid down the door to the rough carpet. He hoped you thought he hadn’t heard you and that he wasn’t ignoring you. Hot tears slid down his cheeks as he breathed deep. Maybe avoiding you was the best option right now; not that you made it difficult, you didn’t seem to have much time for him anyways. 

The cycle continued like that. Or maybe it had been switched around. At first, it had appeared as if you didn’t have time for him and now it seemed as if Shoto didn’t have time for you. Any possible sight or sound of you led to him fleeing the scene in the quickest fashion possible. He saw you try to reach out to him, calling out his name, knocking on his dorm room, leaving texts, but he left it all unanswered. It was better this way. 

Your mere presence made his heart ache like no other. It was a lose-lose situation in his opinion - seeing you made his heart hiccup with hurt and took his breath away and yet not seeing you made his hurt intensify in a manner he couldn’t even begin to process. He ached for you, he missed you how the stars missed the moon after a long day. 

He supposed maybe it was too much to ask the world that maybe you missed him just the same. 

The atmosphere of the library was peaceful. There was heavy rain washing down the windows, and the sounds of pages being turned a few tables down. Then, just as suddenly, there was the sound of the library door being banged open as you came storming in, looking like a person on a mission. 

Upon seeing your determined figure speeding its way towards him, Shoto started rushedly packing his things back in his bag, swung it over his shoulder, and started speed-walking to the exit. 

He had almost made it, a foot out the door of the library when he felt a hand grasp the straps of his bag and pull him back. “Why have you been avoiding me?” you asked with a tight grip on his bag in fear that he might run away from you. 

Shoto glanced back to see a furious expression across your face, and a few curious faces looking up at the two of you from the library tables. He grasped your hand quickly, dragging you out of the building and taking you to the front steps of the library with the rain still pouring in showers next to the pair of you.

“Listen-” 

“Did I do something wrong?”

You both started talking at the same time and stopped. A moment passed as the two of you stared at each other, and then laughter escaped both of you. For a second, just a second, the tension had disappeared and Shoto swore he felt the lightness in his sternum. 

He started speaking again as you gestured for him to continue, “I just… I needed space.” 

Grimacing at his words, he opened his mouth to continue and then thought better of it. Any more, and he would let loose his confession and all the feelings he left buried within his heart. 

A frown indented your face as you implored him to explain more, “Why didn’t you just tell me? Why did you avoid me only? Is there anything I can do?”

Shoto winced at the pure concern on your face. He watched as you continued talking, offering any way you could help him, if he needed anything from you, and then he heard his name. 

“Iida said-” 

“I don’t care.” He spat out. It was uncontrollable and a horrible feeling but he felt like the envy was consuming him whole. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about what Iida said. All he cared about was you. 

“I beg your pardon?”

Shoto felt the sting in the back of his eyes again as he swallowed. Now or never. “I don’t care. I don’t care about him. I didn’t want space from you, all I wanted was to be next to you, but you didn’t seem to want me with you. You…you were always with Iida and I just couldn’t stand it. You look happy with him and I don’t want to be the one blocking that for you.”

He paused for a second, taking in your shocked expression, and forced himself to continue. Cautious hands wrapped around you, as he held your palms in his hands. “But I love you. I love you so much. You’re all I want and I’ve been trying to tell you that for weeks. I know you don’t feel the same but God, I’ve been dying to tell you this and-”

He gets cut off with the press of your lips against his. You pull the collar of his shirt and tug him towards you, your hands straying up to his neck. Shoto gasps against your lips as his hands tentatively wrap around your waist, pulling you flush against him till you were chest to chest. He felt your mouth hot against his as he held you close. You cup his face with your hands as you pull away from him as you look at him with adoration in your eyes and your breath ragged.

“You’re an idiot.” Is all that comes out of your mouth. 

Shoto stares at you bewildered, eyes widened as he gapes at you. His hands were still wrapped around your waist and were tracing slow circles onto your back. “I’m sorry?” He says, still confused as to what just occurred. 

“I love you, you idiot. I was stuck to Iida all this time because I was getting his help to make a plan to confess to you. Here you are talking about blocking my happiness, but you are my happiness. I want you and only you, Sho.”

The slow circles on your back stopped suddenly. Shoto stared at you, looking even more confused than before. “You… love me?” he asked quietly. 

You nodded with a smile across your face. There was a moment of silence between the two of you with only the rain as the filled the gaps of things left unsaid. Then, just as quickly, Shoto knelt his face down towards you as he kissed you. Again and again. He left kisses across your cheeks, forehead, eyelids, nose, and the corners of your lips. With each kiss was the muttering of “I love you,” left across your skin.

He lifted a hand to hold your face, only tenderness living inside his body. “Say it again,” he prompted you. 

“I love you, Shoto.”

With that, he kissed you. He kissed you with his whole heart’s desire pushed into one kiss. He would never let you go if it came to that, he thought. He would never let such happiness slip from his fingers. Never again. 

His head hurt as he stared at the problem longer, hoping something would click in his head and he would know how to finally solve the problem. He opened his mouth to ask you to explain it to him (seeming as you seemed to know much more than him) when you nudged him hard in his side. Shoto let out an “Oof!” only for you to shush him in response and say, “Look! It’s Iida, he would know what to do, let’s go ask him.”

Shoto glanced up to see the robotic man himself settle down a few tables down where they were sat. Before him, with no surprise, were also textbooks of organic chemistry and tons of studying material. Shoto glances at your eagerness and shrugged, “You go, don’t feel like talking much right now.” He nodded in Iida’s direction and promptly went back to staring at the compounds on his notebook.

Shrugging, you go sit next to Iida and nudge him shyly, “Iida… could you help me study for organic chemistry? If it’s not too much of a bother of course!” You stammered, feeling nervous instantly as his sharp gaze settles on you. 

He smiles kindly and nods, “Of course, Y/N! Classmates should help each other always, I’m glad to be of assistance. What do you need help with?” Iida leaned over, taking a glimpse of your neat notes. You flushed with the proximity of his presence — he was so close you could smell the cologne he was wearing (it smelled heavenly) and your shoulders were practically touching. You stared at his face only to find his staring right back at yours. “Y/N?” 

“Oh! I… well, I kind of need help with the entire unit we’ve been learning?” You scratched the back of your neck in awkwardness, “It’s okay if you don’t want to help me; I know it’s a lot and-”

“No! I want to help you, I need to review this whole unit anyways so it’ll help me too!” Iida leaned back in his seat as he lent you a kind smile. You smiled back in response and thanked him in response. 

A few tables across, Shoto watched the entire interaction with a cold stare. An odd feeling was settling in his chest as he watched the two of you interact. His heart twisted and turned in emotions as he watched you smile and laugh with Iida.

A book clattering to the floor snapped his attention back to the chemistry right in front of him. He scoffed to himself, some chemistry they have. He picked up the book and once more went back to staring at the carbon compounds and the paragraphs of explanations. He heard you giggle once more, and his head snapped up. Shoto gritted his teeth as he started to pack up his books back into his backpack and settled his headphones over his head in a desperate attempt to drown out the noise that caused his heart to flip.

He had one step out of the library door when he heard his name being called despite the music playing in his ears. You had a concerned look on your face, turned in your seat to look at Shoto. “Where are you going, Sho?” You asked. 

Shoto felt his heart thaw at the nickname (his heart was going through some major movement lately) and smiled at you. “Just tired, Y/N, I’m gonna take a nap in my dorm, don’t worry about me. Text me when you’re done studying.”

 You nodded with a frown and watched as Shoto walked away with a wave, a hand in his pocket, and his backpack slung haphazardly over his shoulder. 

Shoto collapsed onto his bed, a groan escaping his lips. He replays the scene from the library in his head over and over, overanalyzing every word and touch. He squeezes the matted teddy bear lying in his bed in frustration, this wasn’t fair. 

Shoto believed he was cursed, truly. Now, he wasn’t one to complain about his life pities, but how does one get this much bad luck in one lifetime? His never-ending crush on you still crept onto his university life, which was deemed rather unfortunate to Shoto; not because you were some bad person, no, but rather you would just never see Shoto in a romantic light. 

He had tried, don’t get him wrong, in his high school years he had tried his hardest to change your perspective of him into one that was romantic as subtly as possible — it hadn’t worked. Shoto had simply accepted that he would forever be your best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. But that didn’t mean that his feelings for you had taken any pause. Rather, they grew in such an intensity that when he looked at you he felt as if you were simply a creation of the heavens bestowed on the Earth as a gift. 

You were- are his first and only love. However, all this didn’t hold much meaning other than it being the current cause of his inner turmoil. Shoto raised the volume of the music blaring through his headphones, wallowing within his self-pity when Yaoyorozu walks in through the door of his dorm room. “Todoroki can I have my notes ba- what’s the matter?”

Yaoyorozu was always one to fret over her friends and Shoto was no exception. It almost seemed like a raincloud was persisting its way onto Shoto’s pathway. He lay there in a starfish position, eyes closed shut and a look of angst across his face. He peeked one eye open to gaze at Yaoyorozu, and sighed. 

Silently, he scooted a bit over on his bed to make space for Yaoyorozu to sit next to him as he murmured, “Y/N…Iida…I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Yaoyorozu. I just saw them being close with each other and something about it made me so annoyed and all this just sucks! I hate being in love so much.”

He stared ahead of him for a second, and then slapped his hands over his face, groaning. “I don’t know what to do! Yaoyorozu, what do I do?”

Yaoyorozu stared at the mess of a boy Shoto was, and couldn’t help but laugh internally. It was funny how stoic he seemed to anyone who didn’t know him, and yet before her was someone who was drowning in a heap of emotions he didn’t know what to do with. 

“You already know what I’m going to say, I don’t know why you ask every time. You have to confess to them, didn’t I tell you? There’s no other way, your feelings aren’t just going to disappear y’know,”

Shoto opened his mouth to counter her point but she was already on his trail, predicting what he was going to say before it had even left his mouth, “Don’t tell me you can’t. You’re not going to get anywhere like this. Come back to me when you’ve confessed to them. Bring my notes back too while you’re at it.”

Yaoyorozu left as quick as she came, shutting the door to his dorm room quietly leaving Shoto to once again wallow in his thoughts. Should he confess? Or were you already past the stage of looking at him as a potential romantic endeavor? Would he always just be your best friend? Nothing more, nothing less?

Shoto waited by the steps of your dormitory, as the chill slowly seeped into his bones. You came out speeding towards him with your arms open as you enveloped him into a hug. Shoto could feel his heartbeat speed up as he felt your arms wrap around his ribcage and the warmth of your body aligning with his coldness. He slowly reciprocated your hug, gliding his hands to your back to hold you close to him. 

You greeted him with the same cheerfulness you always presented to him, as the two of you released the grasp on each other and started walking to your ultimate destination. 

Shoto has asked to hang out under the guise of needing company to get more studying supplies and you had agreed if only he bought you some coffee on the way. The real reason Shoto had asked to spend time with you? (Besides the fact that he craved your presence) The words Yaoyorozu had left with him seemed to finally leave a lasting impression on him, and it was all he could think of. Maybe this was his time to confess. 

You continued talking about your history professor and his weird antics when you noticed Shoto seemingly zoning out, “Shoto? Sho, hey! Are you-”

“Could we sit down? There’s something I want to talk to you about.” He interjected quietly, his face flushed either from the cold or the upcoming conversation. 

Sensing the serious mood, you nodded and led him towards the nearest bench you could find for the two of you. Once seated, you gestured at him to continue with what he wanted to say. 

“I’ve been thinking a lot about us recently and there’s something really important I want to say concerning us. I think- no I know that I’m-”

A loud ding! sound came from your coat pocket, interrupting Shoto from his long-last admission. Sheepishly, you checked your phone to silence it only for a loud gasp to leave you. You stood quickly from your seat, as you switched your weight from foot to foot. “Sho, I’m really sorry but I promised Tenya that I would help him with his chemistry project and I completely forgot. I promise we’ll continue this conversation later, okay? I promise you.” You left with a quick hug and a wave and went running back in the direction of the dorms before Shoto could even process what has just happened. 

The first thing that he processed was not the fact that he has just been abandoned by his best friend but rather the fact that you now referred to Iida as Tenya now. He was Tenya now, huh? 

Shoto let out a breath as he pushed his head back against the bench, a hand over his temple to stop the upcoming headache from building. The anxiety in his chest from the prospect of confessing was still flowing throughout his body system, as he tried to take in what just happened. You just…ditched him? How was he meant to confess like this? 

The wind blew harshly against his, blowing his bangs in his face as he thought of what Yaoyorozu would tell him now as advice. Try again. Try again and again until you finally confess and get the message across. It’s only fair to yourself. 

And so that’s what Shoto decided to do. He would try again. He will try again. He will confess to you.

Except he didn’t. He didn’t confess to you. 

He never got the chance to. Every time he invited you to a place, you had to flee to help Iida with something. Any time he managed to find a moment of opportunity with you, Iida managed to pop up somehow. Even now you barely had a slice of time in your calendar for him, your best friend.

Frankly, Shoto was sick of this Iida fellow. For fucks sake forget a confession, he just wanted his best friend back. He had barely seen you for the past two weeks, without the mention or escape of Iida coming up. 

His heart thumped horribly with envy. He missed you. He just wanted to hear your voice again. There was a scrapful of texts the two of you had exchanged over the course of two weeks, and it was all Shoto could hold on to. Had you decided that you no longer wanted to be friends with him? That Shoto was not worth sparing even platonic feelings for? That…Iida was better than him?

He felt the sting of tears build up in the backs of his eyes and a small lump grow in his throat as his thoughts built larger and larger. He fiddled with the wire of his earbuds as he walked into the dorm building, shoulders drooped in despair. 

Sensing the number of people who had their eyes on him he decided to speed up his pace, desperate to flee any prying eyes. He didn’t cry in front of people.

“Shoto! Shoto, hey-”

He heard you calling out his name, and he tripled his pace from before. This was the one time he didn’t want to encounter you. He couldn’t stand you seeing him crying like this. He couldn’t muster an explanation fast enough. 

Slamming the door to his dorm as quickly as possible, Shoto slid down the door to the rough carpet. He hoped you thought he hadn’t heard you and that he wasn’t ignoring you. Hot tears slid down his cheeks as he breathed deep. Maybe avoiding you was the best option right now; not that you made it difficult, you didn’t seem to have much time for him anyways. 

The cycle continued like that. Or maybe it had been switched around. At first, it had appeared as if you didn’t have time for him and now it seemed as if Shoto didn’t have time for you. Any possible sight or sound of you led to him fleeing the scene in the quickest fashion possible. He saw you try to reach out to him, calling out his name, knocking on his dorm room, leaving texts, but he left it all unanswered. It was better this way. 

Your mere presence made his heart ache like no other. It was a lose-lose situation in his opinion - seeing you made his heart hiccup with hurt and took his breath away and yet not seeing you made his hurt intensify in a manner he couldn’t even begin to process. He ached for you, he missed you how the stars missed the moon after a long day. 

He supposed maybe it was too much to ask the world that maybe you missed him just the same. 

The atmosphere of the library was peaceful. There was heavy rain washing down the windows, and the sounds of pages being turned a few tables down. Then, just as suddenly, there was the sound of the library door being banged open as you came storming in, looking like a person on a mission. 

Upon seeing your determined figure speeding its way towards him, Shoto started rushedly packing his things back in his bag, swung it over his shoulder, and started speed-walking to the exit. 

He had almost made it, a foot out the door of the library when he felt a hand grasp the straps of his bag and pull him back. “Why have you been avoiding me?” you asked with a tight grip on his bag in fear that he might run away from you. 

Shoto glanced back to see a furious expression across your face, and a few curious faces looking up at the two of you from the library tables. He grasped your hand quickly, dragging you out of the building and taking you to the front steps of the library with the rain still pouring in showers next to the pair of you.

“Listen-” 

“Did I do something wrong?”

You both started talking at the same time and stopped. A moment passed as the two of you stared at each other, and then laughter escaped both of you. For a second, just a second, the tension had disappeared and Shoto swore he felt the lightness in his sternum. 

He started speaking again as you gestured for him to continue, “I just… I needed space.” 

Grimacing at his words, he opened his mouth to continue and then thought better of it. Any more, and he would let loose his confession and all the feelings he left buried within his heart. 

A frown indented your face as you implored him to explain more, “Why didn’t you just tell me? Why did you avoid me only? Is there anything I can do?”

Shoto winced at the pure concern on your face. He watched as you continued talking, offering any way you could help him, if he needed anything from you, and then he heard his name. 

“Iida said-” 

“I don’t care.” He spat out. It was uncontrollable and a horrible feeling but he felt like the envy was consuming him whole. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about what Iida said. All he cared about was you. 

“I beg your pardon?”

Shoto felt the sting in the back of his eyes again as he swallowed. Now or never. “I don’t care. I don’t care about him. I didn’t want space from you, all I wanted was to be next to you, but you didn’t seem to want me with you. You…you were always with Iida and I just couldn’t stand it. You look happy with him and I don’t want to be the one blocking that for you.”

He paused for a second, taking in your shocked expression, and forced himself to continue. Cautious hands wrapped around you, as he held your palms in his hands. “But I love you. I love you so much. You’re all I want and I’ve been trying to tell you that for weeks. I know you don’t feel the same but God, I’ve been dying to tell you this and-”

He gets cut off with the press of your lips against his. You pull the collar of his shirt and tug him towards you, your hands straying up to his neck. Shoto gasps against your lips as his hands tentatively wrap around your waist, pulling you flush against him till you were chest to chest. He felt your mouth hot against his as he held you close. You cup his face with your hands as you pull away from him as you look at him with adoration in your eyes and your breath ragged.

“You’re an idiot.” Is all that comes out of your mouth. 

Shoto stares at you bewildered, eyes widened as he gapes at you. His hands were still wrapped around your waist and were tracing slow circles onto your back. “I’m sorry?” He says, still confused as to what just occurred. 

“I love you, you idiot. I was stuck to Iida all this time because I was getting his help to make a plan to confess to you. Here you are talking about blocking my happiness, but you are my happiness. I want you and only you, Sho.”

The slow circles on your back stopped suddenly. Shoto stared at you, looking even more confused than before. “You… love me?” he asked quietly. 

You nodded with a smile across your face. There was a moment of silence between the two of you with only the rain as the filled the gaps of things left unsaid. Then, just as quickly, Shoto knelt his face down towards you as he kissed you. Again and again. He left kisses across your cheeks, forehead, eyelids, nose, and the corners of your lips. With each kiss was the muttering of “I love you,” left across your skin.

He lifted a hand to hold your face, only tenderness living inside his body. “Say it again,” he prompted you. 

“I love you, Shoto.”

With that, he kissed you. He kissed you with his whole heart’s desire pushed into one kiss. He would never let you go if it came to that, he thought. He would never let such happiness slip from his fingers. Never again. 

𖥻 he’s never been on dates before, so by the time he wants to take you on your (and his) first date, he’s utterly lost on where he’s supposed to take you.

𖥻 he ends up taking you to the local art museum and then a cafe as your first date. (he most definitely pulls that one line, “the art was so beautiful, wasn’t it?” “i dunno… i thought you were more beautiful.”)

𖥻 works at the coffee shop next to his university and always brings back one of your favorite drinks/pastries on the way home to you.

𖥻 speaking of work... he most definitely comes home and immediately starts complaining about some dumb customer that came in or how annoying his coworkers were being that day

𖥻 megumi who practically lives in your apartment because his roommate, yuuji, always has one too many people for him to remain calm at his own residence

𖥻 megumi also happens to have a whole side of your closet dedicated just for him due to how frequent his visits are

𖥻 on days that he's extraordinarily tired (whether that be from homework, classes, work, or just restlessness) he'll drag you by your hand into his bed and just cuddle with you until he falls asleep. the warmth and comfort of you being right next to him lulls him to rest instantaneously.

𖥻 megumi never really knows how to express his love properly (his love language is acts of service) and so he finds doing small actions to help you out is the best way to show it.

𖥻 he’ll do things like packing your lunch for you on days he knows you’ll be busy, tidying your room after coming back from a difficult exam, or helping you with your night routine.

𖥻 he has a tendency to kiss your knuckles. (no explanation, he just does it)

𖥻 likes reading the books you’ve read and going over any annotations or highlighted areas you’ve left and picturing the scene from your perspective.

𖥻 he always smells just slightly of cologne. whenever you hug him, the scent of the perfume is almost instilled in his clothes but oh so lightly: it’s like the cologne persisted through a load of laundry and so now he smells of laundry and his perfume.

𖥻 megumi lets you paint his nails whatever color you wish, as long as you’re the one who’s painted them. they tend to be chipped by the end of the day though, but he’ll keep it on until it’s completely wiped away.

𖥻 whenever he kisses you, he grasps your chin with one hand and your cheek with the other, essentially cradling your face in his hands as he kisses you.

𖥻 he’s extraordinarily good at math, and so he’ll try to tutor you when you need help (keyword: tries)

“what happened to focusing, hm?” megumi mused in a low tone.

you couldn’t help it, he looked so pretty sitting next to you, his face in deep concentration as he figured a way to explain the equation before you. at least he was before he noticed that you weren’t paying attention to a word he said and rather just staring at him.

a hand snaked it’s way to cradle your chin as megumi looks at you intently. “how about you focus for me, love? yeah?”

a small smile lays upon his face as he murmurs, “and then maybe we can do something else afterward, as a prize for focusing, hm?”