but i knew it, i knew you!

yes, he was undeniably allergic to strawberries, but you didn't know that. how could you when you're standing in front of izuku with a cupcake, one made from strawberry batter with wedges of the fruit decorating the delicate frosting, outstretched in the palms of your hand like some divine offering?

izuku was already flushed by the sight of you bounding over to him with such purposeful steps, but the subtle scent of strawberries in the air had his heart beating quicker for an entirely different reason than your smile. normally, he'd have take a polite step back and explained his situation to any regular person—or, more so, his absolute aversion to the cursed fruit, but izuku can't do that right now—not when it was you standing in front of him.

"i'm hoping i'll be able to learn more about you, izuku! i made it a point to get to know all my co-workers on the ua faculty team, but it feels like you and i haven't talked that much, huh? well, pleasantries aside, i really do want to get to know you more! i overheard your birthday was coming up from a couple of our students, so..."

izuku felt similar—wanting to know more about you, that is. actually, he's jotted little notes down about you quite often. like how you wear your hair down on fridays, and how you like your eggs scrambled, and the details of your coffee order from the café across the street—you get it. but, still, izuku was shy.

he'd rather admire you from afar than face you head-on; things were easier that way. he'd seek you out in the teacher lounges and hallways just so he could hide, because izuku was infatuated with you. stupidly in love, dangerously so even—and he only says this because he can't stop himself from accepting the cupcake from you.

his scarred hands brush against your own, and he hopes you can't hear the hitch in his breath.

you smile patiently, and izuku's body suddenly feels like it's been doused with ice as he realizes you want him to eat the cupcake right then and there, probably so he could tell you if he liked it or not. he could hand you this cupcake back right now, apologize profusely for never once mentioning his allergy, and try and explain the misunderstanding—

no. no way. nope. the strawberries wouldn't kill him, right? it's fine, everything will be fine.

"y/n, this is... this is so sweet of you, really! you shouldn't have gone through so much trouble for me." izuku all but croaks, laughing nervously as he shifts from one foot to the other. you smile happily, not sensing izuku's panic—too busy rambling. if izuku wasn't so distracted with his own irregular beating heartbeat, he'd see you were quite nervous too.

"i visited this strawberry farm across the city to get the freshest ones they had, it was a bit of a hassle, but i wanted your cupcakes to be perfect! i have the rest of the tray in the kitchen for the class to share, just in case you wanted any more." you smile, and izuku slowly absorbs your words before a soft smile stretches across his lips.

the cold leaves his body, and now all he feels is warm. almost like a fire had been started right in the pit of his stomach, and with every word you spoke, it felt like those flames were licking at his skin, yearning to push forward and feel you themselves.

slowly, izuku brings the cupcake to his lips, and you tilt your head in confusion as he hesitates for a single moment—he looks up briefly, already feeling the incoming sickness from the smell of the strawberry frosting—but you're smiling when he meets your gaze, eyes glimmering and hands clasped together expectantly.

izuku takes a large bite.

he chews as fast as he can, blinks back the burn building up in his eyes, and swallows—his entire body protests, and he has to resist the urge to gag as he takes a deep breath right after.

"g—good. really good. wow! i think i need, uh, water! yeah... and the bathroom. excuse me—"

he's out of the room in five seconds flat, leaving you standing there alone in total confusion.

to your horror, you find out about izuku's allergy third period that day with your class. and soon enough, you also learn izuku had to go back home for the day because he'd gotten ill in so little time.

stupid stupid stupid—it's the only thought swirling in izuku's head as he groans into his pillows. he'd have to cancel his birthday dinner tonight thanks to his condition, but that wasn't even what was bothering him. you'd made him cupcakes with so much dedication, all out of the kindness of your heart, and he'd taken one bite before promptly running away with no explanation.

izuku lets out a sudden gasp once he realizes he didn't even say thank you, slapping his hand against the burning skin of his forehead before rolling over in his bed from the pure nausea he felt.

"'m sorry," izuku sniffles into the silent abyss of his room, but that quietness is disturbed the second he hears someone knocking at his front door.

sulking, he shuffles into his all-might slippers and grabs his mug—one filled with tea that should help lessen the burn in his throat—before he opens the door.

izuku chokes mid-sip when he sees you, and you offer the green-haired boy in front of you a dorky grin.

"long time no see, izuku! may i come in?"

izuku stammers for a response, blushing wildly as his eyes dart over your form in disbelief—like he couldn't believe you were actually standing at his door (he briefly debates if he's imagining you here, but after pinching himself in the thigh and feeling a jolt of pain while you remain right in front of him, he realizes it's all very real).

"uhm—could you just give me one second, please?"

izuku doesn't wait for a response before he quickly closes the door, sliding against the floorboards of his apartment with how fast he's running around to pick up anything out of place before he rushes to the bathroom to fix his hair.

after deciding he looks a little less stupid than when he'd opened the door, he takes a moment to crouch onto the ground of his bathroom and silently scream into his hands. you were here. outside his apartment. and for some reason, izuku just cannot believe it.

he doesn't have any food to serve—no on-hand snacks either, and frankly, his living room isn't as spotless as it usually is. izuku is wholeheartedly embarrassed and quite a mess, but he takes a steadying breath to calm himself in spite of everything.

it's okay. he repeats the words over and over in his head again until he can somewhat believe them. it's okay because it was you on the other side of the door. his co-worker with a heart of gold and endless kindness, something his students would ramble on about all the time.

izuku opens the door slowly, a bashful smile gracing his lips as he immediately helps you inside, taking your coat for you and thanking you for the cupcakes as your head tilts back with laughter.

despite everything... it wasn't the end of the world. izuku is sure of it now, because you're holding up a pharmacy bag filled with all the treatment he'd need to be feeling better in no time, and you're smiling. and if you were smiling, then his worries, his embarrassment, his sickness, his panic—none of it mattered. not when you're leading him back to his room with a cheesy grin and a promise to nurse him back to health.

yes, it would all be okay.

for starters, tomura's pale skin works wonders against him—if you so much as brush against him while passing by, his cheekbones are blooming pink before he knows it with his voice getting all high and cracked around the edges. his hands become clammy and twitchy at his sides—fighting between tearing all the hair off his head and reaching out to touch you once more

his gaze bounces around the room often, too. and he'll find himself tripping over his own words. forget embarrassing—the way you have tomura acting up is downright humiliating. he hates that another person can have this much control over him so effortlessly. so, he devises a plan.

you're lounging on one of the couches in the hideout, body draped over the edge of the seat as you hang upside down and play some video game on your phone. tomura approaches you with his usual scowl and furrowed brows, and you tilt your head when you see him approach you

"hey, boss." you greet

"i need you to slap me. right now."

you blink slowly before a grin overtakes your face. sitting up, you swing your legs forward and rest your cheek against your fist with an intrigued giggle

"where's this coming from? something happen orrr?" you question curiously as tomura sighs impatiently

"i've had enough of you distracting me every single hour of the day. you're so annoying it makes me want to turn you to dust—you're lucky you're a valuable asset to the team or i would have done it a long time ago. now, the sooner you reject me or do something that pisses me off, the sooner i'll be able to get you out of my head and focus on more important things."

you hum, lips curling upwards at his words before you tap your chin in thought. tomura squirms uncomfortably in front of you—he's never had a problem with speaking his mind before, but he basically just admitted he was so attracted to you that he couldn't get you out of his head—and, well, that's embarrassing for anyone to admit, right?

"well, let's think about this. for starters, what if you're into it? i dunno boss man, you are pretty weird... you might discover something about yourself if i slap you and you like it. some guys enjoy degrading stuff like that, you know?" you grin cheekily, and tomura's ruby eyes widen to near comical size as he stupidly sputters for a response

"w-what the fuck?! no, i'd be fucking pissed if you slapped me! it'd make me hate you, not—"

"well, if it makes you hate me, won't i still be on your mind and distracting you? hatred is an intense feeling, after all. that won't help you focus on your work, now would it?" you tease, leaning closer as tomura's ears go pink. he clenches his fist tightly, blunt fingertips digging crescent moons into the palm of his hand, before he looks away begrudgingly.

"whatever then. reject me. tell me the truth. tell me i'm disgusting and tell me you'd rather die than be with someone like me. that might lessen my attraction for you." he says firmly, glaring at you with nothing but irritation in his eyes as you frown

"but i don't want to be mean to you. you're a great boss!" you whine playfully, reaching out to poke tomura's cheek as he swats your hand away with a grunt

"shut up. just tell me you don't like me so i can go back to living my life without your stupid smile taking up every single one of my thoughts."

your eyes soften at that, and so does your smile. you lean back into the couch as you hold tomura's gaze, and he sits there unwavering. did he seriously think he was that unlikeable? you were unbelievably fond of him, and the fact that tomura found himself so unlovable was... really sad. you know your boss hates pity, so you mask your sadness with a grin

"ahh, but who said i didn't like you back?"

dead silence. tomura freezes—and you watch the gears turn in his head in real time. he leans back, whole body gone slack as he stares at you in disbelief, searching for lies—but he can't find any. your expression is as sincere as ever.

"...what?" he croaks

you can't stop the small huff of laughter that slips past your lips as you reach out and gently tap tomura's chest—specifically the spot right over his heart

"i said i like you, you idiot. you're an enigma, but i like you regardless. or, rather, i like you because of it. anyway, i think we should totally date! i'll be a great partner—and i bet the relief of knowing i'm all yours will let you focus on your work more. it seems like that is the only solution we have to this crisis!" you sigh dramatically, and your smile is so bright and beautiful that tomura feels his breath physically catch in his throat

"you're crazy," he breathes, heart beating erratically as he watches you reach for his hand—your fingers dance over his palm, tracing the lines of it with a gentleness he found near ticklish as you shrugged

"maybe. but so are you. you in?" you question

"...you mean with dating you?"

"yup!"

tomura wonders for a moment if he's dreaming

"i—well—there's not—i don't—we—"

"i'll take that as a yes!"

you lean forward, lips pressing a chaste kiss onto his cheek as tomura sits there slack jawed. you're up a second later, faster than he can process, before you're bounding towards the door with your phone in hand

"bye bye, tomura! come sleep in my room upstairs tonight, 'kay? i'll leave the door unlockeddd!" you singsong before disappearing—and tomura stares blankly at the now empty doorway in absolute disbelief. his hand cradles the cheek you just kissed, and it feels like his whole body is on fire.

"...what the fuck..." he whispers incredulously, but despite it all, he feels the heavy weight on his chest finally ebb and flow away—because holy shit, you like him back.

╰┈➤ Reigen MP100 fanart!