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“I’m going to literally explode into ten billion pieces, why does he look like that?”
Mina whispered that urgently, hushed yet fervent as she stared. Stared so obviously that it was glaring, really.
“...Are you angry at him, kero?” Tsu asked, confused. For as amazing as she normally was at reading other people and understanding what they were like, the sight in front of her was something she was unfamiliar with.
Mina Ashido was sitting in her seat, her hands balled into fists so hard that her knuckles were turning a different color, and her eyes were honed in directly on the media in front of her.
Mina, Tsu, Uraraka, Jirou, Momo, and Kirishima were all sitting around her desk, wondering what the hell could’ve gotten somebody who was normally so cheerful into such an evident rage.
Only to come face to face with an image of Midoriya, muscles clearly flexed as he was holding a collapsing building up so a father and his child could get out of the way before getting crushed.
“He’s…he’s…” Mina spit out through grit teeth, her fists clenched so tightly her arms were quivering to some degree.
Now, don’t get her wrong, Mina wasn’t the type of person who would ever want Midoriya to sacrifice his career for her. Not in the slightest. If anything, one of her greatest worries was that she would end up holding him back in his pursuit to be the next #1 Hero, no matter how much he’d promised and assured her that that would never be the case…
“He’s so HANDSOME, why can’t I just bite his biceps right now?! Why does he have to be so far awayyyyyy for his internship?! Ughhhhhhhh!” Mina complained, her fists finally unclenching as she slumped over her desk, holding her head in her hands as she tried to resist the urge to hop on a plane and head over to where Midoriya was, pronto.
Of course, as she’d focused on, his muscular figure was on full display, even through the winter gear. Something, something, Mei had asked him to test out some gear that’d allow for slimmer costumes that’d be both temperature-adaptive and less clunky to move around, and here he was.
Showing off his DAMN BICEPS IN A PICTURE WHERE MINA COULDN’T BITE THEM!
…DAMN, was it frustrating to know that his best bet at becoming an even greater hero was to broaden his horizons and work under the #14 Hero, who was so renowned in Hokkaido that only All Might when he was still working had more influence there! In other words, despite being so far away from where most of Japan’s focus in heroics was, the #14 Hero was still highly regarded! Midoriya, ever the hero addict and ever the hard worker, just had to see what gave them such praise.
“You could always go there over the weekend, kero,” Tsu suggested nonchalantly, as if Mina was the type of person who could just go up and do that at a whim.
Not that she didn’t want to. Knowing that he was going to be up in Hokkaido for TWO MORE WEEKS?!
Yeah, she was going to explode.
Still, she snorted lightheartedly, “I don’t have Yaomomo-chan’s money, Tsu.”
Momo opened her mouth before getting hit with a playful look from Mina that indicated that she did not, in fact, want Momo to buy her the ticket herself.
“I just miss him so muuuuuuuuch!” Mina groaned, pouting at nothing in particular and crossing her arms. “I just wanna hold him in my arms and tell him all about how great of a job he did up there and how amazing a hero he’s going to be!”
“You wanna spoil him, don’t you?” Tsu prompted, feeding the flames.
“I wanna spoil him so baaaaaaad!”
“There, there…” Tsu pat her back encouragingly. “It’ll only be a few more weeks.”
“That’s too manyyyyy!” Mina continued complaining.
This time, Uraraka joined in on the teasing.
Uraraka playfully swooned, “I know how much you must be missing Deku-kun. I know you just have to be missing cuddling with him and playing with his hair and stuff.”
“I ammmmmm!” Mina moaned dramatically, giving into the teasing that Uraraka was participating in. She splayed herself over her desk, her previous physical frustration and tension leaving her body as she sighed and deflated.
She missed the way that talking about Midoriya in this sort of context was making Uraraka turn greener by the second.
“Man, just imagine him going to bed after taking a nice warm shower, all relaxed and cozy, but there’s nobody to give him his nighttime cuddles,” Uraraka kept going, and she was deeply savoring the dramatic noises and squirmy sounds that Mina was letting out.
“Ochako-chan, kero,” Tsu couldn’t help but speak in an amused tone. “You look like you’re going to throw up.”
Uraraka huffed, sending a pout Tsu’s way.
“It’s hard talking about a man like that, okay?! Especially if he’s my best friend!” Uraraka defended herself.
“Gay,” Jirou snickered, and Uraraka rolled her eyes at the rocker girl. The pot was, in fact, calling the kettle black.
Unfortunately for them, though, Mina hadn’t latched on to any of the fact that they were teasing her, instead going for the fact that Midoriya was going uncuddled, “That’s so meannnnn!!! Why aren’t they letting me go up there and cuddle with him right now?! He hasn’t been getting lots of kisses all over the face!”
…Fuck it.
“You never know if he isn’t, though,” Jirou smirked in a predatory fashion. “What if he saved a lady here or there and she’s starting to swoon for him? You might be having competition there, Mina-chan. What if she’s putting some moves on him or maybe even trying to give him a kiss on the cheek?” If there was ever a time to fan the flames, this was definitely it, especially while Aizawa wasn’t there to interrupt this.
That said, Mina wasn’t falling for the bait, waving it off casually, “Oh, please, Izu wouldn’t ever do something like that! He’s my faithful man, after all. The literal only way that that could happen is if he didn’t even realize that somebody liked him and genuinely thought they were being a good person or friend…wait…”
Or was she?
“He totally would!” Mina outright stood up from her seat and looked at her friends with complete worry in his eyes. “Would he?! He would, right?! He wouldn’t have any idea that that person had an evil reason for doing it because he’s super bad at realizing that people like him!”
She pointedly ignored the fact that she had no idea Midoriya liked her back until he asked her out.
“I need to go up there now and tell him!” Mina waved around frantically, and as if she’d somehow gotten the money to head up to Hokkaido to inform him, she started putting her backpack on. “He definitely hasn’t been trained to handle people like that!”
“...And you think that he’s somehow going to leave you because of that?” Uraraka prompted, raising an eyebrow.
“No, but it’s the principle of the matter! Would you like it if somebody else kissed your partner on the cheek?!”
Tsu tried not to glance at Uraraka, because she still hadn’t confessed, but the idea came to her mind. Having to watch somebody very gently press their lips against Uraraka’s cheek, and she would just giggle instead.
Similarly, Momo did her best not to glance at Jirou for the same reason as Tsu, but that notion had become much more intense for her. Thinking about somebody not only kissing Jirou on the cheek, but cupping her other cheek and whispering sweet nothings to her in the meantime?
“I think you should actually kill them, kero.”
“I would be more than willing to get you up to Hokkaido to…ahem, help Midoriya not make that error.”
“...Uh, guys?” Mina turned her attention away from herself for a moment. “You look like you’re going to break my desk.” As per her observation, both Momo and Tsu were gripping the edge of her desk as if it’d killed their families.
She shrugged, letting them be for a little as she turned back to more important matters.
“I’m going to give him a stern talking to later!” She declared passionately. “But after I look at how amazing he looks some more!”
So, as she sat back down to plot what she was going to say to him later, she also went back to daydreaming about Midoriya.
Because he was just so cute in that photo!
The Stern Talking To In Question…
“Hi, Mina!” Midoriya chirped from the other end of the phone. “You’re sure it’s okay to be calling right now?”
Mina giggled, rolling over onto her stomach as she set her phone down, “I should be asking you that, Izu! You’ve been super duper busy lately, y’know!”
She felt butterflies in her stomach as she watched him closely. He was setting up in the kitchen of the hotel room he’d been given as part of his relocation process (all paid for by U.A., too!), and had put his phone in a position where she could see him go through the entire dinner-making process.
“I’m sorry about that, Sweetheart,” Midoriya gave her an apologetic look, and she almost sighed in bliss at the look of him. “I pinky promise I’ll do my best to respond to you when I can, mmkay?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Izu. I love how hard you’re working and how you’re putting your all in,” she hummed contently, kicking her feet back and forth as she watched him grab something from the fridge.
A few seconds passed with silence, a comfortable one that Midoriya was only able to feel as comfortable as he could with because it was with Mina.
Then, she broke it, “You know…I’m so in love with you, Izu.”
Midoriya let out a silly, squeaky noise that Mina thought was way too cute for his own good.
He turned red, a sight she was always going to treasure, before stuttering out, “M-M-Mina! W-What’s that all about?!”
Mina laughed at the look of him, because sometimes it was so hard to imagine somebody who was as powerful and as determined as Midoriya melting under her words like this.
“I just love you so much,” she sighed blissfully with a gentle smile on her face. “And I’m so excited to see you again and kiss you and make sure you know you’re mine and nobody else’s–”
Despite the bright blush on Midoriya’s face, he was able to interject momentarily, “But I do know I’m yours, Mina!”
She mercifully chose not to point out the way that his voice broke at least thirty billion times while he said that. Oh, he was her cutie pie.
“And I’m so excited to put a ring on that finger~” She playfully teased, though teasing it made her blush herself at the idea. Not that she was opposed in any way. The idea of tying the knot with Izuku? Well, there was nothing better in her mind.
This time, she watched Izuku visibly stumble over himself while he grabbed something from the cabinets.
“Cutie~” She smiled at him, and she felt lighter by the second as she talked to him, her heartbeat becoming more apparent.
He grumbled, trying to process all of the sweet words that Mina had spoken to him at once, but it wasn’t going well by the way he was moving.
“Is…is there any reason y-you’re s-saying all of this stuff, M-Mina?” He stuttered, and it was so cute to hear him stutter like that after all the time they’d been together. It was sweet that he still felt the same butterflies that he did when they first started dating.
“Just…just because I like being able to see you again,” Mina admitted, a sheepish smile on her face. She didn’t know why it felt embarrassing to admit, but it was. Despite the fact that they’d probably gotten past the “Honeymoon phase” of dating, she still really felt like she was falling more in love with him than ever. Something about how distance made the heart grow fonder, she believed the phrase was.
Midoriya smiled back at her, and his eyes seemed a lot more accepting than anything.
“I like being able to see you again, too,” he parroted softly. “But I think it’s sweet that this is how it’s going to be like in the future, right?”
Mina tilted her head, interested in his take, “What do you mean, Izu?”
“Well, when the two of us have our own place,” he winked at her, and she turned a deep purple at the implication. “One of us might get home later than the other, and I’ll do my bestest to be home before you are.”
Midoriya and Mina both knew damn well that that would almost never be the case. Aiming to be the #1 Hero was almost certainly going to mean he was going to be the second one to come home, not the first. But, of course, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t dream up cute scenarios like this.
“Sooooo that’ll mean that I get to welcome you home and give you lots of hugs,” Midoriya explained, and Mina had to hold back a whine at that idea, because that sounded so sweet. That sounded wonderful, to be pampered and spoiled by her Izuku when she got home from a long, hard-fought day of hero work.
“I would love that,” Mina breathlessly whispered, getting cozy in her bed. “And then we can kiss each other lots and lots and you tell me all about how being the top hero is…” She pulled her blanket tighter over herself, humming contently.
“And I also would tell you all about how I’m going to treat you out and take you on dates even when we’re…,” Midoriya reminded her before trailing off, which was something she also loved. Despite being as much of a workaholic as he was, he never neglected their relationship, and she had complete faith that he never would.
She smiled softly, closing her eyes just to rest them for a little bit, “When we’re…?”
Midoriya stayed silent at that, though a smile graced his face.
For a short while, the two simply enjoyed each other’s company in quiet. Sure, Mina technically needed to do her math homework, but there were more important things at stake here.
Like resting her eyes. And really enjoying bed. And feeling the comfort of the blanket. And…
Then, she broke the silence again with a quiet whisper, “I miss you, Izu…”
Midoriya turned around from here he was looking at the pot, a smile on his face as he looked at Mina, “What’s up, Mina? Whatcha say?”
“...”
“...Mina?”
Midoriya squinted his eyes a little to look closer at Mina, before he realized what’d happened.
…She fell asleep.
…
…Cutie~ She’s so adorable~
…
…Too bad I didn’t catch what she said.
“Ashido. Why are you still on your phone?” Aizawa sighed, knowing that it was something that he had to do as a teacher, but also knowing the answer that was going to await him, even if she wasn’t going to give the truthful one.
“O-Oh, sorry, Aizawa-sensei! I-I was just a little distracted reading the news!” She chuckled awkwardly, and Aizawa held back another sigh. He knew damn well that that awkward chuckle was something she’d picked up from Midoriya.
Hopefully she doesn’t pick up his habit of breaking bones, Aizawa could only pray to whatever forces there were above. If there were any, that is, considering the sort of class he’d been blessed and cursed with this year.
Aizawa bit back the next words that would’ve come out of his mouth, because, to be honest, he was a little curious as to what Midoriya was up to up north. However, it definitely wasn’t worth hearing all about how Mina would be talking about him. He was not looking to hear about the romantic appeal of his student, thank you very much. Especially not out of somebody who was so evidently whipped for him like Mina. God, he wouldn’t be shocked if she’d asked Toga before about whether or not she had some special pictures of Midoriya before.
Anyways.
He turned back around to the board, picking up some chalk and hearing the murmurs among the class pick back up, not that he was upset with them. He knew that he and his few friends (coworkers, now) were also the type to have murmurs among them. Even if it was mainly Present Mic doing the talking and him and the others doing the listening. Besides…even if he wanted to mold them into heroes, he wanted to understand that they were still growing into themselves, getting their identities in order.
Until…
“God, I’m so excited for him to get back!” He heard Mina squeal excitedly, but quietly to her friends. “I’m going to do so many things to him and we’re going to do so much catching up!”
“Did you really have to include that part about doing so many things to him, kero?” Tsu responded, amused at how excited her friend was. “You might be getting a little ahead of yourself, Mina-chan.”
“Well, excuse me for wanting to see my boyfriend!” Mina bought into it, speaking with absolutely no shame whatsoever. “Really, you should be lucky I’m being so considerate as to not get into even more detail about what I want to do with him.”
“Yeah,” Kirishima snickered. “That’d be real unmanly, Ashibro. I don’t need to hear all about what you two get up to your free time in your rooms when nobody’s watching.” (And, no, Kirishima would always stick to her last name, because it was MANLIER to keep the “Bro” part of the name alive, damn it!”
“I’m going to touch you in a not nice way, Eijibro,” Mina rolled her eyes playfully at him.
“Save that for Midobro, damn!” Kirishima almost broke out into full-blown cackles. He couldn’t help but remember how absolutely flabbergasted Midoriya was when he heard Mina say that out loud for the first time after the two of them had started dating.
(Though, Midoriya couldn’t help but feel that it was fine for her to say that. After all, he’d heard Sero say it all the time to Kaminari and Ojiro. If it was just a friendship thing, then he had nothing to worry about.)
“You know what, I will!” She declared passionately and without shame, and man, Aizawa wished that she had a little bit more of that when it came to Midoriya. Sure, he’d rubbed off a bit on her when it came to being a little more…reserved with these matters.
A bit.
“I’m going to do all that saving for Izu!” Mina proudly stated.
A bit, Aizawa repeated in his head. I wish it was a lot.
“We’re going to be doing so much cuddling and hugging and snuggling and being in love with each other when he gets back, and I’m going to let him know just how much I missed him!” Mina kept going, and God, why did she keep going? Was this all really necessary?
Aizawa thought about whether or not he could see himself doing something like that with Ms. Joke.
…Maybe she’s not being so unreasonable after all.
Perhaps it wasn’t as intense, but it wasn’t the most impossible thing in the world.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t allowed to focus on Ms. Joke as Mina just kept on going.
“And he’s going to have to make it up to me with just as many warm cuddles and kisses!” She crossed her arms over her chest, though without any malice to her words, as if it was just going to be a matter of course that he would.
If the gossip that he was unfortunately subjected to by Midnight and Present Mic held any bit of truth, it probably was a matter of course.
“...You daydream about that, don’t you?” Kirishima asked, because she was starting to get that glazed look in her eyes that he knew was only associated with Midoriya.
“Yes, yes I do,” Mina confirmed with a nod. “And, in fact–”
Okay, based on that tone, he was about to hear something he wanted to hear even less than everything else he’d been made to hear today.
“Ashido.”
Her mouth, open and ready to spew out some rather intimate pieces of information, shut closed incredibly quickly.
“Unless you want–” Aizawa paused for a moment, because his normal response would’ve been a threat about a 1000-word essay about the topic that was being spoken on and its implications on hero society, but he knew that’d only be a joyous opportunity for Ashido given her…passion about Midoriya.
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat, pivoting. “Unless you want to write a 1000-word essay about the legal requirements of paperwork for heroes, I suggest you either speak more quietly or about a more appropriate topic.”
Mina froze up, and the worst of Aizawa’s nightmares came true.
For, in the first time since she had become part of his class, Mina started considering whether or not it was worth it to write an essay if it meant that she could talk more about Midoriya.
Despite wishing the best for his students, because he wasn’t such a pessimist that he would wish for their relationship to fail, Aizawa really hoped with all his heart that it didn’t come to a point where writing essays wouldn’t deter Mina from gushing about him.
But for now, he could still live in peace, for she wisely chose to shut her trap.
For now.
“Man…it’s good to be back here,” Midoriya let out a sigh of relief, letting the tension leave his body as he got off the train. He did a little bit of light stretching, considering how long he’d been on the rails, but it was fine. Plus, the fact that U.A. was willing to pay for the travel expenses meant that he was more than willing to take the more environmentally friendly route, as well as the more environmentally beautiful route!
Not that he was in any particular rush, at least. He’d still have to take a local cab over to U.A. itself, but that was no big deal…except for the fact that he was starting to become popular enough as a student that people were recognizing him more and more. Becoming one of the most “exciting heroes on the rise” as a student was no small task, after all.
Though…he was quite excited to see Mina again. And his friends, too. But especially Mina!
Really, if he were to be in any sort of rush, it’d be so he could see Mina even quicker. Frankly speaking, if it were allowed, he’d be using his quirk just so he could speed over to her pronto. It wasn’t as if using it wasn’t going to be faster than any mode of transportation he could access within the next half-hour, anyways. It was One For All, for crying out loud!
…Ugh. Not like he could do much about it.
Quickly, Midoriya maneuvered his way through the crowds and towards the nearest place where he could call a cab over, which wasn’t too hard to find in the hustle and bustle of the city.
He started making small talk with the cab driver, which he’d learned to get just a little bit better at. It was definitely easier to do so when he A) had a quirk, B) had a profession he could talk about, and C) was Mina’s boyfriend.
Yet, at the same time, he just couldn’t help but daydream about being able to see Mina again, because it was no more than half an hour until he got to see her again. It was Friday Night, too, which meant that they could really just enjoy themselves for the night without having to worry about school the next day.
He kept in the blissful sigh that he was holding due to thinking about holding Mina’s hand. And cuddling her. And looking at her gorgeous eyes.
Plus, she was just so pretty!
“Uh…sir?” The cab driver spoke up, snapping Midoriya out of his thoughts. “We’re here.”
Midoriya blinked, getting back into reality before blushing in embarrassment, “Oh, sorry! H-Here’s the fare!” He quickly grabbed the cash from his pocket and handed it to the driver, before quickly leaving the door before he could further embarrass himself.
Still, as the cab drove off, he stood at the gates of U.A., and as he always did, he took some time to appreciate the fact that he was here right now, to appreciate the fact that he could become a hero student.
Then, as he scanned his card for the gates to open, he couldn’t help the smile from growing even brighter, because this meant that he was even closer to getting to see Mina again! He was going to get to the dorms and she was going to be there!
Except…
When the gate started to open, he saw a familiar face already standing there, a loving but shy smile on her face. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her, drinking in as much of her as he could with his eyes, even as the gates were still opening.
Their eyes met, and Midoriya couldn’t help but smile back at her.
The two were wordless for a moment as they both realized that this was the first time they’d seen each other in person in forever.
Izuku took in the sight of Mina. Her eyes, energetic as always. The gentle purple on her cheeks and how her mouth was just a little open (likely from looking at him, a small voice spoke to him inside his head). How she was standing, her behind her back. Yet, the slight hesitation that took over her at the same time…
To him, seeing the way she looked at him…it only made her more beautiful.
And Mina took in the sight of Izuku. The way he’d somehow seemed to become even more well-toned over the course of his internship. The way he looked at her as if she was a gem all on her own, precious yet strong enough to handle anything coming her way. The fact that he couldn’t help but be so expressive in front of her, and that she could read his mind just by looking at his face for half a second.
To her, seeing the way he looked at her…it only made him look more handsome.
Wordlessly, they kept staring…
Until the dam broke, with Midoriya walking forward and the two of them meeting in possibly the strongest embrace they’d had yet, holding each other so tightly it felt like not even a prime All Might would’ve been able to pull them apart. They felt their warmth flood into one another, and the familiar feeling of each other’s hold was enough to send all sorts of signals through their brains, signals of calm, of happiness, of being home again.
“I missed you, I missed you, I missed you, you…you…you Cutie Pie!” Mina smiled brightly as she loved his arms around her. She may have said an affectionate nickname, but she spoke it with such emotion and rawness that Midoriya couldn’t help but feel just the teeniest bit guilty.
Still, he responded, “I missed you too, My Love…” He gently ran his fingers through her hair, and she melted further into him.
The two stood there, still hugging as the gates of U.A. started to close once more.
“What do you want to do, Mina?” Midoriya suggested, letting her take the reins as he normally did.
Mina had thought about it for a while as he was gone. What did she want to do? Sure, the two of them could watch a movie on the couch. Or, perhaps, they could stay up late and catch up on how things have been.
…No. That’s not what she wanted. All that could wait until later.
So, encapsulating all of her current desires in one word, Mina looked up at him with a completely serious look on her face.
“Cuddles.”
And who was Midoriya to refuse his girlfriend some cuddles?
Omake: Role Reversal
During the “Stern Talking To”...
As Midoriya muttered his goodnights to Mina, keeping the FaceTime on (because, of course, the two of them were so whipped for one another that they would keep FaceTiming together even when one or both of them were asleep), he took a moment to treasure the calmness that took over his girlfriend’s face as she was drifting off to sleep.
Then, putting his knife down for a moment, Midoriya quietly paced over to his phone, made sure that she wasn’t opening her eyes anytime soon, and pressed the button that let him take a screenshot of her face.
He stayed there for a moment, thinking about things, and then let out a blissful sigh once he’d muted himself.
“She’s so pretty,” Izuku whispered, appreciating how beautiful Mina was. “I’m so in love with her.”
Then, he turned back around and headed back to his dinner, humming a light tune as he had a dopey smile on his face just thinking about how wonderful Mina was.
Then, he let out a lovestruck, frustrated sigh.
“I wanna see her in person so baddddddd…”
Omake: Heartbeat
As Midoriya held Mina close as they finally got to cuddle once more, he joked, “Y’know, on the way back, I was kinda thinking about all those jokes about long-distance couples and how they act when they see each other for the first time in a while.”
Mina knew exactly what he was talking about, and despite the fact that he was holding her, she was the one to give him a predatory smirk.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Izu~” She teased, before leaning up to his ear and whispering something to him, just for him to hear, only a few words being barely loud enough otherwise. “...tomorrow night…dry…”
Then, just as if she hadn’t dropped an absolute bombshell on him, her expression turned back to normal and she laid her head back on his chest.
Though, based on how loud she could hear his heart pounding now, she knew damn well that her expression tomorrow night would be anything but normal.