#shouto x izuku | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vannahfanfics · 2 years

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The Learning Curve

Word Count: 10,500

Fluff, Romance, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, 5+1

Summary: Five times Izuku and Shoto exchanged gifts for their dating anniversaries, and the moment they stopped needing to. Alternatively, all the moments of love and learning leading up to Shoto proposing to Izuku.

Hey, everyone! Here is my story for the @tododekubigbang! Please be sure to check out my partner Shelbie’s amazing art, as well!

“Oh? What’s all this?” Shoto wondered aloud as he regarded the sticky note taped to his dorm room door. As he read the hurried, uneven script scrawled across the neon yellow square, his lips turned up into a smirk. He plucked it off the door to bring it closer to his face, admiring it. There was just something so charming about Izuku’s script; it was chaotic as the rest of him. It was just one of the many cute quirks—no pun intended—that Shoto had come to adore in the month he had been dating him.

Ah. It’s been one month exactly, hasn’t it? He realized, then once more looked over the message on the sticky note. “Come by my room when you finish your afternoon training! :D—Izuku,” it read. Izuku could have just texted him, but Shoto had learned that Izuku rather liked leaving little notes for Shoto to find; if there was one he hadn’t found yet, it would be obvious, too, because Izuku would try but fail to hide his excited little grin while Shoto was around. From little love notes to random thoughts to directions like this, Izuku spoke to Shoto as much through notes as much as actual words. And Shoto loved getting them just as much as Izuku loved giving them.

That’s why he kept them all in a little glass jar on his desk. He deposited the newest addition atop the rest as he walked past his desk, worming off his sweatshirt in the process. He didn’t want to go to his boyfriend’s room reeking of sweat. He’d honestly rather catch a shower first, but if he kept Izuku much longer, he’d walk in to a pouting mess. Of course, Izuku was adorable when he pouted, so it was almost worth it. But based on the fact it was their one-month anniversary of dating, Shoto figured that Izuku had something special planned.

So he quickly changed into comfortable, non-smelly clothes and hurried to Izuku’s room.

It was a good thing he’d opted to change clothes because Izuku pounced on him after just knocking once. Shoto released a sound that was half-laugh and half-gasp as Izuku sprang on him and wrapped himself like a koala around Shoto’s form in some resemblance of a hug.

“Well, hello there,” Shoto purred. Izuku still clung to him as he walked into the room and shut the door behind him. It had taken a while, but he had more or less acclimated to how clingy Izuku was. It had been awkward, at first, but Shoto had soon realized that he was very touch-starved, and so all of Izuku’s displays of affection were very welcomed. He returned the hug with a gentle embrace and squeeze of his own, punctuated by a shy, “Nice to see you, too.”

“Happy one-month anniversary!” Izuku chirped. He finally pulled his face from Shoto’s neck to look at him, his emerald eyes gleaming with adoration. Shoto’s soft smile turned lopsided, painted with uneasiness.

“I, uh… I didn’t realize that it was customary to do anything for dating anniversaries,” he admitted shyly. He hadn’t even considered that this day would be any different from the rest until he had seen the note on his door, and now that he was here, he was beginning to feel guilty. Should he have gotten Izuku something? Ugh, he should have asked Momo more about the “rules.” But there were so many, Shoto was finding trouble keeping up as it was.

“Don’t worry about it!” Izuku said with a shake of his head. “You don’t have to. I just wanted to celebrate! Think of it as a gift for both of us.”

“A gift for both of us, huh?” Shoto smirked as Izuku finally detached himself, though he immediately grabbed Shoto’s hand. Izuku was practically vibrating with excitement, his hand trembling in Shoto’s. He eagerly pulled Shoto over to his desk, where he immediately snatched up something sitting on it.

“Ta-da!” Izuku cried as he held it up.

“A… Polaroid camera?”

“That’s right!” Izuku nodded. He looked rather pleased with himself, and that fact alone made Shoto smile. He just loved Izuku’s happy little beam. It shined brighter than the sun itself, and it never failed to make a warm, fuzzy feeling blossom in his chest. Izuku was oblivious to the effect he was having on his boyfriend, however, too eagerly babbling about the camera. “I was just thinking, you know, that even though we’ve only been dating a month, we’ve made lots of memories. But then I was like, well, I would really like to capture those memories! And while I was shopping, I saw this camera, and I thought, oh, this will be perfect! So now we can take pictures and—Shoto, are you listening?”

Shoto had just been staring at Izuku with a dreamy expression, eyes lidded and smile soft. There was that cute little pout he adored. Shoto chuckled and leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of Izuku’s pouty mouth.

“Of course I’m listening. I think it’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t we take a picture right now?”

“Okay!” Izuku squealed as if he had been waiting for the exact instant Shoto would suggest it. Honestly, knowing Izuku, he probably had been. Izuku wasted no time in zooming up to Shoto’s side and throwing an arm around his shoulders to tug him close. “Close” was never close enough for Izuku, of course; he skipped right past the boundary of the average person and smushed himself up against Shoto until their cheeks were pressed together. Not that Shoto minded. He loved the way Izuku molded into the lines and divots of his body like they were two puzzle pieces that were always destined to fit together.

Izuku held up the camera, but immediately, his arm fell back down so he could pull away from Shoto and smother his giggles in his free hand.

“Ah, sorry, I’m just—! I’m just so excited!” he laughed bashfully. “My arm is shaking so bad, and I wanna smile so hard it hurts! I can’t take a good picture that way!”

Ugh, he really was too cute. The fondness within Shoto was growing every second, making a home in the very fibers of his being. It hurt a little, making his chest grow tight with the way his heart swelled enough to press on his lungs, but Shoto didn’t care. It was a euphoric kind of hurt, one that flooded his brain with too much dopamine to be rational. Shoto would let Izuku do whatever he wanted to keep flooding him with those pulses of affection, even if his heart crushed his lungs from growing too fond. Maybe it was a little too soon for Shoto to feel that way, a little too soon for him to adore someone so deeply and wholly. But he did, and he was just going to have to accept the fact that Izuku already had him wrapped around his scarred little finger.

“Oh, come on, Izuku, it’s just a picture.”

Izuku was still mumbling to himself when Shoto dispelled the lovesick fog from his brain. Despite Izuku’s attempts to curb his enthusiasm, his hands were still trembling, making the camera rattle in his grip. Chuckling, Shoto gently took the Polaroid camera from his boyfriend.

“Let me take it,” he suggested when Izuku looked at him with wide eyes. “That way, you can be as excited as you want.”

“Hehe, okay!” Izuku grinned. He flung his arms around Shoto’s neck with unadulterated glee and pushed into him so hard that Shoto actually leaned a little to the side. Chuckling, Shoto looped his free arm around Izuku’s waist, adjusted his stance to give himself a little more balance, and then held the camera up. Izuku couldn’t decide what pose he wanted, it seemed; he shifted from pressing his cheek against Shoto’s to peppering his cheek with little kisses to propping his chin on his shoulder with a dreamy smile. Shoto hadn’t even the chance to shift his index finger to the shutter button before Izuku changed his mind again, nuzzling the tip of his nose into Shoto’s cheek with a pleased purr.

“Izuku, I can’t take the photo with you moving,” Shoto chuckled as he lowered the camera back down and looked at his boyfriend with playfully arched eyebrows.

“I’m sorry! I can’t decide which one I want. They’ll all be so good,” Izuku sulked in response.

Shoto chuckled again, then leaned in to press a chaste kiss to the tip of Izuku’s nose.

“Then we’ll take one of each. You want lots of memories, don’t you? You don’t have to pick and choose.”

When he pulled back, Shoto was alarmed to see thick, soupy tears pouring from Izuku’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” he sputtered. Nothing chased away the high of romance like the adrenaline rush of a stupid mistake. Thankfully, Izuku shook his head, allowing the rush of fear in Shoto’s blood to dissipate nearly as soon as it came. Smiling, Izuku wiped the tears away with the back of his hands.

“Ah, no, not at all! It was just—that was so sweet, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed. Hehe, sorry,” Izuku said before leaning in to press a kiss to Shoto’s cheek again.

Shoto breathed a small sigh of relief. Among other things, he was still growing used to how close Izuku’s emotions bubbled at the surface and the implications that had for their relationship. Shoto was still acclimating to the entire concept of “crying when you were happy,” and even though Izuku did it a lot, it still gave him a fright every time. But he was learning, he thought happily with a glance down at the camera.

He was learning, and so when one looked closely at the many, many photos they took that night, there were little pearls of happy tears in the corners of Shoto’s eyes in quite a few of them.

When their three-month dating anniversary came around, Shoto was prepared.

“Aaaaaand… done!” Kyoka chirped and clapped her hands together. Simultaneously, a CD popped out of the disc drive of her laptop, sleek and shiny and glinting with the rainbow as the fluorescent lights bounced off of it.

“Thanks, Kyoka,” Shoto smiled happily, taking the CD when she offered it. “I definitely couldn’t have done this without you. When Denki brought up ‘burning CDs,’ I literally grabbed one off his shelf and tried to set it on fire.” His smile dropped into a frown. “Now that I think about it, I still have to replace that…”

Kyoka snickered while she stood up from her computer chair. She plucked a permanent marker from the cup on her desk and held it out to him.

“Don’t sweat it. It was my pleasure,” she assured him. Shoto took the marker and set the CD on her desk to carefully write Three-Month Anniversary across its blank silver surface. Kyoka leaned over his shoulder to watch, arms crossed and a smile playing over her lips. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to have most of the songs picked out already. I didn’t think you really listened to much music.”

As Shoto straightened back up, he smiled bashfully and scratched at the back of his head.

“I don’t,” he admitted. “I actually spent all last night with Ochako and Tooru listening to their romantic song playlists. If any of them made me think of Izuku… I wrote them down.” He bashfully ran his thumb along the edge of the disk, careful not to touch the underside. “You think he’ll like this? I mean, it’s not like Izuku is a music buff, either.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Kyoka said and walked forward to place her hands on his shoulders. She gave them a reassuring squeeze, then continued, “Whether or not the person listens to music is not what matters. It’s the sentiment! A lot of hard work goes into this, and Izuku will appreciate that. Plus, there is nothing sweeter than the idea of someone thinking of you while listening to a love song.”

“Yeah?” Shoto smiled shyly.

“Totally! Trust me, he’s gonna love it.” She gave his shoulders a pat, then used her grip on his shoulders to spin him around. “Now, isn’t it almost time for your date? Go get ‘im, Tiger!” She pushed him forward, and Shoto laughed as he stumbled forward a bit. “And of course, make sure to come by and tell me how great I am. A girl likes praise, you know.”

“Don’t you get enough of that from Denki?” Shoto chuckled, looking over his shoulder at her as he sauntered toward the door.

“Different kind of praise, babe,” Kyoka laughed, then made a shooing motion with her hand. “Now go! Have a great date. I’ll catch you later.”

“All right, all right. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes,” he promised with another breathy chuckle. He opened the door, then paused to smile over his shoulder again. “And again, thanks for everything.”

“You’re welcome. Now go!”

Shoto scampered out of the room before Kyoka could start throwing things at him. His cheeks burned with how strongly he was smiling. He wouldn’t want to give away the surprise, so he allowed himself to grin stupidly all the way back to his room—better to get it out of his system now. He was so excited, however, that his lips still had a slight upward lilt by the time he finished getting dressed and was on his way downstairs to meet Izuku. They were going out-out this time, now that things had settled down a little.

Three months. They’d been dating for three amazing, blissful, wonderful months. The realization made Shoto’s heart do a backflip in his chest, and despite his best efforts, that goofy smile had returned to his face by the time he made it to the first floor.

If that hadn’t done it, seeing Izuku waiting for him in the common room sure would have.

Shoto loved it when Izuku dressed up. Of course, it was even better when it was for him, but Shoto liked it in general. Tonight, he was wearing a pair of black slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a sage-colored vest. Aw, and he’d even shined his dress shoes. It warmed Shoto’s heart that he would go to all that effort just for him, so his smile was big enough to snap his facial muscles when he walked up to Izuku and slipped an arm around his waist.

“Hey. Ready to go?”

“Yup!” Izuku chirped with an excited little nod. “By the way, you look so handsome!”

“Not as handsome as you,” Shoto answered and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Izuku giggled bashfully, a blush immediately blossoming over his freckled cheeks. Three months, and yet Izuku was still so easy to fluster. So adorable!

“Pssh, stooooop,” Izuku whined and waved a hand dismissively. As it fell to his side, it immediately sought out Shoto’s; he entwined their fingers and gave his hand an affectionate squeeze. Shoto thought he had been smiling as hard as he could already, but somehow, that little action made his lips curl up just a few more centimeters.

Much more of this, and his mouth would fall right off. And Shoto was pretty okay with that. He just hoped that it would last until he could give Izuku the CD. It would be kind of awkward if he was giving his boyfriend a gift and he was smiling from the floor. Well, it wouldn’t be weird if he was Mirio, he supposed. Actually, no, it was still kind of weird even when he did that.

The sound of Izuku chuckling snapped Shoto out of his thoughts.

“What?” Shoto asked, looking down at him with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” Izuku apologized, but immediately followed it with another chuckle. “I just think it’s really cute when you get lost in thought.”

Lost in thought? Shoto blinked and looked around. Wow, they had already made it halfway to the restaurant. Ugh, and he’d spent the walk thinking about his mouth falling off and Mirio instead of his wonderful date? Man, how sorry was he?

“Sorry,” he said with a small blush. “I don’t mean to.”

“No, don’t apologize!” Izuku said with a shake of his head and put a reassuring hand on his chest. “Like I said, it’s cute. I guess it’s kind of the same way you find my rambling cute.”

“Well, that is true,” Shoto said with a tiny smile. Everybody else found it overwhelming, but Shoto loved to listen to Izuku’s babbling tangents.

“So… What were ya thinking about?” Izuku asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, leaning up against Shoto’s arm. Shoto’s smile turned shy; now that he thought about it, his train of thought had been pretty silly.

“I, um… I was worried that I was smiling so hard that my mouth would fall off.”

Izuku lunged forward, curling in on himself as he released a loud snort of laughter. Shoto did the opposite, tipping his head back to frown at the sky while trying not to think about how much his ears were burning.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Izuku wheezed out between giggles. “I just—I just didn’t expect that.” He looked back up at Shoto, his smile sympathetic. “Don’t worry. Your mouth won’t fall off!” he snickered and patted Shoto’s cheek reassuringly.

“I know that…” Shoto grumbled. Well, he didn’t have to worry about that now. Now he was just pouting.

“Aw, don’t be like that!” Izuku laughed. He stopped walking to stand in front of Shoto and grab both his hands to hold. “Hey, I know what’ll cheer you up. How about we give each other our gifts?”

“Now? You don’t want to wait until after dinner?”

“Truth be told, I’m really excited,” Izuku admitted, tipping his head to the side while he bit the inside of his cheek. “I’ve been thinking about giving you your gift all day! If you want to wait until after dinner, that’s okay, though.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Shoto interjected quickly. He then matched Izuku’s coy grin with one of his own. “I’ve been really excited to give you your gift, too…”

“Yay! Okay, okay! Ah, I’m so excited!” Izuku squealed. He swiftly pulled Shoto over to a bench and plopped down, fidgeting impatiently. “Do you mind if I go first? I don’t know if I can wait!”

“Fine by me.”

“Yay! Okay, okay!” As Izuku frantically began to dig in his pocket, Shoto couldn’t help but chuckle. As spastic as a ferret with a sugar rush, his Izuku was. Izuku yanked a slim case out of his pocket with a triumphant cry, then yelped when it slipped from his hand. He tried desperately to snatch it out of the air, but he only succeeded in batting it around in the air and, in a last-ditch effort, smacking it right down into the concrete. He swiftly plucked it from the ground before sitting straight up like a rod, face burning bright red. “Um, here you go.”

He quickly handed Shoto the slightly scuffed case. Shoto took it with a snicker, then looked down at it. He ran his thumb over the slim scratches in the corner of it, then flipped it open. Resting in a bed of soft white fabric was a pair of hand-woven leather bracelets.

“Momo helped me make them! She made me the box, too!” Izuku gushed as Shoto lifted the pair of bracelets from the box to get a better look at them. “You know, there’s that trend going around with the engraved leather bracelets.”

Ah, yes, of course. Shoto had seen the girls wearing them, pretty dyed leather engraved with their names. He’d heard them talking about couples getting them, too, and the thought to get some for Izuku had crossed his mind once or twice. Guess he got beat to the punch.

Shoto turned them over to inspect the engravings, finding that both of them were inscribed with the same date—exactly three months previous to this particular day.

“The day we started dating,” he realized with a pleased hum. Izuku propped his chin on Shoto’s shoulder to look blissfully down at the bracelets. “I love it. Thank you,” Shoto smiled, then turned his head to press a kiss to the side of Izuku’s head. “Let’s put them on.”

“Okay!” Izuku chirped in agreement. Izuku took one of the bracelets to unhook the clasp and wrap it around his wrist. Shoto easily secured his, but when he looked back, Izuku had his tongue sticking out in concentration while he fumbled to try and snap the clasp back. Shoto chuckled, then gently took the two ends of the leather accessory from him and snap them flush. “Thanks,” Izuku giggled and pressed a quick little kiss to his nose. He then leaned his head against Shoto’s and turned his gaze back to their wrists so he could admire the two engraved segments resting side-by-side.

Izuku looked so pleased appreciating them that Shoto almost didn’t want to disturb him—almost. Though he adored that dreamy expression he got whenever he was lost in his head thinking about the two of them together, Shoto loved that great big beam that illuminated his face whenever he was happy all the more.

“Are you ready for your gift?” Shoto asked him in a soft voice. When Izuku nodded, he procured the CD case from his inside jacket pocket and passed it to him.

“Ah! You made us a playlist?” Izuku squealed in delight. He popped the case open to look and cooed happily at Shoto’s neat writing on the CD.

“Yep—with a bit of help, of course. I’m not that proficient in technology,” Shoto nodded with a lopsided smile. Izuku chuckled at his bashful admission; Shoto probably didn’t need to elaborate on who helped him, knowing Kyoka was by far the dorm’s leading music enthusiast. “They’re all songs that made me think of you,” Shoto murmured, leaning in to rest his head back against Izuku’s.

And just like that, Shoto had a new favorite look on Izuku’s face. It was the one he was wearing right now—a small, sweet smile, a rosy blush of mirth just barely glowing on his freckled cheeks, and half-lidded eyes glistening with tears because they couldn’t contain the sheer amount of love swimming in his emerald irises. Three months in and he was still learning new things about their relationship every day. And he’d commit himself to learning everything there was to know if that meant he could see expressions like that on Izuku’s face.

“Happy anniversary, Izuku,” he whispered against his boyfriend’s hair, then closed his eyes to press a lingering kiss there. He then gasped as shot to his feet, one hand insistently tugging on Shoto’s while the other waved the CD case frantically over his head.

“Forget dinner! Let’s go home right now!” he demanded. “I want to listen to it! I wanna listen to every last song with you!”

Shoto blinked slowly. Izuku had been looking forward to finally getting a chance to go on a real date after such a long time, so this sudden turn of events was a bit of surprise. Then, that broad smile returned to his face, and he didn’t try to suppress it this time. Let his entire face fall off for all he cared. Why try and hide how happy Izuku made him?

It was just one of the many things that he’d learned over the last three months—that it was okay to bare his feelings whole-heartedly. Especially to the boy he adored.

And so Shoto didn’t hide his smile. He let it shine bright on his face, lighting up the city as he and Izuku walked hand-in-hand all the way back to the dormitory. If he could illuminate Izuku’s world just half as much Izuku did his, then he could die a happy man. It was probably too soon to be thinking stuff like that, but he didn’t really care. If that was how he felt, that was how he felt, and he should embrace that—just like Izuku had made him come to realize.

He couldn’t die yet, anyway. Not when he had so much yet to do with Izuku.

Three months passed like a dream, and next thing Shoto knew, he and Izuku had arrived at their six-month dating anniversary. It was hard to forget when he was wearing the bracelet with the date on it nearly every waking hour (and sleeping hour, too). It had given him plenty of time to think about what he wanted to do this time around.

After consulting with the dorm’s experts on romance—the girls—he’d decided on making a paper collage of his own little love notes to Izuku. He’d gotten the idea after glancing at the glass jar on his desk that was now overflowing with Izuku’s sticky-note messages. He thought returning the favor with his own love notes would be a great reciprocation, and based on the fact that half the girls burst into tears when he’d brought it up, it was bound to be a hit.

Shoto wouldn’t pin himself as the “crafty” type, but he couldn’t help but be proud of himself when he admired the finished product. A sixteen-by-twelve canvas plastered with handwritten sweet nothings, compliments, and bursts of encouragement interspersed with aesthetic bits of scrapbook paper and magazine cut-outs—why, Shoto could see it hanging up for sale in a craft store somewhere if he didn’t say so himself. He was just washing the last bit of dried glue from his fingertips when his room resounded with the impatient rap-rap-rap of Izuku’s knuckles on his door.

“Just a second,” he called while he rushed to hide the canvas. He shoved it underneath his bed, leaving the dust bunnies to guard it, and then hurried to the door. “Hey,” he smiled breathlessly to Izuku. Even now, he was still trying to master the whole “nonchalant” thing, and racing to hide a present didn’t exactly help him capture the unperturbed persona he was going for. Maybe if he didn’t think about it, Izuku wouldn’t notice his flushed cheeks and the errant piece of hair hanging down from his slicked-back hair, either.

“Hey! Ready for our picnic?” Izuku asked while holding up a covered wicker basket. The weather was supposed to be particularly lovely, so Izuku and Shoto had opted for a romantic picnic on the dorm roof. It was the height of summer, so the air was still pleasantly warm even hours after the sun had faded from the sky. Not that it mattered much, given that Shoto could warm the air himself if it got a bit chilly.

“Yeah. Let me just grab my blanket.” Shoto made sure to leave the door half-closed just so he could block Izuku’s view of his bed, allowing him to grab the canvas from under his bed and wrap it up in the blanket. He held it against his chest with one arm while reaching out for Izuku’s hand with the other. Izuku seemed none the wiser to the concealed present, giddily clasping Shoto’s hand and setting off at a brisk pace down the hall.

The sun was just fading below the horizon as Shoto and Izuku stepped onto the dorm roof. The dying rays of light painted the world gold. Shoto stood at the edge of the roof while Izuku spread out his blanket behind him; he gazed upon the veil of gold with a soft smile, just drinking it all in. It had been Izuku who had taught him to appreciate the world like this, that there was good in everything if you just knew where to look. Even on the darkest days, there was light somewhere—in the sunset, in the blooming flowers, in the kiss of the wind… in the smiles of the people you cared about.

“It’s pretty.” Izuku had snuck up on Shoto without him realizing, coming to stand at the edge of the rooftop with him. The sunbeams refracted in his verdant eyes, making them gleam like emeralds. When Izuku looked at him, Shoto was smiling warmly.

“Yeah. It sure is.”

Shoto kept his gift hidden under the folded blanket, under the guise that it was too warm out for him at that moment to use it. He and Izuku sat close together, chatting idly while they partook in the assortment of light finger foods Izuku had prepared for them. The moon and stars came out to watch; they illuminated the two young lovers as brilliantly as they could, chasing away the gold of the sun to replace it with their soft sheen of silver. It took time, but the warmth did begin to fade from the world. When the wind whistled over them and made Izuku shiver a little, Shoto decided that it was time to give Izuku his gift (and free up his blanket).

“I have something for you,” Shoto smiled eagerly as he pulled the folded blanket into his lap. Izuku watched with bright eyes as he unfolded it slowly to reveal the collaged canvas. He passed it to Izuku, who marveled at it with wide, watery eyes.

“Aw, Shoto… I love it,” he whispered. He ran his fingertips over it, feeling the tiny ridges the paper and glue made. Rough yet authentic, just like him.

“Really?” Shoto beamed. Izuku nodded emphatically and hugged the canvas close to his chest.

“Absolutely! This is the best gift that anyone has ever gotten me!” he grinned. He leaned in to rest his head on Shoto’s shoulder, gazing up at him with dreamy emerald eyes.

“You’re just saying that,” Shoto chuckled.

“Nuh-uh!” Izuku insisted, puffing out his cheeks in an indignant pout. “Seriously! This is better than all the All Might merch my mom ever got me! For reals!”

“Well, if you say ‘for reals’...” Shoto hummed teasingly, then flinched when Izuku pinched him just above his hip in retaliation. “All right, all right! I believe you,” he relented with another chuckle, then looked down at him in adoration. “Thank you,” he said, then leaned down to kiss Izuku on the tip of his nose. “It means a lot. I wanted to get you something perfect.”

“Well, it is perfect,” Izuku said, then looked down at the canvas with a blissful smile. He spent a few minutes admiring it, eyes roving over every inch to absorb every minute detail. And Shoto was content just to watch him. All the little things Izuku did were the most magical thing to Shoto; Izuku could so much as breathe, and it felt like a spell had been cast over him. So watching Izuku appraise his gift with a sweet little smile on his face? It was downright enchanting.

“Oh! I haven’t given you your gift yet!” Izuku cried finally. He wriggled back up to a sitting position and began to frantically search amongst their picnic. When he found what he was looking for, he exclaimed “Ah-ha!” and triumphantly held it up over his head. Before Shoto could catch a glimpse of it, Izuku had hidden it behind his back. “All right, are you ready?”

“Yes, now what is it?” Shoto laughed. He could never help but get caught up in Izuku’s theatrics, and the anticipation of receiving a gift just made his blood sing all the more. He impatiently leaned forward, a smile twitching on his lips.

“Ta-da!” Izuku cried, whipping his hands out from behind his back to hold out his gift to Shoto. It was… a piece of paper.

Shoto raised his eyebrow and took it, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. As his eyes roved over the printed words, his heartbeat began to quicken, and a blush began to creep up from the base of his neck.

“You… bought a star and named it after us?”

“Yeah!” Izuku nodded excitedly. He scooched close to Shoto, propping his chin on his shoulder to admire the receipt. “I was thinking about what to get, and I thought about the pictures, you know? How like, they’re a permanent reminder of our time together. Then I saw this ad for buying a star and I was like, hey! What’s more permanent than a star?”

Shoto didn’t want to kill Izuku’s vibe and tell him that stars were most definitely not permanent, so he just smiled and nuzzled his face into Izuku’s hair. Besides, it wasn’t really about the star. It was about the fact that Izuku saw their relationship going somewhere, enough to think about buying a star that they could enjoy for the rest of time. It made Shoto’s heart flutter. They hadn’t been going out that long, and Shoto didn’t know the rules about when they were supposed to feel certain things. But the fact that Izuku thought they had a future made Shoto so happy.

As he snuggled his cheek against Izuku’s scalp, he looked back down at the paper. He traced the invisible patterns between their star and the ones around it, and his smile softened.

“I love you,” he whispered without even thinking about it.

Izuku’s head snapped up to gape at him, wide-eyed and mouth agape.

“That’s… that’s the first time you’ve said that,” he murmured shyly. Shoto cocked an eyebrow, admittedly unsure of quite how Izuku was reacting.

“I, um. There’s no pressure,” Shoto said quickly. “I-it just kind of came out. If you’re not where I am—”

“No, no, no!” Izuku interrupted hastily, grabbing tightly onto Shoto’s arm. “I’m there! I’m totally there!” His expression melted into a saccharine smile, and he wrapped his arm tighter around Shoto’s as he snuggled closer to him. He batted his green lashes before shyly murmuring, “I love you too, Shoto.”

“Yeah?” he couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t that he was doubting Izuku’s conviction; he just really wanted to hear it again.

“Yeah. I love you,” Izuku nodded.

Man. That sounded damn good.

“I love you, too,” Shoto purred.

“We could keep this up all night,” Izuku laughed. Shoto wouldn’t mind that, honestly. He could hear those three words over and over again for the rest of time, let alone the night. But, they kind of needed to start eating their picnic food at some point.

But, Shoto couldn’t resist saying it just once more.

“I love you,” he whispered adoringly into his boyfriend’s hair. Now, forever… Even after all the stars have long since burned out.

“Well, this is awkward,” Shoto frowned.

Izuku’s head dropped forward so he could snort in laughter. Shoto didn’t find the situation funny. He’d been quite serious in his statement. After all, he and Izuku probably looked a sight—sitting across from one another at a table in the middle of a fancy restaurant, awash in the glow of flickering candles, both of them holding silver rings out to one another. More than that, though, Shoto thought it was awkward that they had both apparently decided to give each other the same gift for their first year dating anniversary.

“Wow, and here I thought I was being really clever with a promise ring!” Izuku chortled as he lifted his head to smirk in amusement at Shoto. His free hand pushed his hair up his forehead, tufts of his gelled green locks spilling out from the gaps of his fingers. “Everyone says we’ve rubbed off on each other, but now I’m really starting to believe it.”

Shoto smiled coyly at that. It was true that they’d picked up a lot of each other’s habits and mannerisms. For example, Shoto had adopted Izuku’s habit of scratching at the side of his head when he was embarrassed, while Izuku had picked up Shoto’s propensity to knock on the closest hard object when he wanted someone’s attention. Oh, and now Shoto had taken to Izuku’s subconscious habit of rocking back and forth on his heels when he was waiting for something, while Izuku had acquired Shoto’s tendency to squint when he was confused. Shoto supposed it wasn’t that far-fetched that their trains of thought would sometimes arrive at the same station.

“I guess we have,” Shoto said back. He was doing it right now—scratching at the side of his head while a blush spread across his cheeks.

Still, he couldn’t help but be a little sad now. He had been really looking forward to surprising Izuku with the promise ring. It was a big step for Shoto, resolving to commit wholeheartedly to this relationship. Of course, it wasn’t because he was apprehensive about being with Izuku or anything; in fact, he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. No, it was because he knew that he still had a lot to learn about the whole romance thing, and the fact that he felt ready enough to say that he knew enough to feel secure in making Izuku happy—well, that was a big thing for him.

Izuku had learned a lot over the course of a year, too—like how to tell exactly what Shoto was feeling with just one glance.

“Aw, I didn’t mean to steal your thunder,” Izuku smiled apologetically. He picked his chair up to half-scoot, half-scuttle around to Shoto’s side and plop it back down. “But this is a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, it shows that we’re on the same page.”

“I guess,” Shoto mumbled in response. He had both his hands resting on the table, just turning the silver band over and over in his fingers. The light from the glittering crystal chandelier above their heads made its metal surface gleam; it was so shiny that it even reflected Shoto’s pout back at him, albeit really tiny and distorted. Being presented with his own grumpiness just made him grumpier, and so he curled the ring in his palm to make himself stop looking at it and then flopped back into the chair with a huff.

“Shoto,” Izuku laughed. Shoto knew he was being a bit dramatic, but hey. At least he was comfortable enough to do that now. One of Izuku’s fists rapped his knuckles against the tableclothed table while the other tugged at the fabric of Shoto’s slacks. “Come on, will you look at me? I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” Shoto sighed quickly. Though it was tempting to just wallow in his self-pity for a moment longer, he didn’t want Izuku to think he had done something wrong. He certainly didn’t want to ruin their special date—so he obediently turned his head to look at him, though he couldn’t fully wipe the disappointed expression off his face like he really wanted to. “I’m happy that we’re on the same page,” he clarified before Izuku could mistake his chagrin for something more. “I just—I don’t know. This is a really big deal for me, and I guess I was just looking forward to surprising you. Not with the ring, but… the sentiment. If that makes sense.”

Hell, if Izuku asked him, Shoto probably couldn’t explain “the sentiment” in words. It probably didn’t make any sense at all.

But again, they were pretty far along the learning curve here. Izuku had long since been able to understand Shoto without the need for words.

“No, I get it, Sho,” Izuku smiled gently. He reached up to cup Shoto’s cheek, and Shoto leaned into the touch with a petulant little pout. “I know you’ve had some doubts along the way about if you would ever really master the whole relationship thing… and so I am surprised—in a good way, of course—that you got me a promise ring.”

“Yeah?” Shoto asked hopefully.

“Yeah!” Izuku reassured him with a firm nod. Despite the fact that their legs were touching already, he scooched the chair even closer, so close that his side was basically squished up against Shoto’s. Izuku looped both of his arms around Shoto’s shoulders and tugged him close, then looked down at where he was holding his promise ring up in front of Shoto’s chest.

“I’m really, really happy,” Izuku said softly. And Shoto knew that he truly was because he had that dreamy expression that he loved on his face, with the little smile and the faint blush and the watery, hazy eyes. “Especially because this is a big deal for me, too.”

“Yeah?” Shoto asked, tipping his head to the side. He didn’t know that Izuku had some doubts about his part in the relationship too. It had always seemed to come so naturally to Izuku. Oh, no. Had Shoto rubbed off on him in a bad way?

“Yeah,” Izuku continued with a small nod. He was staring deep into the strip of light gleaming on the ring’s surface, losing himself in a vision that Shoto couldn’t see. “It’s been a learning experience for me, too. You know how emotional I can get… I didn’t want to move too fast and overwhelm you. You hear all this talk about what you’re supposed to feel and when, and so I was scared that if I didn’t follow that, you might get scared…”

“You too?” Shoto blurted. He couldn’t help it. He was just so shocked that Izuku had been harboring the exact same doubts as he had throughout their relationship. Izuku had always been the type to embrace his emotions. The idea that he had been questioning them or even suppressing them… Well, it was simply unfathomable to Shoto.

“You mean you’ve felt the same way?” Izuku gasped.

“Absolutely,” Shoto nodded. Then, with a shy grin, he continued, “Remember our three-month anniversary? When I told you that I loved you for the first time?” Izuku nodded, and Shoto admitted with a chortle, “As soon as I got back to my room, I spent the next two hours researching on the Internet to make sure I hadn’t committed some kind of relationship taboo.”

“I—Shoto,” Izuku breathed, then snorted piggishly in laughter. He held a curled hand to his mouth as his body shook with loud chuckles—something else Shoto now found himself doing on occasion. Izuku laughed for a good half a minute, and when he finally tossed his head back up to look mirthfully at him, he was using his thumb to flick little tears out of the corners of his eyes. “I can’t say I’ve been that worried,” he said with a little sigh, “but I’m at least glad to know that I wasn’t the only one.”

Shoto just hummed in response. His eyes had drifted down to Izuku’s right hand, which now rested idly on the table in front of them. More specifically, he was looking at his ring finger, which was looking woefully plain right now.

Without another word, Shoto picked up Izuku’s hand and slipped the promise ring onto his finger.

“I—h-hang on!” Izuku squeaked.

Shoto ignored him in favor of flipping Izuku’s hand over so he could bring it to his mouth and place a gentle kiss on the scarred skin of his palm. Izuku’s face immediately flushed bright red, and he pressed his lips together into a thin line while his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Shoto knew that Izuku very desperately wanted to say something, but Izuku knew Shoto well enough to know that he wanted to speak first.

“Izuku,” Shoto whispered against his skin, “I promise that I will work hard every day to keep learning and growing so that I can be the very best boyfriend I can be. I know that it’s going to take time and that I still have a long way to go… so I’m giving you this ring to symbolize my commitment to that.”

“O-oh, jeez,” Izuku wheezed. As soon as Shoto lowered his hand, it was diving into his hair to anxiously sweep it back. “Oh, how am I supposed to follow that? Um,” he laughed nervously. “Hand. Give me your hand, please.”

Smirking in amusement, Shoto complied.

“Shoto,” Izuku smiled while slipping the silver band onto his right ring finger, “I’m gonna make you the same promise. We’re gonna figure this out together, bit by bit. And—” His smile turned cheeky, prompting Shoto’s eyes to widen; Izuku only got that look on his face when he was about to say something he knew was gonna make waves. “—maybe someday, I can change this promise ring out for a real one.”

It took Shoto several seconds to process what exactly that meant. And when he did, he sat bolt upright in his chair and then face-planted right into the table. It didn’t do much to conceal the borderline maroon blush painting every inch of his skin, but he damn well tried. Over the ringing in his ears, Shoto could hear Izuku cackling with laughter.

He wasn’t embarrassed at the idea itself. He was embarrassed because, once again, it seemed that Izuku and Shoto were sharing the exact same train of thought. Well, not the exact same. There was no “maybe,” not for him. That promise ring was also a promise to himself, too. As soon as Shoto felt like he had learned all he’d needed to learn about navigating this relationship with Izuku, he was going to take that last step.

No matter how long it took, no matter how much he had to learn.

It took Shoto a minute to recover, but when he did, he stiffly pulled himself back up into a sitting position. Izuku immediately wrapped his arms around him when he did, and Shoto felt the gentle pressure of Izuku’s chin resting on his shoulder not a moment later. When Shoto looked, his boyfriend was gazing up at him with lidded, moonstruck eyes.

“I love you,” Izuku hummed. His voice was thick and syrupy like he had literally gotten drunk. Shoto couldn’t exactly blame him; his own head felt like it was stuffed full of fluffy down and wispy clouds. Honestly, he felt so light and fuzzy that he would probably start floating up out of his chair at any second. He’d drift up, up, and away, into the stratosphere and past the remnants of the star with their name on it.

But not before he leaned in close to Izuku, smiled warmly, and whispered into his bright green curls, “I love you, too. More than you could ever know.”

Their dinner forgotten and half-eaten on their plates, the two of them just basked in the heady tonic of one another’s presence. And all the while, they stole glimpses of the rings shining on one another’s fingers, and each time, their smiles would brighten just a bit. Maybe somewhere out there in the vastness of the universe, another couple far far away thought their smiles were a star, and had named it after themselves. Maybe stars were impermanent, but love? That was forever.

And it was only a few months later before Shoto decided it was time to show it.

“Photographer?” Fuyumi asked.

“Check,” Shoto responded without looking away from the bathroom mirror where he was currently debating whether to part his hair slightly to the left or slightly to the right.

“Props?”

“Check,” Shoto quipped back as he used his fingers to sweep his two-toned hair to the left. He squinted at his reflection, frowned deeply, and then pushed it to the right instead.

“Countermeasures?”

As his sister spoke, Shoto’s phone screen illuminated with a pleasant chime—a text message from Katsuki. He used his finger to swipe the message open. It read:

Hey dipshit, hurry up. I came this close to blasting a Chihuahua to hell because it wouldn’t stop messin’ with the fuckin’ balloons. Rather than using the Emoji, Katsuki sent a blurry picture of his thumb and forefinger very obviously pressed tightly together. Shoto could only interpret that as a sign that he probably did in fact blast said Chihuahua to kingdom come and gave its owner an earful of colorful choice language.

Another message appeared before he could reply.

And Cheeks won’t stop fuckin’ cryin’. Dumbass didn’t wear waterproof mascara.

Another fwip from his speakers and Shoto was greeted with a picture of Ochako fanning at her watery eyes and smudged mascara tracks evident on her ruddy cheeks. Shoto smirked at that, and responded with a simple, Be there soon. He set the phone down and looked at his elder sister, who was standing in the doorway of the bathroom looking like she was an inch away from an anxiety attack.

“Emotional, but check,” he hummed.

“Most important thing,” Fuyumi said, her words coming out more as a gasp, and quickly scurried up to him. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and whispered, “Ring?” She didn’t have to whisper, considering the only person for which it would be a surprise was currently at their shared apartment. But she still did, like if she raised her voice at all Shoto’s carefully-laid plans would crumble from the vibrations.

Shoto procured a blue ring box from the pocket of his trousers and grinned.

“Check.”

“Uwah!” Fuyumi squealed, her hands flying off Shoto’s cheeks to clap over her mouth. They then began mussing Shoto’s hair, flipping it this way and that as she sniffed, “My littlest brother is getting married. Oh, I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m so old.” She continued to ramble sentiments such as this, tears growing in her eyes and fingers continuously shifting Shoto’s hair around until she finally arrived at something acceptable.

Shoto glanced into the mirror. It seemed that he’d finally hit the tail end of this learning curve because Fuyumi had ended up parting it to the right, too.

“All that’s left is to go get him,” Fuyumi smiled, her fingers coming down to skim lovingly over Shoto’s cheeks again. He closed his eyes and leaned in to press a kiss on the top of her head; he’d grown a lot in the last year and a half, now towering almost a full foot over his sister, so it was easy to do. She made a mournful crooning noise as he did, and when he pulled back, she looked exactly like Ochako had in Katsuki’s candid photo. “Ah! You go, quickly; let me just fix my make-up, and I’ll meet you there with everyone else. Don’t start without me!” she cried, alternating between pushing him toward the door and pulling him back.

“Sister, we’ve planned this for over a month now,” Shoto laughed. “You know that I want you all to be there, and so I’m not going to ask him until I know you are.”

“Aaaagh, I know, I’m just so nervous!” she cried and let go of him to push her fingers into her hair and tug on it.

“Why? I’m the one proposing.”

“Get out!” she whined at his smug smirk, planting her palm between his shoulder blades and giving him a shove. Shoto laughed as he half-walked, half-stumbled out of the door, and he turned around to give her a little finger heart. Izuku did it whenever his mom was in that flustered, kind of angry but kind of delighted state, and Shoto had learned that Fuyumi was just as susceptible to it as his boyfriend’s mother was when he’d tried it on a dare.

“Don’t give me that! After all I’ve done to help you make this perfect, you sass me? Don’t ever come asking for my help again!” Fuyumi snapped and gave him a stern waggle of her finger. There was no bite in her voice; she’d started crying again.

“I’ll call you when we’re ready to plan the wedding,” Shoto said with another laugh, then turned on his heel. Behind him, Fuyumi released a bawl loud enough to have Keigo rushing into the small bathroom in a feathery fluster, a box of tissues clutched in each hand. What a doting husband.

That’s probably how I’ll have to be, Shoto mused as he strolled out of his sister’s house. Izuku’s such a crybaby. He thought it with fondness, though, a smile dancing over his lips. It widened when he sat down in the front seat of his car and texted Izuku to meet him at his chosen proposal spot for an “impromptu date,” and his boyfriend responded with a running Emoji followed by a series of hearts. Shoto had no doubt that Izuku had immediately sprung into action and was now tearing around their apartment scrambling to get ready as soon as possible. They’d been dating for over a year and living together for several months, but they were still so much in love that everything was exciting.

If Shoto had his way, it would stay that way forever.

Soon, he thought, glancing down at the promise ring sitting snugly around his right ring finger, stark against the black of the car’s steering wheel. Its dullness hadn’t faded at all yet; it glinted in the sun that streamed in through the windshield. It made him think of the night Izuku gave it to him, of the chandeliers refracting in its silver shine. Half a year or so, it would be replaced with a band on his left instead.

The thought made Shoto drive a little faster. He parked the car a little haphazardly, and he jumped out when he saw Izuku’s bright green curls bouncing down the sidewalk. He didn’t walk, he ran up to him, breathless from his own excitement as he grinned, “I missed you.”

“Is that what all this is about? You just drove out to your sister’s house, though,” Izuku chuckled. Without skipping a beat, though, he smiled widely and said, “I missed you too, though. Even if was just a couple of hours.”

Normally, Shoto would probably linger on the sidewalk and engage in small talk, but his mind was engrossed with one thought and one thought only—get Izuku to the designated spot posthaste.

So he didn’t say anything, just smiled fondly and grabbed his hand to lace their fingers together. Izuku recognized it as a sign to start walking, and so he did, strolling with Shoto to their favorite walking trail. It ran the circumference of the park, a winding dirt path intermittently covered by patches of trees encroaching out of the forest on its border. It was within the second grove that Shoto had laid his romantic little trap. It really wasn’t that far—maybe five minutes at the pace they were going—but Shoto felt like they couldn’t get there fast enough.

Izuku, on the other hand, was in no rush at all.

“A walk was a good idea,” Izuku said, followed by a small hum of satisfaction. “It feels lovely.” He closed his eyes to bask in the coolness of the shady trees mixed with the warmth of the early autumn air. Shoto bit back a whine when Izuku slowed his pace to a leisurely meander, but he didn’t say anything. The last thing that he wanted to do was spoil the surprise.

Of course, Shoto couldn’t get anything past Izuku.

“Hey, you’re awful quiet,” he said when they passed out of the shade of the first cluster of trees. The second was in sight, tantalizing in the near distance but too far for comfort. “You didn’t say why you had to go to Fuyumi’s. Was it something bad?”

“What? No,” Shoto refused quickly, looking at him with wide eyes. His fast response just made Izuku suspicious. Ugh, if he didn’t act fast, Izuku would want to stop right there and talk. Shoto swallowed, then put a smile on his lips. “No, she just needed my help with something, that’s all. And she thought it was a good excuse to get me out there to catch up.”

“Oh,” Izuku said, but still looked concerned. It was enough to keep them walking, though, thank goodness. Still, Izuku wasn’t one to just drop an issue. “You’re tense though, Sho. Seriously, is something up?”

Deflect. I need a good deflector, Shoto thought. His eyes flickered to the patch of woods, and somehow his brain managed to craft a useful vague response.

“I’d rather not talk about it in the open. Can we wait until we get back in the trees?”

“Eh?” Izuku blinked, then looked ahead at the tree line. His eyes flooded with recognition, and then he was nodding vigorously. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go!”

And then Izuku was the impatient one, his pace quickening to a power-walk and all but dragging Shoto with him. It didn’t take them long at all to reach the small clearing in the middle of the small grove where Shoto planned to pop the question, and they’d gotten there so fast that he was still reeling from the emotional whiplash. He just stared blankly at Izuku as he stepped in front of him and grabbed both his hands.

“So what is… it…” His voice faltered as he fixated on a point over Shoto’s shoulder, his emerald eyes blowing wide. Shoto was confused too until he turned around and remembered what exactly he was doing there; tied to a large tree stump just on the edge of the path was a pair of white balloons bobbing in the slight breeze. Izuku knew it was for them because they had their anniversary date printed on them in large black numbers. And sitting on the stump were all the gifts from the years that they’d gotten one another—the collage, the framed receipt of the star, the mixtape, the leather bracelets. “Shoto?” he asked in a small but inquisitive voice when he looked back at him.

Speech. He had a speech for this.

“R-right,” he stammered, then cleared his throat and took a deep breath. That was all he needed to get all his brain cells back in order. He exhaled deeply, then squeezed Izuku’s hands tight as he smiled warmly at him. “Right,” he repeated softly. “You’re right, I’m a little nervous. It’s because I have something really important to ask you.”

Izuku sucked his lips into his mouth with a choked whimper. When Shoto let go of his hands to slip one into his pocket while sinking down on one knee, Izuku’s hands flew to his mouth, but they did little to cover the high-pitched crooning noise that spilled from his lungs. Sparkling tears gleamed in his eyes as Shoto presented the ring box to him.

“So you remember that joke you made a few months ago at our anniversary dinner?” Shoto smirked.

Izuku nodded, dislodging more of the tears from his eyes and sending them spilling down his bright pink cheeks.

“I know it hasn’t been that long since I made you that promise—” Shoto started. Izuku’s keening whine interrupted him, and he just smirked when his boyfriend looked apologetically at him and nodded for him to continue. “—but I realized something. When I gave you that ring, I thought that once I’d learned everything about love, I would be ready to take the next step. But that’s the thing. You never stop learning.”

There was always more. More to learn about one another, more to learn about ups and downs, more to learn than Shoto could learn in three lifetimes. It was a learning curve, but even if it began to plateau out, it never fell fully flat. So why put an insurmountable barrier on something he knew in his heart he wanted to do?

“There’s going to be things I’ll never know,” Shoto sighed softly. “But there is one thing I do know. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to keep learning with you. So…” Smiling broadly, he opened the ring box to reveal a black titanium band inlaid with a stripe of green bloodstone—a gem with splotches of red and green, the perfect symbol of their union. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh my God,” Izuku wheezed. All the color drained from his face, and Shoto’s elation instantly morphed into panic. Oh shit, was he going to pass out? Izuku’s eyes rolled groggily in their sockets as he swayed back and forth a little, and then his legs were crumpling. Shoto clumsily dived forward to try and catch him; he managed to hook an arm loosely around his torso, letting Izuku slump against his chest.

“Izuku?” Shoto gasped. Relief flooded through him when he realized that Izuku was conscious—albeit green in the face—and looking up at him with a placid smile.

“I’m good, I’m good, I just—oh my,” he laughed breathily. His eyes then snapped wide open. “Oh my God! I didn’t even answer! Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes, oh my God!” he babbled, literally climbing up on Shoto’s knees so he could envelop him in a crushing hug. Shoto wheezed as the breath was forced from his lungs, and he daresay heard a couple of ribs creak. But then Izuku was scrambling off him to ogle at the ring, alternating between reaching for it and kneading his shirt to keep from touching it.

“Do you want me to put it on?” Shoto chuckled, and Izuku looked pleadingly at him.

“Yes, please!”

Shoto grabbed his hand—the left one—and slipped the titanium ring onto his finger. Izuku cooed at the feeling, and tears flooded his eyes anew when he held it up to the sun to admire it. Izuku smiled lovingly at it in silence, and Shoto smiled lovingly at him in silence.

It was only half a minute before Ochako’s bawl rang out from the underbrush and trees, “Can we come out now? We’re dying over here!”

“Eh? You guys are here?” Izuku yelped, spinning around on his knees just in time to see Ochako burst out of the woods and come running over.

“Izuku’msohappyforyouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” she screamed as she launched herself in the air and slammed full force into Izuku in a half-hug, half-bellyflop. When she lifted her head, bright black tracks of mascara and tears were streaming down her face.

“Cheeks, please. You’ll dehydrate yourself at this rate,” Katsuki sighed as he strolled out after her, his hands in his pockets.

“You guys set this up?” Izuku exclaimed in delight, looking between his two best friends.

“Hey now, don’t forget to thank the mastermind,” came a chiding voice, and Shoto looked over his shoulder to see Natsuo escorting a blubbering Fuyumi by the hand. She took one look at him, then slapped her hands away from her rapidly reddening face and turned to bury her face in Keigo’s chest right as he came up on her other side. “Er… Maybe in a minute when she pulls herself together.”

“Heh. No wonder you were all keyed up,” Izuku joked and nudged Shoto with his elbow. “You’re gonna have to learn to hide it better.”

“No problem,” Shoto smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. “Now I have all the time in the world.”

#tododeku #dekutodo #izuku x shouto #izuku x shoto #izuku x todoroki #shoto x izuku #shouto x izuku #todoroki x izuku #izuku midoriya #midoriya izuku #shoto todoroki #shouto todoroki #todoroki shoto #todoroki shouto #my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia

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