mixingbowl | Try to believe walking down the lonesome road

[Shouldn't take too long, huh. It doesn't sound too bad, now that he thinks about it. After all, Todoroki's right about them already spending a lot of time together.]

Any time, Todoroki-kun! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Were you staying up so late because you were worried about how to handle this?

Yes.

[ Another pause as he considers something else: ]

Should I wait for you by the school gates?

[Everything’s moving so fast!! Then again, it makes sense that Todoroki would want to deal with the situation as quickly and soon as possible.]

That works for me. I’ll see you outside the school tomorrow?

[It’s starting to sink in now, just what he agreed to. Izuku only hopes it works!]

I'll see you then. Good night, Midoriya.

[And with that he falls asleep.

In the morning Shouto's right outside of the gates and watching people as they pass by. Unfortunately, that girl found him and Shouto just looks incredibly uncomfortable about it. When is Midoriya going to be back...]

[When Izuku spots him at the gates the next morning, he’s about to call out a greeting....at least, until he spots the girl leaning in towards his friend. Ah. This must be the one who confessed. She’s pretty, Izuku notes, and seems friendly enough. Too friendly, maybe, judging by the way Todoroki’s tensed up.

Izuku breathes in deeply for a moment, gathering up the necessary courage. It’s one thing to face down a villain...it’s another to face down a girl. (More terrifying in its own way, in Izuku’s opinion.) ]

Todoroki-kun! [Izuku waves as he approaches them, ready to rescue Todoroki from some unwanted attention.]

[Shouto perks up the instant he hears Midoriya's voice and gently steps around the girl to get to his friend. There's a bit of hesitation, but it's easy to take his hand into his own to steady himself.

His gaze turns to Midoriya's and he looks incredibly relieved to have him here.]

Midoriya.

[The girl, however, looks a little bit sulky. "Todoroki-kun, you can talk to your friend and to me, can't you?"

Please. Save him, Midoriya.]

Edited 2018-01-20 00:15 (UTC)

[For a second, Izuku stares at their joined hands, swallowing nervously while his face pinks up. Yup...definitely different. And somehow, Izuku can't help but feel flustered even though he'd known what to expect.

Having Todoroki stare at him with such obvious relief helps ease his nerves, though. He made a promise to a friend, and he's not going to let them down now! Izuku's back straightens with resolve, but he keeps his voice kind when he addresses the hopeful girl.]

Sorry. Todoroki-kun and I...[Izuku wavers uncertainly. Great. He's set himself up to break the news to her, but what should he say now?? Internally panicking, Izuku blurts out the first thing he can think of.] We...we wanted to spend some time together before class started!!

[Nailed it.]

[Shouto takes a step closer to Midoriya so he's basically arm-to-arm with him. It's very silly, and he knows it, but he does feel safer with Midoriya this close. He's the perfect social buffer- that is to say, he's better at talking to people than Shouto is.

The girl hums... "But you don't mind not being alone, right?" She's either very pushy or deliberately ignoring the way that Shouto's trying to signal he's uninterested in her.

He's driven to some drastic measures. Like say, bluntly blurting this out:]

Midoriya is my boyfriend.

[W-wow, this girl must really like Todoroki...Izuku thinks he can understand. She's admittedly being too insistent, though, and before Izuku can scramble for a proper reply, Todoroki's already speaking up. Izuku barely manages not to whip his head around to stare at Todoroki in shock, but it's a near thing. He said it!! And so easily, too.]

Y-yeah, we're dating. [Willing himself not to blush doesn't seem to be working; he can still feel the heat creeping into his cheeks.

"Ehhh? No way, I haven't heard anything about this!" Izuku steels himself against the girl's obvious shock and disbelief. How can a confrontation like this be so nerve-wracking when he's faced down villains before??] We were trying to keep it quiet! [Even without the stammer, Izuku knows there's a thread of uncertainty running through his words. He's never really been the best at making up excuses on the fly like this.] We, um, didn't want it to interfere with our...classwork...e-especially with finals coming up!

[Shouto's definitely blushing, but he's not moving from Midoriya's side. He can't really step any closer. If he could, he'd certainly be doing it.

At least they're trained to deal with villains. Shouto's never gone through what he's supposed to do when he's against a very enthusiastic girl who wants to date him.

Unfortunately for the both of them, the girl seems to pick up on Midoriya's uncertainty. "I don't believe it!" But she does huffily walk off, as the bell is getting closer and closer to ringing.

Shouto squeezes Midoriya's hand and starts tugging him into the school.]

Thank you.

[Unfortunately...]

I think she'll be back.

[Izuku squeezes back reassuringly, even though the prolonged contact is keeping a healthy blush on his face. Thankfully, it's early enough that they aren't running into too many people on the way to their classroom. Todoroki's prediction makes Izuku glance at him in surprise.]

You think so? She left us alone after we explained, though.

[The thought of having to fend her off again is, admittedly, a daunting one. Why are girls so difficult to talk to about these things? At least the girls in his class have been markedly easy to approach, though Izuku suspects it's because he's only spoken to them about classwork and training so far. Romance is something that he's just never thought about seriously before, since all the girls he knew before UA either avoided him like the plague or joined in on the meanspirited teasing.]

[ Holding hands is much more pleasant than he was expecting. It's not as embarrassing as it seems to be for his friend, but he really doesn't want to let go. So he doesn't.

Shouto doesn't know very many girls outside of his sister and Momo. Both of them seem much more reasonable in comparison.]

I'm not sure she really believed it. And if we look like we aren't dating she'll try again. She's... Stubborn.

... Could you call me without the honorific?

[Izuku's grip tightens around Todoroki's hand slightly, and he looks done at the ground, suddenly downcast.] Sorry...I guess I wasn't convincing enough in the end. I-I'll try to be better at this if she talks to us again.

Without honorifics? [He echoes, blinking, before understanding dawns.] Oh! You mean...just "Todoroki". I can do that. [Though it would probably take a little getting used to.]

You're doing the best you can. It's okay. ... I think she knows more about romance than the two of us.

That will help. I already call everybody without them, so I can really use that. But you're usually polite. It'll sound like we're closer.

We could always check with Yaoyorozu-san if we need another opinion about her later on. [He looks back toward the gate, as if expecting the girl to still be watching them.] I...I mean, it might take a little longer than we thought to convince her, but she has to give up eventually.

[...right?]

I guess you're right. I use honorifics with everyone else, it'll stand out if I don't use one for you. Todoroki... [Izuku lets the name roll off his tongue experimentally, almost tacking on the "kun" at the end again, simply out of habit.]

[He gives a little nod. The girl isn't watching them right now, but she does glance back and frowns a bit. She doesn't believe they're dating, but she's going to have to find out why.]

I hope so.

... Sorry, is it uncomfortable?[Midoriya's a very polite person. He's not so sure he should be pushing for this.]

It's not! [The words come out practically jumbled together, with the way Izuku had rushed to reassure him.]

I'm just not used to...this. [Everything. Friends.] Kacchan's the only one I've ever called anything different... [Izuku trails off with an uncomfortable shrug. By this point, everyone in their class probably knows that there's tension between them.]

[He looks a bit puzzled at the rush of words. It takes him a bit to decode it but he gives a little nod.

Shouto's not used to this sort of thing either. But he's very thankful to have Midoriya in his life. He's not sure where he'd be without him.]

Just let me know if it ever gets too uncomfortable.

I will. [Some of the tension finally bleeds out of Izuku's shoulders as he turns to smile at Todoroki. His friend can be a bit hard to read at times, but Izuku's been gradually seeing more of those flashes of kindness from him, now that he knows what to look for.]

I don't think I'll have to, though. You're being so careful with me as it is.

[Careful... Well, Midoriya is his first and closest friend. He'd hate if he did anything to ruin their friendship, new as it is. If he ruined it by making Midoriya in comfortable he'd have to accept it, even if it would be a bitter, painful pill to swallow. So he'll do his best to not have that happen.]

I'm doing my best.

[Because Midoriya is very special to him.]

See? Then, you have nothing to worry about. [As they draw near to their classroom, Izuku's steps slow just a little. With the way his brows have furrowed, it's easy to guess that he's contemplating something.]

Todoroki-ku--I mean, Todoroki. [Izuku corrects himself with a flustered little laugh.] I know we're doing this to keep the girl from general studies from bothering you more, but... how should we handle this with everyone else? Should we tell them anything?

[Their classmates, he means. Unlike her, they'll still have to see their classmates after this is over. They're all stuck together until graduation, after all.]

[He enjoys the way his name sounds without the addition- but it seems hard for Midoriya to let it go. It's only been a day, he shouldn't need to worry about it.]

Momo already knows. I don't mind letting them know. I don't think they'd tell her that we're faking it.

[At the same time, he doesn't want to let go of Midoriya's hand. That's being selfish. He's already putting his friend in an embarrassing situation to begin with.]

I'll leave it up to you.

[Izuku thinks about it for a moment.] I-it might be easier to keep them in the loop. Like you said, I don't think they'd tell her... [Brightening up.] So, let's go with that!

Good morning! [His greeting is as cheerful as ever when he slides the door open. He's also conveniently forgotten that he's still holding Todoroki's hands, something that their classmates pick up on immediately.

"Dude!! Are you two dating??" And there's Kirishima, giving Izuku's shoulder a friendly nudge, while Izuku catches a few other comments like "I thought there was something going on!" and "Maybe we should have started that betting pool after all."]

Wh-wh-wh-what?? [Izuku stutters, face immediately turning scarlet. What are his friends even talking about???]

[He just promised that he'd let Midoriya take the lead on this. But now they're both too flustered to react properly.

Not that it shows on Shouto, because he's always been good at keeping his impassive mask up. But one of those comments gets to him.]

You were going to make a betting pool? Of Midoriya's love life?

["Like we wouldn't do the same for anyone else here." Ah, that would be Jirou. When Izuku chances a look in her direction, amid a chorus of agreements from the others, he spots a grin on her face. In the end, that's what makes him relax marginally, realizing that her smile is different from the ones he used to see on his middle school classmates' faces. He gives Todoroki's hand another squeeze to get his attention.]

It's okay, I don't mind. [WELL... that's not entirely true. He does mind, because it's embarrassing, but Izuku can tell that none of them actually mean any harm. It's just some teasing between friends.]

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