Chapter Text
Susumu briskly made their way down the hall, keeping their eyes down. They wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Today had been a little much for them; apparently someone in Class 1A was keeping track of people’s birthdays, and told everyone abruptly during class while Aizawa was sleeping that is was Susumu’s birthday. It ended up leaving them feeling overwhelmed.
They felt ridiculous letting something so small get to them so much, and it’s not like it was bad that they wanted to wish them a happy birthday, in fact it was kind of sweet, but it was also incredibly jarring having it announced to the class so suddenly and being put on the spot.
God, they felt like such a baby over this whole thing.
Regardless, they didn’t wanna think about it now. They were going home where they would get to spend the rest of the night alone.
Alone.
Something about that word struck them differently tonight, despite everything that happened at the beginning of the day. I mean, they thought, that shouldn’t be anything new, considering...
“Susumu-Chan!”
Their train of thought interrupted, they turned their head to see a familiar face jogging up to them.
“We’re still walking home together, right?” Izuku asked, still catching his breath. “It’s fine if you’re not in the mood, you just left so suddenly..”
“No no, it’s fine, I-I didn’t mean to leave so soon.” They responded.
After a slight pause, Izuku continued.
“By the way, you seemed a little off today. Are you doing alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just...just a little thrown off by this morning..”
“Yeah, I know it can be embarrassing to be called up like that, even if it’s for something like your birthday. Especially with some of the more...energetic students—I could hear how loud Denki was yelling.”
Susumu let out a sigh through their nose that served as a light chuckle.
There was another pause between the two as they were nearing the school’s entrance.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Izuku began again. “You looked really uncomfortable through that whole thing.”
Susumu shoved their hands in their pockets and looked at the floor.
“Just...you know how I am, being...being put on the spot. It feels stupid, it’s something so small—“
“No, no! It’s totally understandable! I mean, even if it’s small, it still happened and made you feel weird, right?”
They nodded before looking back at the floor.
“Hey.” Izuku said after yet another pause. The two stopped, looking at each other.
“I understand if you’re kinda...’peopled’ out after today, but if you weren’t...I was thinking, maybe I could make it up to you after today?”
Susumu knitted their brows. “What do you mean?”
“There’s some pretty cool shops downtown, maybe we could go down there so I could get you a birthday present? And maybe we can hang out later? Only if you’re up for it though! I don’t wanna make you overwhelmed all over again!”
Susumu gave a small smile. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. And...you know, it might be kinda nice. Maybe it won’t be so bad if I’m with a friend.”
Izuku paused before smiling back at them. “Ok, cool.”
Susumu pushed the door of the school open and the two walked out.
“So, where did you wanna go first?”